The Great Wine Hustle.
My dad has an infectious interest in wine. He graciously (and cautiously) cultivated my palate from the moment I was old enough to appreciate it. Fast-forward to 2019, when Colin McNany, formerly the head of winemaking for a well-known Santa Cruz Mountains producer, moved into an apartment just downstairs from my wife and me. Colin and his wife Hannah had just started a new label of their own, Marbeso Wines…just in time for 2020. Over many lockdown-bubble bottles, we all became close friends. Now fast-forward again, to today: I’ve helped Colin at his winery for the past four harvests – and along the way, fallen into a role as Marbeso’s ad-hoc Creative and Marketing Director. In 2023 I decided to delve even deeper into the rabbit hole, made few barrels, and started Alta Sueños, my own little brand.
Why put all this in my portfolio? Passion compels it, for one thing. Also, this work provides a chance to hone that down-n-dirty skill set that tends to atrophy when you graduate to management. But mostly, this is here because I believe that for any creative, lifelong learning is like oxygen.
Building the Brand
I didn’t approach Marbeso as a typical freelance client – the friendship genuinely came first. (Also it was 2020, I was bored, and checking “harvest intern” off my bucket list seemed cool.) But around that time, Colin and Hannah were realizing that although the wines were stellar, their initial label design simply didn’t reflect the artistry – and retailers, sommeliers, and other industry gatekeepers just weren’t connecting.
Marbeso has a DIY mentality that I really admire. Intuitively, they put a lot of purpose and meaning into the work. On their own, they’d reached out to a friend who’s a talented illustrator and they knew what they wanted the brand to feel like. Incrementally, I offered suggestions to help them get there.
Before long, I was working directly with their illustrator and introduced a great print designer to the mix. Today I assist with a variety of Marbeso’ marketing functions – tasting notes and menus, researching and writing technical sheets, even producing a small ‘zine for the tasting room and wine club shipments.
Product Segmentation
In 2020, Colin began exploring grape varietals and techniques beyond his traditional focus on cool-climate, coastal-influenced Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. All Marbeso’s products meet the (very unofficial) definition of “natural wine,” thanks to native yeast fermentations and very minimal sulfite use. But the light, chillable, lower-alcohol style of these new wines was perfectly on-trend, and within the price window, for many young natural wine consumers.
Instinctively, Colin wanted to differentiate the project from the flagship brand. Inspired by his choice to use clear glass bottles that highlight the wines’ sunset-like colors, I suggested the name “Magic Hour” and began writing cheeky back-label tasting notes. Three vintages in, Magic Hour has become popular with specialty retailers and in trendy dining spots. With a consistent “wave” label and ever-evolving color and flavor profile, these are often the first wines Marbeso sells out of in each vintage.
Make California Alta Again.
Alta Sueños roughly translates to fly dreams – a lyric borrowed from Ice Cube, as well as a nod to the Golden State’s viticultural tradition. Over the past 40 years, most of California has been planted to grocery store favorites like Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauv Blanc and Chardonnay. But hidden among those millions of mechanized commercial acres, there are pockets of much older vines: More diverse in varietal origin, and far more representative of the cultures California’s earliest growers and winemakers brought with them to their new world. The movement to preserve these vineyards, and to emulate the styles of the wine they once made, is the most exciting thing happening in California wine. So by securing fruit from a tiny, nearly half-century old vineyard planted by a son of Italian immigrants – and by starting my own little brand – that’s the energy I’m hoping to capture.
Project Details
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Marbeso Wines
Illustrator: Kylie Long
Art Direction & Studio Design: Debbie Zapatka
Client/Winemaker: Colin McNany
Client/Creative Consultant: Hannah McNany
My Role: Marketing Consultant, Creative Director, CopywriterAlta Sueños
Photographer/Collagist: Corinne Cobabe
Consulting Winemaker: Colin McNany
My Role: Creative Director, Copywriter, Art Director, Photographer, Digital Designer, Social Media Manager and Winemaker