Outward Shell Creek Vineyard Chenin Blanc Paso Robles 2024

At a recent winemaker event, our team spied the Outward name and sprinted to meet winemaker Natalie Siddique and taste her recent creations. As Pulse members, you’re familiar with the winery whose Sendoro Luminoso was featured in the club last Fall. First impressions are important, and in that day’s line-up, the Shell Creek Chenin Blanc was the first wine we tasted and the last wine on our minds. Walking away from the table, we knew it was a must for our Pulse members to have in their glasses this Summer.

At its core, Outward Wines is about discovery—of place, of flavor, and of possibility. Founded by Natalie and Ryan Pace, Outward is more than just a winery; it is an exploration of California's Central Coast through the lens of thoughtful farming, minimal-intervention winemaking, and a spirit of adventure. Each bottling seeks to tell the story of its site, but also reflects the hands, travels, and inspirations of the people behind it.

Shell Creek is a historic vineyard on the Central Coast, as it was one of the first to be planted in San Luis Obispo County. At the time, in 1972, the sixth-generation Sinton family was attempting to diversify their cattle ranch by adding grapevines, with little knowledge of the fork they were creating in the family legacy. The vineyards are named for the seasonal creek that flows through the property, bringing marine fossils along with it and depositing them along the creek bed and in the sandy topsoils. In the present day, the vineyards represent a significant portion of the family business and provide old-vine, dry-farmed fruit for some of the Central Coast’s top producers.

Natalie and Ryan harvested the 2024 Chenin Blanc on two separate days; first at the end of August and again a week later in early September. For the first harvest, they foot-stomped the grapes and let them soak on the skins for 24 hours before pressing off the juice. The second harvest of grapes was pressed fresh after picking, and both lots underwent native fermentation in neutral oak barrels. The wine aged for 10 months on the lees in the same neutral barrels, imparting a soft, creamy mouthfeel. The aromatics in the wine are powerfully fragrant, with white florals, ginger spice, and pome fruits. Balance is the name of the game on the palate, with fresh acidity highlighting the fruit tones and significant weight on the mid palate, which carries through the finish with interesting notes of honey, wool, and wet stone.