Bubbles are for every day!

Two Bottles of Onward Petillant Naturel Sparkling Wines

Name of Winery: Onward

Bottle Size: 750ml

Number of Bottles: 2 bottles

Varietal: Sparkling Rose of Pinot Noir, Sparkling Malvasia Bianca

Vintage: 2018, 2019

Appellation: Redwood Valley, Suisun Valley

ONWARD 2018 Hawkeye Ranch in Redwood Valley
Petillant Naturel, Sparkling Rose of Pinot Noir

This Rosé of Pinot noir Pét-Nat is loaded with ripe summer berries, floral and citrus nots and is very alive! The opening aromatics explode from the glass, and are lively, fresh and mysterious. To follow are notes of strawberry fields, citrus blossom, warm brioche toast with lemon curd and juicy berries…and a refreshing hint mint….and did I mention soft tiny delicate bubbles!

This pretty pink bubbly offers a unique combination of youthfulness and complexity. I liken her to my 5 year old daughter who is spunky as they come…yet wise beyond her years and well…also often dresses in pink-e-e-y!

The Pétillant Naturel is Onward’s sparking expression of the Onward Rosé of Pinot, which is the result of an intentional rosé program, picked expressly for rosé and whole cluster pressed.

This wine stays true to the nature of an authentic Pétillant Naturel style wine: I encouraged native yeast fermentation, which finished in the bottle, with no sugar or other juice added.

ONWARD 2019 Suisun Valley, Capp Inn Ranch
Skin Fermented, Malvasia Bianca, Petillant Naturel

This Pét-Nat is floral and fruity, but refreshingly bone-dry. The opening aromatics are like sticking your nose in a fermentation vat, with yeasty brioche notes and lively youthful freshness. To follow are notes of night blooming jasmine, citrus blossom, melon rind, warm Kaffir lime scones with preserved lemon…and a refreshing hint of sea air….and did I mention soft tiny delicate bubbles!

This wine stays true to the nature of an authentic Pétillant Naturel style wine: I encouraged native yeast fermentation, which finished in the bottle, with no sugar or other juice added.

The Pétillant Naturel is Onward’s sparking expression of Malvasia Bianca from Capp Inn Ranch.

The wine was moved from tank to bottle by gravity. Everything to do with bottling lady Pét-Nat has to be done by hand because she is still fermenting (meaning full of CO2 gas) and needs to be handled with care.  I bottled the wine with a small amount of lees, allowing the fermentation to complete in bottle and left the wine un-disgorged (with sediment) in bottle. I feel this adds purity and complexity that would be lost if removed.  The bottles were aged while the fermentation finished, then labeled and left finished with a crown cap.  

Making this wine is an emotional journey which is truly about passion.  The journey began from my enjoyment of this style of wine from the old world producers and was only strengthened by my love of the expression specific to the Malvasia from Capp Inn Ranch. I make it because I love it so and every year she teaches me something new…often it is a personal lesson about balance and patience. This wine is here to help us celebrate life and its everyday treasures and joys!

ONWARD WINES are single-vineyard, site-driven wines and Farmstrong Wines are blends, and in both expressions the vineyard sites are very special to me. I am a true believer in personal connection and there is a story behind each vineyard site and how it came to be part of my portfolio. In these stories you will learn more about the people behind these vineyards. I liken my connection to these vineyards to that of one’s favorite shirt or coffee mug or chair. Like a well worn fabric or a slightly chipped mug that may have initially caught my eye for its beauty, but over the years it has won my heart because it just feels right. When it comes to vineyards this happens too, and it is a combination of my connection with the vines themselves and my connection with those that tend them. For me the growers hands are most definitely part of the terroir.

My style is about letting the vines speak. They are the art, I am the canvas, my job is to give them a chance to share their beauty in each and every vintage. My decisions are driven from the vineyard and the vintage, my cellar practices are to uphold the truths I find in the vineyard. To this end I pick early looking for balance of flavors at lower ripeness, as I find this is when each vineyard is in its most unique expression of self.

Owner & Winemaker Faith Armstrong is the mom of 4 Stone Bridge School students! Check out the recent Family Circle Magazine article on her here.

onwardwines.com