Natural Process Alliance Tasting Room

I’ve been to the tasting room a couple of times now, and will not hesitate to come back the next time I’m in Santa Rosa. I love most of the Salinia wines — their «alternative» nature, the ideas behind NPA, and of course, how they taste. There is lots of fun stuff to try. Kevin (the winemaker) is also a great guy to talk with and does a great job with explaining everything.
This is a must-​visit location if you are into the natural wine-​making movement… or even if you’re not.

As a newcomer to the world of wine, which I’d always presumed was very snooty, I feel fortunate to have met some wonderfully down-​to-​earth wine people. And Hardy stands out among them all.
On our first visit, Hardy (a.k.a. @thenpahardy) welcomed us in and showed us around the facility – home to NPA, Salinia, and Lioco wines – before proudly offering us tastes of the NPA’s unique unfiltered wines that come in reusable Kleen Kanteens. We left with one Kanteen in the afterglow of soaking in Hardy’s knowledge of and passion for the NPA wines.
On our second visit, we stopped by again unannounced only to be told Hardy was at a doctor’s appointment. Now, we’d talked up the NPA to our guests quite a bit and made a special detour to Santa Rosa, so we were pretty disappointed – but it was our fault for not making arrangements ahead of time. The winemaker offered to call Hardy for an ETA, but we didn’t want to bother him. We decided to visit a neighboring tasting room to kill time until Hardy might be back, then called just before leaving the area. Hardy was in the house!
Again, Hardy welcomed us with open arms – one of which was sporting a hospital ID bracelet. You can imagine our horror at the thought we’d summoned Hardy from some sort of medical emergency, but he was nothing but gracious and as enthusiastic as ever. Over the next hour he gave our guests the grand tour of the facilities, let us barrel taste a few of the wines, and was basically an amazing host. We were honored to have such a personal tasting. Even though Hardy was likely not feeling tip-​top, he gave our guests the best wine tasting experience they’d ever had. We learned so much about wine making that day.
Belated thanks, Hardy! We’ll be back on our annual wine country spring fling with friends in tow to stock up on Kleen Kanteens of your rose-​colored Pinot Gris and apricot-​hued Sauv Blanc.
Note: For details about the natural process used to make NPA wines and more info on the wines themselves, please see the review by Kevin N.

So I get tripped out every time I go to a winery and find that it sits in an industrial park and looks like it is more suited to ship my purchase from Amazon than blow my tastebuds away.
However, NPA did NOT disappoint. My roomie had been chatting this place up after tasting their wines at some event and asked if the boy and I wanted to go along for the ride. Being of curious mind and my interest piqued by this «unfiltered» wine she kept gushing about, I went but was unsure of what I was going to get myself into.
WELL.let me tell you, this was amazing!!! Hardy the «winemaker and fun guy extraordinaire» came to greet us as the 4 of us turned in circles, confused as to where we were to go. He chuckled as I guess we weren’t the first to do so, and welcomed us to the tasting room.
It is a small place, but exudes a sense of PURPOSE. Not over the top labeling and cost, but rather a true philosophy of wine, cultivating, taste and love of the vine. Hardy went into great detail about the process that NPA employs when creating their wines, as well as Salinia the other line of wine they carry.
Organic, biodynamic, free growing, passionate and cared for, the taste of the artist comes through as each wine was like nothing I had ever tasted. The cool thing is that the NPA wines come in Kleen Kanteens and can be refilled for cheap. The NPA wines have to be consumed within a matter of weeks as they aren’t designed to be aged like bottled wines, but it makes it more fun and a cool story to tell when you’re sharing the wine with friends over snacks.
I have already made plans to go back as I have *ahem* consumed my bottles already (what? I said they needed to be consumed sooner rather than later, don’t judge me).
I loved their Sauvignon Blanc and their Pinot Gris, but their other selections were awesome as well, especially the Sunhawk.
We were there for over 2 hours and I spent so much time laughing and learning it was a guilty pleasure keeping Hardy away from other wine tasters.
So PLEASE go support this awesome, phenomenal winery. They are truly passionate about their wines and want to share it with the world!

THE BEST experience I’ve ever had with a winery.
Not only was the experience memorable, but the wines were fabulous. Even if you’re not a fan of this niche wine, it’s a wonderful opportunity to learn about the wine making process, the history beyond the modern era, and to meet the wine makers.
Hardy was an excellent host, and showed a lot of enthusiasm and passion for the wines, the process, and what they do.
It is a rare occasion when you enjoy EVERY wine at one winery… in fact it has never happened to me in my years of visiting wineries in Napa, Sonoma, Monterey, Santa Barbara, and Mendocino counties. Although I’ve had a few wines that are better, these were very delicious and there is something for everyone.
It’s also a great concept and they are truly the masters of wine.
A destination spot for sure.

I found out about the NPA when @m_schlumberger mentioned @NPAHardy with an interesting notice that the NPA would be opening their tasting room in Santa Rosa. I know there are wineries near Santa Rosa, but there aren’t so many that are right in the town. I was intrigued. I was further intrigued when I came across their hilarious «TV channel»
If you check those out and don’t want to go to this tasting room, then you had better just turn around and stick to Silver Oak and Cakebread over in Napa.
They opened on a Friday back in May 2010, but we opted to go on Saturday so they could get the kinks out and find that tasting room stride. By the time we arrived late on Saturday morning, Hardy was really in full swing. He had the 8×10 (or so) tasting room all figured out, with clean glasses and everything. It was the first winery of the day, so we were obviously ready to do some tasting. The smooth-​talking Hardy Wallace was having none of that until he gave the two of us a private tour of the state-​of-​the-​art facility housing the NPA, Salinia, and Lioco wines. Basically, this entailed walking into the warehouse, spinning in place, and Hardy doing a lot of pointing while reciting his spiel about the natural wine making process employed at the NPA.
I jest a little bit, but if you are into wine and interested in how different winemakers each approach winemaking in his or her own way, this was truly fascinating. I haven’t been to a winery before or since that has such an interesting process or as enthusiastic a tasting room proprietor.
Finally, we got to taste some of the wine. So Hardy reaches under the counter (the cool polished brass taps you see in the videos were not yet operational when I went there) and pulls out… stainless steel water bottle!!!
Okay, it’s not a water bottle. It’s a Kleen Kanteen, and this is how the NPA distributes its wine. You see, part of the philosophy is a lower carbon footprint, and this means not shipping a massive amount of disposable packaging all over the country. NPA wine is only available within 100mi of where it is produced, and Mr. Hardy NPA himself is responsible for carting these kanteens around like a milkman from a century ago. He delivers to some really nice restaurants like Gary Danko and NOPA (although the latter just might be because the names are so similar), bringing fresh kanteens with wine and taking the old ones for a rinse and a refill.
We were able to taste through the NPA and the Salinia wines. Everything was excellent, but I have to say you are in for a total treat on the NPA wines. They are unusual to say the least. The Sauvignon Blanc was both cloudy and had a peach hue to it. I have enough trouble describing wine that I am accustomed to; this wine was like nothing I’d had before, but I swear it would go well with a friend’s cheesecakes. Not all the wines may be to your liking, but I promise they will be interesting and something to talk about for weeks after your trip to Sonoma.
Check out the videos and check out the NPA wine at the tasting room or at some of the restaurants where it’s offered.