Domaine Margelle: Couple realizes their dream of a hilltop vineyard

By Kristine Thomas

Wading through waist-high grass, Marci Taylor had some reservations about the land being shown to her and her husband, Steve, by real estate agent Joe Giegerich.

It had a vineyard but where was the valley view?

Placing a ladder in the field, Giegerich encouraged Marci to climb it. At that moment she knew she had found the perfect place to build her French country manor.

“When I looked down on the valley, it reminded me of the Dordogne region of France,” Marci said. “The rolling hills reminded me of that area and evoked an emotional response.”

The Taylors bought the Scotts Mills property in 2005 and spent three years building their home and working on the grounds.

“It was love at first sight when we saw the view,” said Steve, who is the executive senior director of the Salem Cancer Center at Salem Hospital. “It’s a thrill to see the beauty manifested on that hillside.

“It’s a place that we like to share with others.”

A source of great pride is the hand-hewn stone wall built by the Taylor and Martinez families during one summer – appropriate for Domaine Margelle, which means “stone wall estate.”

“We are quite proud of our stone walls as evidenced by the name we chose for our vineyard,” Marci said. “The walls represent our land. Each stone was gathered from the property and placed by hand. It also represents our connection to the Martinez family.”

Alonzo Martinez helps manage the 50-acre vineyard along with his brother, George.

Originally from the East Moreland neighborhood in Portland, Steve was president of a company that managed hospitals in Oregon and throughout the United States and Marci owned a travel company where she took people on tours of France. They have two daughters, Megan, 31, and Brianna, 29.

It was during their visits to France that Marci and Steve became inspired with the idea of owning a vineyard. At one time, the couple considered buying a vineyard there.

“It was too expensive and too complicated to own a vineyard in France,” Marci said. “It was more than we wanted to tackle and we didn’t know how often our daughters could visit us.”

It was when Steve joked they should build something in Oregon to resemble what they loved in France that Marci began researching vineyard properties and they found their site.

“Our home is a combination of Steve and me,” Marci said. “We designed and created it together and feel as if it stands for something greater than us as individuals.”

There is a certain sense of history and connection to place that becomes apparent in their home.

“I think being children of immigrants we both wanted to create a sense of place for our family,” she added. “The views from ‘Domaine Margelle’ certainly left us with a sense of place. Also, the connection to the land with the vines leaves us with that sense.”

In June, they celebrated the first release of their estate wines – a 2007 Pinot noir and a 2008 Pinot gris. Even though managing a vineyard is hard work, Steve said, “it’s also an adventure.”

“We were curious what the potential of our vineyard was to make an estate wine,” he said. “No one had ever tried it before. The grapes were sold to other wineries.”

“I am really quite pleased with the first bottling of our Pinot gris and Pinot noir,” he said. “They are high-caliber, first-class wines. I am very excited for the future and we are just getting started.”

Their Pinot noir is made by Mark Vlossak of St. Innocent Winery and their Pinot gris is made by Sean Driggers of Pudding River Wine Cellars.

The Taylors also welcome guests to stay at “La Bastide,” their vacation rental – a country house that sits on 30 woodland acres just across the road from Domaine Margelle. It is also available as a wedding venue.

Each day, Marci and Steve marvel at the views they see from their home – the vineyard, the rolling hills – all reminiscent of their memories of France. They also look forward to what each day brings.

“This project is an adventure. We figure we could have retired to a condo and the golf course or interact with the land and learn a new industry.”

For them, they want life to be full of surprise and adventure and believe the secret to enjoying life is to engage.

“Life is full of possibilities. We are only limited by our imagin-ations,” Marci said. “I have a wonderful partner who helps me realize our imaginings. Living our dream of owning a vineyard is a wonderful gift. And one I wish to share. Our wine represents that gift.”