Margins "Neutral Oak Hotel" Red Wine 2023

"Neutral Oak Hotel" greets you with an inviting bouquet of cherries, cranberries, spice and floral notes, underpinned by a subtle earthiness. On the palate, it delivers a vibrant medley of flavors including ripe cherries, cranberries, and hints of spice. The light-bodied structure and refreshing acidity make this wine approachable and easy to sip.

"Neutral Oak Hotel "is a complex blend from multiple California regions, including San Benito County and the Santa Cruz Mountains. The blend includes Grenache, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Mourvèdre, Chenin Blanc, Négrette Rosé and Barbera. Megan Bell of Margins Wine uses organic farming and a minimal-intervention approach, focusing on native fermentation. Each grape variety is vinified and aged separately, with Chenin Blanc aged in a concrete egg while the rest aged in neutral oak for about five months. Minimal sulfites are added at bottling to maintain purity and freshness.

100% destemmed. Fermented and aged separately and blended right before bottling. Aged in neutral oak for 4.5-5 months (depending on the cuvée), except the Chenin, which was aged in concrete egg. Native fermentation, no fining, no filtration, no other modifications or additions except 30 ppm of sulfur dioxide the week before bottling. 300 cases produced.

The blend breakdown: 16% Grenache (San Benito County), 16% Cabernet Franc (San Benito County), 16% Pinot Noir (Santa Cruz Mountains), 16% Mourvèdre (San Benito County), 16% Chenin blanc (Clarksburg; destemmed, soaked on skins overnight and fermented in concrete egg), 12% Négrette Rosé (San Benito County), 8% Barbera (San Benito County).

Margins Wine produces low-intervention wines using grapes from underrepresented regions, vineyards, and varietals, and is part of the growing movement in California to make wines from organically farmed vineyards using little to no 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.

Margins Wine is a small winemaking project 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 and apprenticed in wineries and vineyards in Napa, the Livermore Valley, the Willamette Valley, Central Otago (NZ), and the Loire Valley (France).