What first comes to mind at the mention of Folktale Winery? It’s likely the wine garden, the pleasant caress of the afternoon sun, the giddy nature of its popular sparkling Rosé.
There is a reason people are drawn to this wine. It is meant for the patio and friends – for good times. But Folktale is about to introduce two new bubbling Rosés.
Folktale’s upcoming petillant naturel from sangiovese is more rustic, down to earth. Where the sparkler is bright and lively on the nose, the pet nat offers cured cherries and rising dough. A sip causes you to pause over impressions of split cherries and sun-dried tomatoes, a sprinkle of herbs and a dab of salinity. And somewhere in the distance there is bread to be made. The wine is dry, tart and intriguing.
“Pet nats aren’t really meant to be celebratory,” says Folktale winemaker Nat Wong, who also produced a carbonic from sangiovese.
Labeled “New Love,” this 2024 is brooding in color, with aromas that sway between cotton candy and dry sage. Silken in body, it offers notes of meadow herbs and rose petals, aged balsamic and a rich cherry compote. But there is something more, a strapping nature subdued by the wine’s gentle impulse. “It wants to be astringent, but it can’t get there,” Wong observes.