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Stagiaire Wine

It's Dangerous 2019

Price: $33.95
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Tasting notes

The 60% whole-cluster fermentation on a riper Merlot pick gives this wine an unusual combination: plum and dark cherry fruit with a savory, stemmy backbone and enough structure to reward short aging. The Sauvignon Blanc co-ferment threads citrus and herbal lift through an otherwise dense red, keeping it from ever feeling heavy.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
PlumBlack CherryEarthDried Tea Leaves
  • Style: Dry, medium-bodied red; Merlot with Sauvignon Blanc; whole-cluster fermentation; zero sulfur; Mendocino County, CA
  • Grapes & Terroir: Merlot with a splash of Sauvignon Blanc; Feliz Creek vineyard, Hopland, Mendocino County; organically farmed
  • Winemaking: 60% whole cluster, 40% pressed juice; 14 days on skins; native yeast fermentation; zero additions, no sulfur
  • Serving: Serve at 58-62F; no decanting needed; can be lightly chilled
  • Pairing: Roasted duck, lamb with herbs, mushroom risotto, pork shoulder, olive-braised meats
  • Similar To: For fans of whole-cluster Cabernet Franc from the Loire or lighter-styled California Merlot with more texture than fruit-bomb

Brent Mayeaux's 'It's Dangerous to Go Alone' is a 2019 Merlot with a splash of Sauvignon Blanc sourced from Feliz Creek, a vineyard near Hopland in Mendocino County. Mayeaux picked this fruit on the riper side, intentionally separating it from the fruit destined for his sibling cuvee Cheeky Bisous. No sulfur added. No additions of any kind.

Winemaking here follows Mayeaux's zero-zero approach: 60% whole cluster fermented with 40% juice pressed on top, then left on skins for 14 days. The whole cluster component adds structure and a savory spine to the riper fruit character, while the brief Sauvignon Blanc co-ferment introduces a thread of aromatic lift.

Stagiaire Wine operates out of Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay. Mayeaux sources from organically and regeneratively farmed sites along the California coast. His winemaking background includes time working under natural wine producers in the Jura region of France and in the Adelaide Hills of Australia, both of which shaped his minimal-intervention philosophy.

Drink now through 2025, lightly chilled at around 60F. The riper pick and whole-cluster structure give this wine more density than a simple glou-glou, but the acidity stays lively.

Works well with roasted duck, pork shoulder, or lamb with herbs. The savory whole-cluster character pairs naturally with umami-rich dishes like mushroom risotto or a meat-and-olive braised preparation. Serve slightly cool at 60F rather than full room temperature.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red Wine
Wine Style:, Medium Body
Grapes:, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2019
Alcohol:, N/A
Country:, United States
Region:, Mendocino
Appellation:, Mendocino
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 a natural wine project founded by Brent Mayeaux, a New Orleans native who studied engineering before transitioning to winemaking. The project name comes from the French word for apprentice, a term a Jura winemaker used to describe Mayeaux when local vignerons asked who he was. Mayeaux trained in France under producers including Philippe Bornard in the Jura, and in the Adelaide Hills of Australia under Gareth Belton of Gentle Folk.

Mayeaux returned to California in 2018 and initially worked to manage his own vines, primarily in the Santa Cruz Mountains area. After logistical setbacks, he shifted in 2021 to sourcing negociant fruit from organically and regeneratively farmed sites along the California coast, from Santa Cruz to Sonoma and Mendocino. His winemaking base is now a former industrial space on Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay.

All Stagiaire wines are made zero-zero: no added sulfites, no fining agents, no other cellar additions. Mayeaux works exclusively with grapes from sites farmed organically at a minimum, actively seeking growers committed to regenerative practices. Fermentations use only native yeasts present on the grapes.

Wine region

Mendocino, United States

Mendocino County sits at the northern end of California's North Coast wine region, roughly 100 miles north of San Francisco. The Feliz Creek area near Hopland occupies a warm inland valley where the Russian River watershed moderates summer heat. The region's well-drained soils and warm days with cool nights allow for full ripening of Bordeaux varieties including Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Mendocino County has long been a source of organically farmed fruit, with some of California's earliest certified organic vineyards established here. The Mendocino AVA covers diverse terrain from the Anderson Valley on the cooler coast to the warmer inland valleys around Hopland and Ukiah. Merlot planted in the warmer inland pockets near Hopland tends toward riper dark-fruit character with good natural acidity.

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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