Natural Wines at The NPA

Let me ask you this? How natural is the wine you drink? Most processing is not very good for the environment. Well, the natural wines are on the rise. While visiting wine country up in California I had the chance to meet Hardy Wallace at the NPA in Santa Rosa. Around these parts there is a huge food movement but this was a nice surprise with the wine. The project he works on is a collaboration with the wine maker Kevin from Salinia. On my visit, Hardy offered a taste of the most natural wines I have ever seen. The color is very different and the taste surprised me with freshness and clean flavor. The sauvignon blanc has set the bar for which I will measure all others now.

The goal at NPA is to keep the juice as true as possible from the grape to the table. Notice I said table? Their wines are sold and distributed in stainless steel kanteens for a green product. The first wine I tried was a Sauvignon Blanc and I have never tasted anything like it before. Scents of sweet honey and pear in the glass. The taste is powerful with a crisp finish.

Sauvignon Blanc is one of my favorite food pairing wines with seafood that I mostly live on. Since this is in a kanteen it would be wise to bring out on the boat for the day. The deliveries are made to SF within 100 miles of them. I'm faced with the realization there will be no refill on this kanteen once I board the plane. There is a need now to turn back. Natural food are something that I hear often but few are practioners. Like any wine it is hard to capture again due to the dynamic nature.

The fruit was being delivered and I sampled the syrah grape fresh out of the crate sans ladybug. Hardy and Kevin are both down to earth people that go out of their way to make all feel welcome. It was a pleasure meeting you both and please keep up the great job guys!