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Stagiaire Wine

Sapphire 2018

Price: $33.95
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Tasting notes

Eight days of skin contact gives this Sauvignon Blanc a pale amber color, a gentle tannic grip, and savory baked-bread depth that you simply don't find in conventionally made California SB. The acidity stays precise and the finish is long, herbal, and dry.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Green AppleLemon PeelBaked BreadDried Herb
  • Style: Skin-contact Sauvignon Blanc; pale amber-gold; dry, textured, herbaceous; 12.5% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Sauvignon Blanc; organically dry-farmed; Santa Cruz Mountains AVA
  • Winemaking: Destemmed; 8-day skin maceration; pressed to barrel mid-fermentation; aged ~12 months; zero sulfites added
  • Serving: Serve at 50-55F; can decant briefly or serve straight from fridge and let it open in the glass
  • Pairing: Grilled branzino, goat cheese, asparagus, roasted fennel, preserved lemon dishes
  • Similar To: For fans of skin-contact Loire Sauvignon Blanc or textured Friulian whites who want a California take

Sapphire, Samphire & Saturn Returns is a skin-contact Sauvignon Blanc from Stagiaire winemaker Brent Mayeaux. The 2018 is made from the same fruit as his Sea Shells cuvee, but with a different approach in the cellar: the grapes were destemmed and macerated on skins for 8 days before being pressed to barrel, where fermentation finished and the wine aged for nearly 12 months.

The fruit comes from an organically dry-farmed old vineyard. Mayeaux works exclusively with vineyards farmed without synthetic inputs, targeting what he describes as regenerative practices rather than simple organic compliance. No sulfites are added at any point, making this a zero-zero wine in the strictest sense.

The 8-day skin contact produces a wine that sits at the lighter end of the orange spectrum. Expect a pale amber-gold color, a textured but not heavy palate, and the characteristic tension between Sauvignon Blanc's natural acidity and the savory, oxidative depth that comes from barrel aging. Notes lean toward green apple, lemon zest, dried herb, and baked bread.

Mayeaux trained in France's Jura under Philippe Bonard and in Australia with Gareth Belton of Gentle Folk before returning to California. That European sensibility around minimal intervention and site-specific winemaking is evident in how differently this wine reads compared to most California Sauvignon Blanc.

This wine's herbaceous edge and skin-contact texture make it a natural match for dishes with some fat and salinity: grilled branzino with capers, a warm grain salad with feta and preserved lemon, or a soft-ripened goat cheese. It also works well alongside dishes that have a bitter or green vegetable note, like asparagus, artichoke, or roasted fennel.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Orange Wine
Wine Style:, Medium Body
Grapes:, Sauvignon Blanc
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2018
Alcohol:, 12.5%
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

FedEx and other carriers we might occasionally use can only deliver wine to customers who are 21 years or older. Someone must be at the address to receive the package, carriers don't just drop a package and leave. They must ensure the person receiving the wine is 21 or older.


Re-shipping a Package

If a package is returned to us after three failed delivery attempts, we can only re-ship the wine upon payment of a re-shipping fee, to be determined based on the shipping address and number of bottles. Shipping wine is extremely expensive. We are sorry about this, but we have no other choice. Please make sure there's always someone at the address you enter as your shipping address.

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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If you'd like to reroute a package after it's been shipped, we can do so for a $20 re-routing fee. We cannot re-route a package across state borders. For any change of address, please contact us as soon as possible, ideally within 1-2 days from placing the order or we cannot guarantee we'll be able to reroute or change your order's shipping address.


Canceling an Order

If you'd like to cancel an order after it's been shipped, we can do so upon payment of a small cancellation fee – the amount depends on the size of the order. Carriers charge us a lot of money to recall a package en-route.


Heat/Frost damage

We are not responsible for heat- or frost-related issues. We offer ice-packs upon request. Please let us know if you think that there could be heat-related issues. If we don't hear anything from you regarding weather issues before an order is shipped, or if you don't request a hold due to the weather, we are not responsible for heat/frost damage.


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.

3. Please track your package using the tracking service.

4. The carrier will attempt delivery a maximum of 3 times. After 3 delivery attempts, your package will be sent back to our warehouse.**

*Please ensure your email address is correct; otherwise, you will not receive the order and shipping confirmation emails.

**If delivery is attempted 3 times without success, or if you fail to retrieve your package from the carrier depot by the stated deadline, the shipping fee will not be refunded to the customer.

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 spent formative years working in New Zealand, Australia, and France before returning to California. The winery name comes from the French word for apprentice, a reference to his time working in the Jura under Philippe Bonard and in the Adelaide Hills with Gareth Belton of Gentle Folk. He launched Stagiaire after returning to California in 2018 with a European-influenced approach to minimal-intervention winemaking.

Mayeaux initially farmed his own parcels across northern California, sourcing from vineyards between Santa Cruz and Mendocino. All vineyards he works with are farmed organically or beyond, without synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. He describes his standard as actively seeking regenerative practices rather than treating organics as a baseline checkbox.

Winemaking at Stagiaire is zero-zero: no sulfites added during or after fermentation, no fining, no filtration. Methods vary by vintage and by cuvee. The Sapphire line uses skin maceration to add texture and depth to Sauvignon Blanc, pressing to barrel midway through fermentation and aging for close to a year. Mayeaux now operates from a former industrial space on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay, where he has more control over the cellar side of production.

Wine region

Santa Cruz Mountains, United States

The Santa Cruz Mountains AVA was established in 1981 and was the first AVA in the United States defined solely by mountain topography. It spans three counties: San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz, with vineyards planted between 400 and 2,700 feet in elevation. The western slopes face the Pacific Ocean directly and are strongly influenced by coastal fog and cool marine air, while the eastern slopes receive more warmth from San Francisco Bay. This dual exposure creates significant variation in mesoclimate within a relatively compact geography.

Soils across the AVA are diverse, including sandstone, shale, limestone, and marine sedimentary material pushed to the surface by ancient seismic activity along several fault lines, including the San Andreas. Most vineyards sit above the fog line and benefit from strong diurnal temperature swings that preserve acidity. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay dominate the cooler western slopes; Cabernet Sauvignon performs well on the warmer eastern side. Sauvignon Blanc is less common here but thrives at higher elevations where the cool climate slows ripening and retains the grape's natural tension.

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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