Megan Bell: Margins Wine

Amah Mutsun land - Santa Cruz, California

www.marginswine.com, @marginswine

Margins produces low-intervention wines on the central coast of CA 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. 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, 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. With the help of a seasonal harvest intern, Megan now produces ~2800 cases annually of more than 20 wines. In late 2023 Megan opened the Margins 'wine cubby' in the town of Santa Cruz, a tiny tasting room where the public can visit to taste and learn about the Margins story.

Social Justice and Environmental Restoration Statement

1) Supporting organizations that promote social, environmental, food, and economic justice or eco-farming (donating to the Vinguard, participating in radical workshops promoting anti-racism in the food system)

2) Employing women/communities marginalized in wine production

3) Providing a living wage of $25/hr to the annual harvest intern (this is the highest I was ever paid as an assistant winemaker)

4) Serving on the board of The Vinguard