2014 Onward ‘Capp Inn Ranch’ Malvasia Bianca Pétillant Naturel Suisun Valley

Region: Suisun Valley < CA
Grapes: Malvasia Bianca
Vineyard/Cellar Stats: Organic farming, clay loam soil; the wine was moved from tank to bottle by gravity; everything to do with bottling is done by hand because she is still fermenting (meaning full of CO2 gas) and needs to be handled with care; bottled un-disgorged (with sediment) in bottle; 12.1% ABV, 350 cases
Winemaker: Faith Armstrong-Foster

Here’s a cool project from a talented female winemaker (and mother of 4 boys!). Faith studied Viticulture at Davis, but her subsequent marriage to the winemaker at Merryvale Vineyards derailed her winemaking plans initially and she settled into family life in Napa. In 2009, she finally launched her own label, Onward Wines, when she had the opportunity to source Pinot Noir from Cerise Vineyard in the Anderson Valley. She always loved drinking old world pétillant naturale wines, so began playing with her own Pet’Nat in 2013, her first vintage of this lightly sparkling Malvasia Bianca. The grapes from a small family grower, Capp Inn Ranch, in Suisin Valley (a practically unknown Cali appellation east of Napa and west of Sacramento). Bright, aromatic and bone-dry, with soft, creamy bubbles that amp up the distinctive peachy and floral notes typical of Malvasia, and a thrilling whip crack of intense lemon, minerality and acid on the finish. This, my friends, is spring in a glass.