This California wine label won’t be boxed in

Wines from the San Luis Obispo area keep bowling me over. Recently, I became acquainted with yet another compelling young label from the region: Outward Wines, made by Natalie Siddique and Ryan Pace.

The couple produce singlevineyard, single-variety wines from grapes both classic (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay) and obscure (ever heard of Vaccarèse? I hadn’t). Their vineyard sources span much of the Central Coast, from Carmel to Santa Ynez. There’s nothing gimmicky going on here — no categorical pronouncements about their winemaking philosophy, no specific European region they’re trying to emulate — but rather just good, deeply delicious wines that feel focused and expressive.

The Chenin Blanc ($34) from Paso Robles’ Shell Creek Vineyard is reminiscent of a ripe, juicy pear and crystallized ginger. Outward’s Gamay ($38), from the Presqu’ile Vineyard in Santa Maria Valley, is both heftier and earthier than many contemporary California renditions. While it seems like many Gamays these days trade heavily in candied cherry flavors, Outward’s emphasizes peppery, spicy, woodsy notes.

“The Gamays that we gravitate toward are more of that shoulder-y Gamay,” said Siddique, as opposed to “that new wave of glou glou Gamay.”

Alongside producers like Haliotide, Dunites, Scar of the Sea, Lady of the Sunshine and Phelan Farm, Outward makes a compelling case for the SLO Coast AVA — a new official winegrowing region — being one of the most exciting places for wine right now.

Siddique and Pace have been making Outward wines since 2016, initially as a side project. It wasn’t until 2020 that they both started working on the brand full-time. Pace comes from a wine industry family — his father was the general manager of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars while he was growing up — and worked a series of winemaking jobs, including at Byron Winery in Santa Barbara County. He met Siddique, who’d moved here from Cincinnati to co-found an outdoor-focused startup, while rock climbing.

The name Outward is a nod to their shared love of climbing and the outdoors. The label design reflects that: vivid, painted landscapes framed within a circle (for white wines) or triangle (for reds).

Their portfolio encompasses some of the most notable vineyard sites in the Central Coast, like the Bassi Vineyard in Avila Beach, which produces unfailingly beautiful Chardonnay (I’ve praised it more than once); and Carmel Valley’s Massa Vineyard, which includes ungrafted Cabernet Sauvignon vines planted as far back as 1968.

Outward defies certain categorizations — and it seems like that’s on purpose. Are these classically inspired wines? Yes, but they’re also unconventional, incorporating alternative varieties like Valdiguie. Are these natural wines? Sure, by most people’s definitions, but “we definitely don’t lead with ‘natural,’” said Pace. The term is so hotly debated, Siddique continued, and pigeonholes wineries “into very stark realms.”

Their wines, made without much intervention beyond small additions of sulfur, would qualify to appear at most natural wine fairs. But they also wouldn’t seem out of place at “a regular old vintners festival,” Pace said.

They’re aiming for something that so easily gets lost in the din of the wine culture wars: broad appeal. To my palate, they achieve it.

Courtesy of Nadine Wendorff Outward Wines, made by Natalie Siddique and Ryan Pace, is based in Grover Beach, near San Luis Obispo.