{"product_id":"margins-neutral-oak-hotel-grenache-chenin-blanc-pinot-noir-merlot-mourvedre-cabernet-franc-blend-mystery-california-usa-nv","title":"Margins - 'Neutral Oak Hotel' - Grenache, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Mourvèdre, Cabernet Franc Blend, Mystery - California, USA - NV","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e11.9% abv | Complicated blend, easy to drink. A chuggable light red.\n30% Grenache, 23% Chenin blanc, 15% Pinot Noir, 15% Merlot, 8% Mourvèdre, 7% Cabernet Franc, 2% Nebbiolo\nFarming:\nAs of 2021 all vineyards Margins works with are farmed organically.\nVinification:\nFermented and aged separately and blended right before bottling. Native fermentation, no\nfining, no filtration, no other modifications or additions except 30 ppm of sulfur dioxide the\nweek before bottling. Additionally, the Skin Fermented Chenin (23% of the final blend) received\n15 ppm of sulfur dioxide in September 2024 when freshly barreled.\nBio:\nI had been sitting on the name of this blend for a few years, waiting for the right opportunity to\ncome along. During harvest 2020 the occasion presented itself when a fermentation didn’t work as\nplanned, and I needed to find a creative solution to generate the best possible outcome. I started\ndoing blending trials with the goal of creating a cuvée that brought out the best in what I had to\nwork with. Since then I have continued to play with blending under this cuvée name, as a\nlight-hearted juxtaposition to the single vineyard\/single varietal wines that Margins typically focuses\non.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eMargins 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.\nMuch 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. \nMargins 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.\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn summer 2023, Melissa Russi joined the Margins team as the direct sales manager. Raised among a small plot of vines in the East Bay, Melissa’s childhood was filled with the scent of dried wine on the concrete garage floor, the thrill of outsmarting rodents, and a mouth full of sour grapes. On bottling day, she helped her family turn the house into a winery, hosting thirty friends eager to bottle and get their case of the next vintage. With Spanish and Italian roots, wine had always been a family tradition that blended every gathering with meals and conversations. She became specifically intrigued between the interplay of wine, food, and the connections it forged around the table. Her excitement for experience led her to a harvest internship in Santa Cruz where she learned the operations of the cellar, then later to Chile, where she immersed herself in an organic winery working one on one with the winemaker. Combining her wine experience with a degree in marketing and writing from UC Berkeley, Melissa is now able to orchestrate the interplay between wine and conversation in the Margins tasting room.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eGrapes \u0026amp; Style\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eGrenache\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eGrenache is one of the great Mediterranean red grapes, central to the southern Rhône, Spain, and many of the warmer, drier wine regions around the world. It’s known as Garnacha in Spain, where it has deep roots, and it plays a major role in wines from places like Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Priorat, Navarra, and the Sierra de Gredos.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the vineyard, Grenache ripens late and likes heat, sun, and wind. It can handle drought well, but it needs thoughtful farming because it can produce high alcohol and soft structure if pushed too far. Old vines are especially valuable, often giving naturally lower yields and more concentrated fruit.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the glass, Grenache tends toward red fruit, strawberry, raspberry, dried herbs, spice, and a warm, generous texture. It’s usually lighter in color than its flavor suggests, with moderate tannin and plenty of charm. The best versions balance ripeness with freshness, showing warmth without becoming heavy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eChenin Blanc\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eChenin Blanc is the great white grape of the Loire, especially Anjou, Savennières, Vouvray, and Montlouis, and it’s also deeply important in South Africa, where it has long been known as Steen. It’s one of the most versatile white grapes in the world, capable of dry, off-dry, sparkling, and sweet wines with real longevity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the vineyard, Chenin buds early and ripens late enough that site and season matter. It keeps acidity naturally well, which is a major part of its usefulness across styles. In the right conditions, it can also develop noble rot, making some of the world’s great sweet wines without losing freshness.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the glass, Chenin can show apple, pear, quince, citrus, honey, wool, lanolin, chamomile, and a stony, savory edge. The best dry versions have tension and texture at the same time; the sweeter versions can be rich without feeling heavy. Chenin is one of those grapes that can look simple on paper but becomes deeply expressive in the hands of thoughtful growers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003ePinot Noir\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003ePinot Noir is one of the old noble red grapes of Burgundy, and still the variety most associated with the Côte d’Or’s ability to translate small differences in site into meaningfully different wines. It’s been known under older names like Morillon, Noirien, and Auvernat, and its history reaches back to medieval northern France. Over time, the Pinot family produced or revealed a whole set of mutations — Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Teinturier, Pinot Noir Précoce — but Pinot Noir remains the central red expression.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the vineyard, it’s famously sensitive. It buds early, so spring frost can be a real issue, and it ripens early enough that warm climates can push it too fast, leaving thin-skinned berries prone to shrivel and sunburn. It prefers temperate climates, calcareous-clay soils, and careful yield control. It’s also susceptible to mildew, botrytis, virus pressure, and plenty of other vineyard headaches, which is part of why great Pinot has such a fragile, hard-won quality.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the glass, Pinot Noir is rarely about sheer power. At its best, it’s relatively pale, aromatic, and finely structured, with red-fruit notes like cherry and raspberry when young, often moving toward more savory, autumnal, earthy, mushroomy, or truffle-like tones with age. The better examples are compelling because they carry delicacy without feeling thin — fruit, perfume, texture, and place all held in a lighter frame.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eMerlot\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eMerlot is one of Bordeaux’s major red grapes, especially important on the Right Bank in places like Pomerol and Saint-Émilion. It ripens earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon and often brings flesh, generosity, and softness to blends, though great Merlot can be every bit as serious and long-lived as more tannic varieties.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the vineyard, Merlot’s early ripening is both useful and risky. It can succeed in slightly cooler or heavier soils, especially clay, but it’s vulnerable to spring frost and can lose definition if overcropped or picked too ripe. Site and restraint matter more than its easygoing reputation suggests.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the glass, Merlot often shows plum, black cherry, red fruit, chocolate, herbs, tobacco, and a smooth, rounded texture. In simple versions it can be soft and friendly; in the best examples it has depth, structure, and a quiet savory complexity. Good Merlot is not just plush — it’s generous without losing shape.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eMourvèdre\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eMourvèdre is a late-ripening Mediterranean red grape, especially important in Bandol, the southern Rhône, Spain, and warm coastal regions around the world. In Spain it’s usually called Monastrell, and in Australia it has often been known as Mataro. It’s frequently blended with Grenache and Syrah, but in the right places it can stand powerfully on its own.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the vineyard, Mourvèdre needs heat and a long season to ripen properly. It likes warm, dry conditions, often near the sea, and can struggle in cooler or wetter climates. When it ripens fully, it brings deep color, tannin, and a distinctly savory dimension.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the glass, Mourvèdre tends toward dark fruit, black plum, dried herbs, leather, earth, game, and spice. It can be firm and brooding in youth, but the best versions develop real complexity with age. We like it most when the richness is matched by freshness and the wine keeps its wild, savory edge.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49231113847035,"sku":"00077939","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/073f7de431d58fbedcefaa8e10e41c6d.jpg?v=1787873504","url":"https:\/\/satellitesb.com\/products\/margins-neutral-oak-hotel-grenache-chenin-blanc-pinot-noir-merlot-mourvedre-cabernet-franc-blend-mystery-california-usa-nv","provider":"Satellite SB","version":"1.0","type":"link"}