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Stagiaire Wine

Sprinkles on Top 2021

Price: $34.95
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Tasting notes

The four-week whole-cluster maceration on Pinot Noir juice gives this co-ferment a tangy, skin-contact texture unusual for a California field blend of this type. The drought-driven fermentation produced a taut, nervy wine with unusually lifted aromatics and a dry, food-friendly grip.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
White PeachApricotWildflowersGrapefruit
  • Style: Dry, light-bodied orange wine; Chardonnay and Pinot Noir co-ferment; taut, high-acid; Santa Cruz Mountains AVA
  • Grapes & Terroir: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir; organically farmed Summit vineyard; Santa Cruz Mountains AVA; thin mountain soils, marine fog influence
  • Winemaking: Whole-cluster co-ferment with direct-pressed Pinot Noir juice; 4-week maceration; zero added sulfites; unfined, unfiltered
  • Serving: Serve lightly chilled at 52-58F; no decant needed
  • Pairing: Charcuterie, roasted chicken, aged goat cheese, grain salads, vinegar-dressed dishes
  • Similar To: For fans of skin-contact white and orange wines who want California terroir and zero-intervention winemaking

Sprinkles on Top is a co-fermented field blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Brent Mayeaux's Summit vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA. The Chardonnay and a portion of Pinot Noir were both left whole cluster, with direct-pressed Pinot Noir juice poured over the top and the entire mass left to infuse for four weeks. Mayeaux has used this whole-cluster-plus-juice method since his first vintage in 2018. The 2021 vintage pushed the maceration further than the 2020 because the site was free of the wildfire smoke that constrained the prior year.

The 2021 growing season at the Summit site was marked by severe drought, which produced sluggish, low-sugar fermentations. The resulting wine is taut and high-strung, with lifted, volatile aromatics that add intensity without tipping into flaw territory for most palates. It is made without added sulfites or any other cellar additions, following Mayeaux's zero-zero approach.

The Summit vineyard sits in the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA, a cool, high-elevation appellation whose boundaries are defined by elevation and the marine fog line. The coastal influence from the Pacific and Monterey Bay keeps the growing season long and cool, preserving natural acidity in both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Thin, infertile mountain soils push low yields and concentrated fruit.

The taut acidity and light tannin from the four-week maceration make this a strong match for fatty charcuterie, roasted chicken with herbs, or aged goat cheese. Its savory, lifted aromatics also work alongside spiced grain salads or dishes with a touch of vinegar. Serve lightly chilled, around 55F.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Orange Wine
Wine Style:, Light Body
Grapes:, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2021
Alcohol:, N/A
Country:, United States
Region:, Santa Cruz Mountains
Appellation:, Santa Cruz Mountains AVA
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.


Important Compliance Requirements

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If you'd like to receive a refund for a package that was returned to us after FedEx made three delivery attempts, we can do that but we must keep a $20 refund fee; FedEx charges us a lot of money for returns, unfortunately, I can't stress this enough.


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Placed an order. What next?

1. You will receive an order confirmation email with your order summary.*

2. As soon as your order ships from the warehouse, usually within 2-3 business days, this applies to all shipping rates, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with your tracking information. 2DAY shipping refers to shipping time; we still need 2-3 business days to prepare an order. We need to pick and pack, QA, add printed collateral, and palletize the orders.

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Returns Policy

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us at (424) 414-2040 or via e-mail at hello@primalwine.com between 9 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Sunday, we would like to understand and try to solve your concerns. We can offer refunds only as store credit.

Producer profile

Stagiaire Wine

Stagiaire Wine is the project of Brent Mayeaux, a New Orleans native who studied engineering before transitioning into wine. The name comes from his time apprenticing in France's Jura region, where local vignerons called him 'stagiaire,' the French word for apprentice. He later worked in Australia, where winemakers including Gareth Belton of Gentle Folk in the Adelaide Hills shifted his approach toward natural wine.

Mayeaux returned to California in 2018 and initially farmed his own vines organically across multiple sites in northern California. After logistical difficulties managing vineyards spread across a large geography, he shifted in 2021 toward sourcing négociant fruit from organically and regeneratively farmed vineyards. He makes wine in a former industrial space on Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay.

All Stagiaire wines are made with zero added sulfites and no other cellar additions, a so-called zero-zero approach. Mayeaux ferments with native yeasts and bottles without fining or filtration. His whole-cluster-plus-direct-pressed-juice co-fermentation method, used in Sprinkles on Top since 2018, involves layering pressed juice directly over whole clusters and macerating the combined mass for several weeks.

Wine region

Santa Cruz Mountains, United States

The Santa Cruz Mountains AVA sits between Monterey Bay and San Francisco, spanning parts of San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties. It was established in 1981 as the first American appellation defined by altitude, with boundaries following the fog line along the ridges. Vineyards range from 400 to over 3,000 feet in elevation. The Pacific Ocean and Monterey Bay funnel cold air and fog into the region, producing a long, cool growing season with wide diurnal temperature swings. Soils are largely thin, infertile, and stony, stressing vines into low yields.

The AVA is best known for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Vineyards on west-facing slopes receive the full force of Pacific winds and are significantly cooler than east-facing sites further inland. This variation in aspect creates distinct microclimates across a relatively small area. The cool maritime climate favors naturally high acidity and slow phenolic development, producing wines with structure and restrained alcohol when yields are kept low.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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