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Located in a complex of bakeries, bike shops, beer and wine bars and niche restaurants on the west side of Santa Cruz, Margins Winery is tucked into a cubby-hole of a tasting room that might seat eight on a good day.
It’s unclear what is more remarkable: that owner and winemaker Megan Bell has packed the small space with over 25 varieties of wine drawn from vineyards within a three-hour radius or that she never really intended to be a winemaker in the first place.
“I just wanted a career that was outside,” she said. “I didn’t know anything about winemaking, but I thought I would be out working with the grapes. I didn’t realize that when you make wine, you are never outside. You are always in a freezing cellar.”
Still, watching her friends who chose liberal arts degrees founder in their job searches encouraged Bell to stick with wine as a profession and she founded Margins in 2016.
“I wanted a degree that would lead directly to a career path,” she said. “But I’ve stayed in this industry mostly because of my passion for organic agriculture and wanting to help convert conventionally farmed acreage into organically farmed.”
Bell said that even grape growers who are set in their ways are inching toward an understanding of why organic farming is becoming important as climate changes and water becomes more scarce. But, she said, winemakers who want more transparency with ingredient labeling are still facing resistance.
“People need to remember that grapes are produce,” she said. “I like to remind people that more than 70 legal additives can be put in wine that don’t have to be listed on the label. If you are committed to organic foods, you might also want to think about what kind of grapes go into your wine.
“There’s still a big divide,” she said. “I think there’s a fear from some that if the customers saw all of those ingredients on the label, they would not buy that product anymore.”
While Bell does not own any vineyard land, she is involved in farming a few acres in the Santa Cruz mountains, where she is growing pinot noir and cabernet franc. But she is most excited about the grapes being grown in San Benito County, particularly at the Siletto and Paicines Ranch vineyards.
When I first started Margins,” she said, “I did not know what was in that area. I always thought there was not much reason to go out there if you were not going to the Pinnacles.”
She started buying grapes from Paicines Ranch, which planted its vineyard in 2017 and was producing a harvest large enough to make wine by 2020. Along the way, she got to know Ron Siletto, who had begun transitioning Siletto Vineyards to organic farming, work that was completed in 2020 by his son, John after his death.
“I knew that Ron had all of these cool French and Italian varietals,” Bell said, “but, for Margins, the minimum requirement is the grapes are grown organically so, at first, Siletto wouldn’t be an option for me. Once they were certified organic in December 2023, it opened a whole new door for me.”
Having had great success with the two vineyards, Bell has decided to focus her production more on the grapes from San Benito County for several reasons.
“There is an incredible climate,” she said. “You have days warm enough to ripen varietals that we can’t really ripen in Santa Cruz a lot of times and cold nights because you still get a marine layer. And a lot of that area has really cool geology and soils, not to mention a magnificent history.”
And, of course,” Bell said, “One of the main attractions is the farmers in the area who are committed to organic farming.”
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The Wines of Margins
2023 Paicines Verdejo –
2023 Clarksburg Chenin Blanc – Margins’ signature wine, Chenin blanc was the first varietal that Bell produced following the crowdfunding campaign that helped her start her winery.
2023 Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir –
2023 Paicines Grenache –
“I’m excited to see how these specific vines from Paicines will develop as they get older,” she said. “I think they are pretty magical. The other vines have been fairly consistent year-to-year. They definitely improved but the notes are in line whereas this has done a big turn as it started to get a little bit older.”
The Margins Wine Cubby
402 Ingalls St. Suite 18
Santa Cruz CA 95060
(831) 200-3378
www.marginswine.com
Recommendations for future Eat, Drink, Savor articles can be emailed to roberteliason@benitolink.com.
BenitoLink thanks our underwriters, Hollister Super and Windmill Market, for helping to expand the Eat, Drink, Savor series and give our readers the stories that interest them. Hollister Super (two stores in Hollister) and Windmill Market (in San Juan Bautista) support reporting on the inspired and creative people behind the many delicious food and drink products made in San Benito County. All editorial decisions are made by BenitoLink.
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