Marbue Marke

Coming Up

Training at University of California, Davis and Sonoma State University gave Marbue Marke a technical base and a wider view of wine as a working expression of site, season, and judgment. Those studies point to the two pressures that shape the trade: precision in the cellar and accountability in the vineyard. From there, the work moved into production, where stewardship and execution stay linked. Since 2019, Marke has overseen vineyard operations and winemaking at Italics Winegrowers, while also serving as consulting winemaker of The Marston Family and consulting winemaker of Oceano Wines. The range of those roles runs from farming through fermentation, with each assignment asking for the same discipline: keep the site legible, keep the program consistent, and keep decisions tied to the bottle.

Where They Are Now

At Italics Winegrowers in Coombsville, Napa Valley, Marke’s primary responsibility is director of winegrowing, with oversight that reaches across both vineyard and cellar. That kind of scope demands constant calibration — the daily adjustments that let a site speak without getting overworked. “The opportunity to expand my philosophy “winestyle as the next level above quality” into the dirt and expand it all the way through the estate program,” is how Marbue Marke frames the work. The line is direct about scale: one idea has to hold from soil to finished estate program if the wine is going to read with consistency. As consulting winemaker for The Marston Family in Napa’s Spring Mountain district, the work remains focused on preserving character. The value is in keeping the site’s identity intact rather than sanding it down in the name of polish. “I hope that we consistently produce wines that are “distinctive”, “reflect the dirt it is grown on”, and most importantly, ENJOYABLE for many!” Marke says. That standard keeps the brief practical: wines should show place, hold their shape, and remain drinkable.

Signature

Small lot production is the scale that defines Marbue Marke’s work. At that level, observation matters, and the margin for error is thin; the craft depends on close handling and decisions made bottle by bottle.

In Their Words “The opportunity to expand my philosophy “winestyle as the next level above quality” into the dirt and expand it all the way through the estate program.”

Honors

The formal credentials in Marke’s career are academic and professional: viticulture and enology at the University of California, Davis, followed by an MBA from Sonoma State University. In wine, that pairing matters: one school of training addresses the vine and cellar; the other gives structure to the business decisions around a wine program. His current work at Italics Winegrowers defines his role today.