Skin contact wines can be the subject of great appreciation, a “Middle C” in the wine world for  some people, a target of revulsion and much soapbox pontification to others, and yet go unnoticed by a vast majority of wine drinkers (sort of how politics used to be, no?)

Once you do know about this style, it tends to be a love or hate situation. This often breaks down on generational lines, depending on how much experience the drinker has had with “the classics” of traditional winemaking.  

2024 MarBeso "Magic Hour" is a fascinating skin-contact wine from the husband-and-wife team Colin and Hannah McNany, who launched their label in 2019. "MarBeso" means "kiss of the sea," reflecting Colin's lifelong connection to ocean-influenced terroir. Colin brings 21 years of winemaking experience from places like Leeuwin Estate in Margaret River, and NZ’s Martinborough Vineyards. These days, Colin and Hannah focus on cool-climate natural wines, produced from organically grown grapes in Sta. Rita Hills & Santa Cruz.

The 2024 "Magic Hour" is "made with 50% Gruner Veltliner and 50% Vermentino which was co-fermented with their skins for 14 days." This skin-contact process creates what's known as "orange wine" - made by leaving white wine grapes to ferment on their skins rather than being pressed off immediately resulting in deeper color and more complex flavors. The finished wine has little things floating in it and tends toward haziness, but that’s part of its appeal. It’s got the sort of texture you want to put up against bigger, fattier seafood, poultry of all varieties, and even a grilled pork chop. It’s different, it’s interesting, and you’re not going to find it in your local supermarket.