Another star of the UC Davis Viticulture and Enology program, Megan Bell started Margins in 2016 as a passion project aimed toward highlighting underrated regions, vineyards, and varietals. She started by crowdfunding her first eight barrels of a single white and has grown to produce around 2,800 cases per year of over 20 different wines. This 100% Negrette, an obscure varietal from Southwestern France near Toulouse, comes from certified organic vines planted in 1994 on loamy soil about 500m above sea level. The grapes are hand harvested, destemmed, and soaked on their skins overnight. They are then pressed the next day into neutral oak barrels where the wine is fermented and aged for 9 months with no fining, filtration, and mimimal SO2. The result is a light, chuggable child red with compelling aromas of white pepper, hibiscus, and balsamic that open up to flavors of juicy wild raspberry, zippy acid and light tannins with notes of jasmine tea and a dash of bitter mandarin peel on the finish. Pairs splendidly with a wide range of cuisine from Green Thai Curry to Tuna Carpaccio.