Got Festive? - Fizzy Malvasia Bianca

A recent Brandlive virtual tasting featured the wines of Napa-based Onward Wines. They are what the PR department calls, "single-vineyard, site-driven wines crafted by one of the most exciting winemakers out there." They’re talking about Faith Armstrong-Foster, whose "mantra" is, "I could never make a wine I couldn’t afford to enjoy myself." She grew up in British Columbia, a good little Canadian girl who went to school every day in a tiny boat called - wait for it - the Onward.

Armstrong says her wines are site-driven, and she owes part of her success to the growers with whom she has partnered - Hawkeye Ranch, Cerise Vineyard, Capp Inn Ranch, Casa Roja Vineyard, Ledgewood Vineyard, Knox Vineyard and Babcock Vineyard. A smaller part of her success could probably be attributed to that little boat. Onward Wines was created in 2009 and she has another line, called Farmstrong.

Charles Communication, the PR folks who staged the virtual tasting, tweeted "Faith fell in love with #wine while shoveling a fermenter - that's #truelove for you."

Pet Nat of Malvasia Bianca, Pétillant Naturel 2015

Pétillant Naturel is a type of sparkling wine made in the méthode ancestrale. This means the wine is bottled before the primary fermentation is finished, no additional yeasts or sugars, as in méthode champenoise. The wine is typically cloudy, funky, low in alcohol and sealed under a crown cap, like a bottle of beer.

The grapes, Malvasia Bianca, are from the Capp In Ranch in Solano County's Suisun Valley. The wine retails for $24, or at least it did until it sold out.

This pet-nat, as the style is called, is very cloudy, very yeasty and thoroughly enjoyable. The earthy, musty nose is as savory as can be, yet with a strong citrus element. On the palate, acidity is racy and the flavors lean toward the savory side of lemon-lime. Strong minerals provide a nice underpinning. The fizziness is somewhat less than found in other sparkling wines, but there’s enough there to qualify as "festive." This is a great wine to have as an aperitif or just because, but the acidity and mineral aspect will allow pairings with a wide range of dishes involving vegetables or light-colored meat.

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Mendocino Pinot Pink

A recent Brandlive virtual tasting featured the wines of Napa-based Onward Wines. They are what the PR department calls, "single-vineyard, site-driven wines crafted by one of the most exciting winemakers out there." They’re talking about Faith Armstrong-Foster, whose "mantra" is, "I could never make a wine I couldn’t afford to enjoy myself." She grew up in British Columbia, a good little Canadian girl who went to school every day in a tiny boat called - wait for it - the Onward.

Armstrong says her wines are site-driven, and she owes part of her success to the growers with whom she has partnered - Hawkeye Ranch, Cerise Vineyard, Capp Inn Ranch, Casa Roja Vineyard, Ledgewood Vineyard, Knox Vineyard and Babcock Vineyard. A smaller part of her success could probably be attributed to that little boat. Onward Wines was created in 2009 and she has another line, called Farmstrong.

Charles Communication, the PR folks who staged the virtual tasting, tweeted "Faith fell in love with #wine while shoveling a fermenter - that's #truelove for you."

Rosé Hawkeye Ranch, Redwood Valley 2016

The Hawkeye Ranch rosé of Pinot Noir features the cool-climate version of the grape, as if there is another type. Grown by Peter and Stephen Johnson, fifth-generation winegrowers in Mendocino County, the grapes come from vines that were planted in the 1970s, some of the oldest in the vineyard. They were picked specifically for rosé and the whole clusters were pressed to make the juice. It sells for $22.

The wine glows pale salmon in the glass, and smells of fresh cherries, light raspberries and a soft touch of Meyer lemon, which was a bit of a surprise. The mouthfeel is fresh and rich, with a zippy acidity and a full mouth. Cherry flavors dominate, but a mineral aspect does not try to hide. This is a delicious rosé that’s as good at the dinner table as it is on the porch.

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Virtual Wine Tasting: Lodi Native Zinfandels

Virtual wine tasting is really getting to be a popular pasttime.  Staged by wineries, wine regions or publicity representatives, the events offer wine-loving participants the chance to join like-minded Twitter users, along with winemakers, in a fun, free-for-all forum.

If you are casting about for a virtual tasting event in which to take part, please allow me to suggest the BrandLive event coming up on Tuesday April 22, 2014 at 5:00 p.m. PT.  Staged by LoCA, The Wines of Lodi, CA, and the just-launched Lodi Native project, this virtual tasting event gives you the chance to mingle on the social media platform Twitter with some winemakers from Lodi and some wine lovers from all over.  You can also look in on a video stream.   If you can get one of these Zinfandels, do.  They are available as a six-pack in a commemorative wooden box, through the Lodi Native website.  Even if you can’t put your hands on a bottle,jump in on Twitter and learn a lot about the Lodi AVA.

The Lodi Native Project is a collaboration of six winegrowers - Michael McCay of McCay Cellars, Tim Holdener of Macchia, Ryan Sherman of the Fields Family, Chad Joseph of the Maley Brothers, Stuart Spencer of St. Amant and Layne Montgomery of m2 Wines.  It aims to highlight Lodi's unique sense of place by focusing on single-vineyard Zinfandel selections from the Mokelumne River AVA.  I know, you're salivating already.  Me too.  Each 2012 Lodi Native bottling utilized native yeast fermentation, zero new oak and minimal interference in the vineyards and cellar - so the terroir-driven fruit can speak for itself.

Kira Cooper, of Charles Communications, has provided the details for the event, set for Tuesday April 22, 2014.

Wines (all single-vineyard Zinfandels):

1. 2012 Fields Family 'Century Block Vineyard'

2. 2012 m2 'Soucie Vineyard'

3. 2012 Macchia 'Noma Vineyard'

4. 2012 Maley Brothers 'Wegat Vineyard'

5. 2012 McCay Cellars 'Trulux Vineyard'

6. 2012 St.Amant 'Marian's Vineyard'

Hosts:

Stuart Spencer of the Lodi Winegrape Commission & St. Amant Winery (main host)

Layne Montgomery of m2 Wines

Tim Holdener of Macchia

Michael McCay of McCay Cellars

Todd Maley of Maley Brothers

Chad Joseph of Maley Brothers

Ryan Sherman of Fields Family Wines

Instructions:

"First, sign into your Twitter account and pull up the live stream a little before 5 p.m. PT and get ready to roll!

To access the live stream, please click on the following link: cca.yourbrandlive.com/c/lodinative

Once you click on the link, you’ll see a box on the right hand side that says ‘Questions from the Audience.’ Fill in your name, location and type up your Comment or Question – we’ll be able to view what you say immediately!

Please note Twitter on/off button below the comment field. We encourage you to Tweet your comments and by doing so, you simply have to log into your Twitter account on a separate tab or window. If you do not want a comment or question to show up on your Twitter feed, click the button to “off.”

We welcome you to use the hash tag #LodiLive and Twitter handle @Lodi_Wine during the tasting. We also encourage you to visit http://www.lodiwine.com and http://www.lodinative.com/ to learn more about Lodi and the Lodi Native project prior to the tasting."

So you don't forget, put the virtual tasting event on your calendar for Tuesday April 22nd at 5:00 p.m. Pacific.  We look forward to chatting with you.  To see how the BrandLive tastings have worked in the past, go here.

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