Margerum Wine Company 2015 M5 White: It just had to be a matter of time before Doug Margerum would release a white partner to his Rhône blend M5 that seems to be sold by the glass in every other restaurant in Santa Barbara County. Just like its red relative, the white M5 is luscious on its own but is really meant to pair with food (hence the red’s omnipresence on those wine lists). It’s a blend of, yes, five grapes, in this case 49 percent grenache blanc, 17 percent roussanne, 17 percent viognier, 9 percent marsanne, and 8 percent vermentino, coming from Santa Ynez Valley and Happy Canyon.
That’s a heady list of varietals that could become too floral or tropical, but this mix is pleasingly bracing, toned, and tamed. Think of it with richer seafood dishes, when you want something to sing along beside your mango or papaya salsa.
See margerumwines.com.