Margins Santa Cruz Rugged Heart 2019

Varietals: 65% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc, 13% Petite Sirah, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon

Brix at harvest: 21

Production: 48 cases AVA: Santa Cruz Mountains Vineyard: Makjavich Farming: Certified Organic (co-farmed by Larry Makjavich and myself starting in January 2019

Vinification: 100% destemmed. Fermented separately and blended right after pressing. Aged in neutral oak for 15.5 months. Native fermentation, no fining, no filtration, no other modifications or additions except 20 ppm of sulfur dioxide the week before bottling.

Margins produces low-intervention wines using grapes from underrepresented regions, vineyards, and varietals. We are part of the growing movement in California to make wines from vineyards farmed organically or in organic conversion using minimal additives during the winemaking process, thereby showcasing the vineyards the grapes came from.

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.

Part of the Margins mission is to work with small growers to transition their vineyards from conventional to organic farming by providing guidance as well as assurance that the grapes will have a home. We believe that if we work solely with organic vineyards, we are not using our role in the industry to its full potential to enact agricultural change.

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).