Margins Wines Neutral Oak Hotel Red

30% Grenache (San Benito County, Paicines), 23% Chenin blanc (Clarksburg), 15% Pinot Noir
(Santa Cruz Mountains), 15% Merlot (Santa Clara Valley), 8% Mourvèdre (San Benito County), 7% Cabernet Franc (San Benito County, Santa Cruz Mountains), 2% Mystery

Fermented and aged separately and blended right before bottling. Native fermentation, no fining, no filtration, no other modifications or additions except 30 ppm of sulfur dioxide the week before bottling. Additionally, the Skin Fermented Chenin (23% of the final blend) received 15 ppm of sulfur dioxide in September 2024 when freshly barreled.

Margins produces low-intervention wines using grapes from underrepresented regions, vineyards, and varietals. We make wines from organically farmed vineyards, using minimal additives during the winemaking process (SO2 only), and never employing the use of temperature control, fining, or filtration.

Much like people living on the 'margins of society,' vineyards can be outcasts too. Most consumers of wine are only familiar with a handful of grape growing regions and types of wine. Margins draws attention to vineyards and varietals throughout northern and central California that find themselves on the margins without the recognition they deserve.

Margins is a winemaking endeavor of Megan Bell, a winemaker living and working in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Prior to settling on the central coast of California, Megan received her BS in Viticulture and Enology from UC Davis in 2012 and apprenticed in wineries and vineyards in Napa, the Livermore Valley, the Willamette Valley, Central Otago (NZ), and the Loire Valley (France).  She started Margins in 2016 with a modest crowdfunding campaign to create eight barrels of Chenin blanc. Margins now produces ~2800 cases annually of more than 20 wines.