ONX & The Olsons
The Olson family’s heritage is in farming and real estate. The family practiced the Swedish tradition of being self-sustained farmers and never missing their well-attended Sunday family dinners, with plenty to eat and drink. The grandparents emigrated from Sweden to the U.S. and eventually settled on the West Coast, remaining true to their heritage.
The next generations have carried forward those values by becoming meticulous vineyard farmers and making superb California wine, complementing their love of wine and food. They live by the Robert Mondavi quote: ‘Wine is really an expression of art that can inspire, provoke, and evoke strong emotional feelings.’
The Vineyard
The ONX Estate Vineyard sits at the western edge of the Paso Robles AVA in the Templeton Gap, a natural corridor where cool marine air flows inland from the Pacific eight miles to the west. Daytime temperatures during the growing season can reach the mid-90s, then drop 40 to 50 degrees by nightfall. That swing slows the ripening process, preserves natural acidity in the grapes, and gives the wines structure and longevity.
The property’s soils range from calcareous limestone to clay loam, with shifts in elevation and sun exposure across the blocks. The vineyard is planted to a wide range of varieties: Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Tempranillo, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, Picpoul Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris, and others. Some of the original plantings date to 2005 and 2006.
The estate is organically farmed.
The Winemaking Team
Drew Nenow leads winemaking and vineyard operations at ONX. He studied enology at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, joined ONX as a harvest intern in 2015, and has been making the wines ever since. Drew recently took over the farming side as well, which means the same person who decides when to pick is the one crafting the final wine. Drew’s approach is hands-on and rooted in the vineyard: if the farming is right, the wine follows.
Associate Winemaker Lauren Lange works alongside Drew in the cellar and in the vineyard. Together they produce a wide range of wines: Grenache and Syrah, single-varietal Petite Sirah and Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, and whites including Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, and Picpoul Blanc.
They also work with less common varieties like Gamay, Counoise, Vaccarese, and Tannat. What ties it all together is that the wines are made block by block, vintage by vintage, and only bottled when each wine earns its place.
At ONX, we leverage the temperate climate and diverse soils of our estate vineyard to craft thoughtful, creative, and inspired wines that reflect the unique character of our terroir. At the core of our philosophy is the belief that organic farming, rooted in a soil-first approach, combined with handcrafted, small-lot vinification, produces wines of exceptional distinction and quality.
— Drew Nenow, Winemaker
