This month, the World Wine Travel (#WorldWineTravel) writers are exploring the world of hybrid grapes and the wines crafted from them.

I recently had the pleasure of attending the Grapes of Inclusion event hosted by the Association of African American Vintners (AAAV) at CIA at Copia in Napa. The event featured 20+ Black-owned brands from across America.

It was a delightful experience to meet Marreya Bailey of Mad Marvlus at the event, and I must say, her delightful wines and ciders were truly among the many stand outs of the event for me (and easily, the best I’ve had from hybrid grapes so far!).

Marreya shared her passion for crafting wines from hybrid grapes, and I was so inspired by her dedication that I decided to feature two of her wines for this month’s theme. Additionally, she graciously agreed to an interview, which you’ll find below:

What are hybrid grapes and why are they gaining traction in winemaking?

Hybrid grapes are the result of crossbreeding European Vitis vinifera grape varieties with American species such as Vitis labrusca or Vitis riparia. Originally cultivated in response to the devastating phylloxera pest outbreak that ravaged European vineyards in the late 1800s, these hybrids combine the best traits of both parent species, offering resilience and unique flavor profiles.

Their rising popularity stems from their heightened disease resistance to diseases such a Pierce’s disease, and powdery mildew which cost California grape growers well more than $100 million a year. Thereby, making grape growers less reliant on chemical pesticides and fungicides.

Moreover, hybrid grapes exhibit greater tolerance to diverse climates, allowing cultivation in regions previously deemed unsuitable for grape growing. This adaptability, coupled with their potential for innovative flavor profiles, positions hybrid grapes as an exciting frontier in modern winemaking, aligning with the industry’s growing emphasis on sustainability and experimentation.

In My Glass

Mad Bianca is a skin-contact white wine made with 60% LaCrosse, a white hybrid grape from Nevada and 40% Muscat from Contra Costa County.

Tasting Note: Ever so slightly hazy golden color with quince, dried apricot, orange blossom, and citrus aromas. On the palate, it medium-bodied, dry and very fresh with just a hint of tannins with enticing quince, dried apricot, mandarin orange and kumquat flavors. 11% abv

This wonderful wine was a fantastic match for a “white” Broccolini & Pancetta pizza featuring spring onion, green garlic, chili flake, mozzarella, and lemon, along with some smoked chicken wings.

Mad Irene is blend of two hybrid grapes – 90% Brianna – a white grape variety and 10% Saint-Croix – a red grape variety from the Buffalo Creek Vineyard in Douglas County in Nevada.

Tasting Note: Garnet color with red apple, blackberry, black cherry, strawberry fruit leather and damp earth aromas, which give way to some appealing tropical fruit notes. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied and dry with bright acidity, velvety tannins, with fruit forward flavors of ripe red apple, blackberry, golden cherry, strawberry fruit leather and bit of red currant with a satisfying finish 10.8% abv

This delightful wine is a chillable red that paired very nicely with our first al fresco meal of the year – Turkey Spaghetti with Roasted Garlic and Sweet Basil.

In addition to her delightful and delicious wines, Mad Marvlus also crafts a few ciders that I’m looking forward to trying!

Interview with Marreya Bailey

Mad Marvlus is a low-intervention wine and cider brand producing unique high-quality delicious creatures with organically-grown and sometimes foraged fruit and botanicals as naturally as possible in Northern California explains her website. Proprietor and Wine/Cider Maker Marreya Bailey founded Mad Marvlus Wine as a tribute to her deep-rooted passions for wine, art, and science. Recognizing the potential to transform wine and cider into art forms, she embarked on a journey driven by her admiration for the multifaceted beauty of nature and the people around her. She does the label art for her products!

1. What sparked the choice of the name “Mad Marvlus” for your brand? Mad Marvlus is represents who I am: ‘Mad’ for mad scientist  and ‘Marvlus’ a play on my name Marreya and the word, marvelous symbolizing I am a scientific mind with an artistic heart and how I want people to feel after enjoying Mad Marvlus.
2. What inspired you to become a wine and cider maker, and how did you get started in the industry? “what inspired me to truly dive in wine was the lack of representation of those who identify like myself, a Black woman. Wine is multifaceted sensory experience and so diverse from an abstract perspective I knew it was overdue for more BIPOC to be more present in a concept of fermentation they have always existed in before the Euro invasion. I  got my start in 2015 in Cincinnati, Ohio while finishing up my Master’s degree in I/O psychology at a wine shop while studying to become a Sommelier. After diving into the Court of Master Sommeliers, I immersed myself more into wine working at wine bars, wine shops, while working in Corporate America to make a living. In 2019, I was ready to transition fully into wine but no longer as a Somm, but more into wine production, specifically learning and obtaining hands-on experience in natural and low-intervention winemaking. So after doing extensive research, I quit my corporate job in 2020 to become a vigneronne and a winemaker by working my first two harvests bicoastal (Sebastopol, CA at a collaborative winery comprised of likeminded natural & low-intervention producers and Burlington, Vermont exposed to hybrid grapes more, cider, and apple-grape co-ferments). In 2021, I launched my brand, Mad Marvlus. I’m concurrently working my 3rd harvest with a wine and cider producer in Sonoma County. 
3. Can you walk me through your winemaking process from grape to bottle?  I produce storytelling wines and ciders as naturally as possible with organic and/or regenerative-grown fruit that’s climate change friendly and hand-harvested, low to no sulfur, with native yeast fermentation. I focus on the usage of my multicultural ancestral fermentation practices such as foot tread my fruit before and during fermentation, and occasionally infuse ciders with adaptogen-rich botanicals. 
4. What role does sustainability play in your wine and cider making practices, and how do you strive to minimize your environmental impact? Sustainability is an essential aspect to Mad Marvlus. We minimize our environmental impact by working with organic and regeneratively grown fruit, only taking what we need and leaving a bit left for regeneration on the land. We also love working with climate change fruit that is very underrepresented and doesn’t take a lot of water to grow. Additionally, we love making sustainable byproducts with grape skins and apples to produce profitable delicious products.
5. How do you approach blending traditional and/or hybrid grape based wines, and what characteristics do you look for in a balanced and harmonious blend? I approach both the same way: based off the flavor profiles, natural acid, and aromatic personalities each of the grapes bring to create an abundant and elevated sensory experience similar to an abstract artist and chef. 
6. What are the pros and cons of working with hybrid grape varieties? Pros of working with hybrid grape varieties: They are the ultimate super grape and the future of saving the wine industry again: they salvaged the global wine industry predominantly comprised of European grape varieties that were nearly wiped out by phylloxera, They are climate-change-friendly,drought tolerant, cold-hardy, pest and disease resistant, they are very multifaceted, diverse,  ripen late, more cost-efficient to grow vs most Vitis vinifera like Pinot and Chardonnay. They’re more sustainable to grow and they have very unique deliciously refreshing flavor profiles. Cons: they aren’t as prominent as they should be yet so they are challenging to find, especially out west. They are misunderstood: different flavor profiles that have been experienced in poor quality wines not representing the grape’s essence accurately developing a bias reputation in US and parts in France.  Education and exposure to quality hybrid grape wines is key.
7. What grape varieties do you consider to be climate friendly and why? All hybrids, especially the Vitis riparia dominant ones for the reasons noted above
8. Mad Irene is dry red-table wine that is a blend of two hybrid grapes – Brianna and St. Croix. How would you describe each grape: St. Croix is a very dark somewhat red-fleshed version of Syrah: dark red purple juice with an abundance of purple and blue fruit with violet aromatics, low tannins and hint of pepper and herbaceousness. Brianna tastes and smells like a tropical fruit version of Muscat.
9. Mad Bianca is a skin-contact white wine made with 60% LaCrosse, a white hybrid grape,  Why did you choose the LaCrosse grape and where is it sourced from ? How would you describe the aroma and flavor profile of LaCrosse? I chose LaCrosse because I believe it is one of a few hybrids that resemble many popular white European grapes Americans are aware of like Sauvignon Blanc so I felt it would be a great introductory hybrid grape to expose people to with its versatility being co-fermented with one of the oldest grapes on the planet, Muscat. Lacrosse’s aroma and flavor profile: if Muscat and Riesling had a baby and then that baby had a baby with Sauvignon Blanc.
10. Do you have any favorite foods you enjoy with Mad Irene and Mad Bianca? Pizza, super creamy baked Mac & cheese with port salut, cacio e pepe, pasta, a variety Green goddess and roasted golden beet salad, roasted lamb and roasted black cod or stuffed roasted trout. So many options!! Each wine was made to be bonafide food friendly and glou glou. 

Eager to delve deeper into the hybrid grape discoveries made by my fellow #WorldWineTravel writers this month? Check out the following:

• Camilla at Culinary Cam shares “A Taste of the Mid-West: Double-Decker Butter Burgers & A Multi-County Marquette from Wisconsin + Fun House Potatoes from Minnesota“
• Terri at Our Good Life shares “Missouri’s Most Popular Hybrid: the Norton“
• David at Cooking Chat shares “Exploring Marquette Wine Pairings“
• Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles shares “Marcel Zanolari and PiWi Grapes in the Valtellina Valley“
• Linda at My Full Wine Glass shares “Vidal ice wine brings back memories of NY Finger Lakes”
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm shares “Enjoying the Hybrid Wines of Old Mission Peninsula“
• Gwendolyn at Wine Predator shares “Oh, hi, hybrids! Adam Tolmach experiments with UC Davis to replant his Ojai Vineyard“
• Jeff at Food Wine Click! shares “Marquessa – a Marquette Hybrid Appellation“