Wine Club Release September 2026

Macabeo, also known as Viura, is the second most grown white grape in Spain. Grown throughout the northeast of Spain, it is particularly known as a major component of white Rioja, and as a significant part of the blend of traditional cava. This example is from Cariñena, in Aragon, a region between Rioja and Catalunya. Cariñena is also the name of a red wine grape (Carignan in French), which is grown in the neighboring region of Catalunya, but not authorized within the DO of the same name.

This small batch white wine—only 708 cases were made in the 2025 vintage—is a project between two friends that began to showcase the local varietals, and expanded into a quest to find the best plots to showcase it. Winemaker Jorge Navascues is committed to the natural expression of Spanish terroir through the use of sustainable cultivation, fermentations with indigenous yeasts, and neutral tanks to showcase elegance and purity of varietal characteristics over opulence and winemaker-infused style. This lovely white is fresh and bright, lightly round on the palate with a clean finish. Balanced acidity showcases notes of yellow apple and nectarine on the palate.

This wine is delightful on its own as an aperitif, and pairs perfectly with white fish seared in butter with lemon and fresh herbs, and chicken cutlets.

While all red wines are made with skin contact—it's the primary way they get their color, as most Vitis vinifera grapes have clear juice regardless of the color of the skins—most modern white wines spend almost no time in contact with skins, to preserve the freshness and purity of the color: the grapes are immediately pressed and the juice separated from the pomace. White wines can even be made from some red grapes with this technique. But fermenting white grapes on the skins is an ancient practice, done for millennia in the Republic of Georgia, among other places. Their Amber Wines, often still called Orange Wines in reference to the color, spend up
to 7 months in contact with the skins, imbuing the wines with phenolics and tannins that can be very intense, and also sometimes ethereal. Many modern skin contact wines only spend one to two weeks fermenting on the skins before being pressed, resulting in a more delicate wine, with richer structure than your average white, and a little denser than most rosé.

The Head High Skin Contact White Wine is on the more delicate end stylistically—a pale peach color, with subtle peach notes on the palate, complimented by floral notes, with light touches of black tea to the finish. An aromatic blend of Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Marsanne, Vermentino and Muscat, it spends 7 days fermenting on the skins before being aged in neutral French oak and stainless steel. Only 245 cases produced. Interesting and fun on its own, this wine would also complement a variety of snacks, lighter proteins, and appetizers. Head High Wines is verified climate-neutral and strives to be environmentally conscious responsible stewards of the land in all their work.

Chateau Marceline sells most of its wine to individuals directly from the estate, and this is the first time the wine has been imported into the United States. The Saint Estephe vineyard was created in the 1960’s by Victor Dubuc, a mechanic by trade who tended his vineyard after work and on the weekends as a passion project. He sold his grapes to the local cooperative, as did his son Henri, until 2009, when Henri decided to pass the torch to a younger generation. His daughter Annie gave the management to her daughter Celine and her husband Marc, who created Chateau Marceline that same year. Marc had a career in winemaking for other producers, and with Chateau Marceline was able to fulfill his dream of making his own wine, and Henri was able to help with the winemaking of that first vintage. Chateau Marceline currently produces only 8,000 bottles per year.

This Saint Estephe Cru Artisan is an intense bottle of wine, which benefits immensely from an hour or two of decanting. A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, bottled unfiltered, this is a full bodied wine with an intense earthiness and well integrated tannins. Ideal with meat based dishes like a steak or a hearty stew, it can also be enjoyed with pasta with red sauce and pizza. One of only 36 Bordeaux Chateaux classified as Cru Artisan, which means it is a smaller, family run estate on the left bank of Bordeaux, where the owner is an artisan viticulturalist with a hands-on practice, and all wines are bottled directly at the property.