Great Bear Vineyards is a missionary-style winery nestled on the edge of northern Davis, at the end of a tree-lined driveway between rows of vineyards.

Marcus and Jenny Meadows-Smith own the family-run vineyard and winery, located at 24800 Co Road 101A. They purchased the property in 2013 and planted the first vineyard in 2014. The land was originally the home of the Meyer Ranch, with a homestead, water towers, barn, and gardens dating back to 1860. While new winery buildings have since been established, they made sure to retain all the historic buildings while also respecting the environment and wildlife.

“We’re now actually 10 years old this year since we’ve planted the vineyard. So now our vines are very mature as are the olive trees and the fruit trees and the lavender,” Marcus says.

Marcus, who is originally from England, and Jenny, from South Africa, share four kids together. After their children left home, Jenny decided to go back to school, enrolling in UC Davis to study viticulture and enology. While studying, Jenny’s professors designed the couple’s vineyard.

“It’s the best technology that UC Davis has to offer,” Marcus explained. “We produce a very high-quality grape for this region, and we do everything by hand. We hand prune, hand harvest, hand tend the vineyards on one side and we grow sustainably on the other side.”

The couple produces a stunning variety of wines, including their award-winning double gold-winning Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Sirah, Petit Verdot, Primitivo, Tempranillo, Sauvignon Blanc and Albariño. The winery’s Roussanne and Chardonnay, which exude lively citrus notes, both received 91 points from Wine Enthusiast Magazine.

Since operations began, the winery has experienced great success and won numerous awards, including silver, gold, and double gold medals at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. However, Marcus said the winery has always been and continues to be about the couple’s shared love for food and wine.

“It’s really a passion rather than a business,” Marcus said.

Marcus, who worked in agriculture his whole career, has traveled to 80 countries and has tasted wine in 38. He explained that several of their wines are inspired by other countries, such as their Chardonnay, which has a French influence, while their Malbec is inspired by Mendoza, the heart of Argentina’s wine country.

“So when my wife goes somewhere, if she finds something she really loves, she’ll go and find the winemaker and find out which clone it is, what yeast they used and at what temperature they ferment at so she can recreate certain styles and flavors that are just a little bit different to traditional northern California wines,” he explains.

All of Great Bear’s wines are made using traditional techniques, with their wines being aged in oak barrels and produced with minimum intervention.

“It’s really just good fruit, sunshine and yeast that goes into our wine,” Marcus says.

Marcus also explains that his wines are now certified as organic.

“So now our grapes are certified organic but that sort of really just because we grow in harmony with nature,” he says.

The vineyard has a new line of wines, including natural and orange wines. Marcus explains that orange wines are white wines fermented with the skins, becoming bigger and bolder than white wines. He says that the tannins in the wine are what make them orange.

“That’s really actually quite a useful addition to our lineup of wines because it pairs really well with Thai food and orange chicken,” Marcus says.

He describes his orange wine as a “cult wine” as it is sold under a different label, and only a few people know about it and ask for it. This wine is only poured in October.

Marcus says that his wife Jenny has won many awards for her wines and recently won The Best Thing Class for her Tempranillo at the International Women’s Wine Competition. He says that they were also judged as the best boutique winery at the California State Fair as their wines continue to receive scores of 91 points and up.

“I think that here we have world-class wines. We have you know, as I said, the scores are 91 to 98 points. The wines are outstanding but the wine tasting experience is sort of very casual. It’s accessible to anyone,” he says. “People enjoy sort of sitting outside enjoying the wildlife and it’s sort of more of a casual experience. It’s an opportunity to chat actually to the winemakers and the people who work in the winery so you get that sort of behind-the-scenes peek at it.”

Great Bear Vineyards offers special events such as yoga nights and paint-and-sip nights. Marcus also says that recently, they held a silent book club night, where 35 to 50 people brought a book, got a glass of wine, and sat and read in total silence with each other.

The winery also offers wine and chocolate pairings and cheese and chocolate pairings with vegan cheese options. It hosts different food trucks every Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and has live music from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Additionally, they host private events and gatherings. The winery offers educational visits around the vineyards, where they show people around the wine-making process and talk about the barrel age of their wines.

Marcus explains that he enjoys being a small, local winery for the community and has no plans to expand his business from Davis.

“We don’t want to get any bigger. So we love being a boutique winery. We love being a community winery, but this was a retirement project. This was supposed to be two or three barrels for family and friends. We’re now producing 100 barrels and 20,000 bottles a year,” he says.

Great Bear also grows olives, fruit trees and lavender to produce olive oil and various lavender products. Marcus mentioned that aside from the small amount of fruit he and Jenny keep for themselves, the rest is donated to local charities.

Aside from the wine, Marcus said his favorite part about owning a business in Davis is the opportunity to interact and give back to the local community.

“It’s just a really wonderful community,” he continued “You’ve got a great balance of beautiful agriculture, so really great food as well. Just about every crop grows in this part of California. So, it’s an amazing place for food, great people and beautiful countryside.

The winery is open on Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Fridays from noon to 8 p.m., Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

To learn more about the services they offer, wine products, wine tastings, or more, visit https://greatbearvineyards.com/#home.