Millions of orange and black butterflies have taken flight from the designated grove of eucalyptus trees off Highway 1 in Pismo Beach. A hair south of the sanctuary, one Shell Beach couple realized it was time for a new adventure of their own.
Partners Julie Garcia and Ercilia Martins bought Grover Beach’s Monarch Grove Winery in 2024 from its previous owners. Not long after, they decided to move out of their spot near the train station to a bigger location around the corner on Grand Avenue, which opened in July.
“We kind of relate to the butterfly. We went through transformations in our own lives before we met, and then when we met, we became one and transformed together,” Garcia said one sunny evening in the new tasting room.
She’s taken on the role of head winemaker. As her wife tells it, one day they bought a winery, and the next day Garcia was at UC Davis studying viticulture. If Garcia says she’s going to become a winemaker, everyone better believe it.
A different type of flight
Stop by Monarch Grove Winery for a tasting or a glass at 252 W. Grand Ave. in Grover Beach. Summertime hours are Wednesday and Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 1 to 7 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. Find more information at monarchgrovewinery.com or on Instagram @monarchgrovewinery.
Monarch Grove doesn’t grow its own grapes, but Garcia said it’s a luxury to choose between multiple vineyards from Paso Robles to the Santa Ynez Valley. They pick from small-batch growers, aiming for organic and sustainable grapes. Only making a few hundred cases annually, they can be particular about which fruits they use.
The magic happens at a production facility in Grover Beach. Garcia and Martins handle everything from labeling and corking bottles to packing them in boxes. Varieties change year to year, but Monarch Grove currently offers bottles of chardonnay, rosé, petite sirah, and zinfandel. Stay tuned for sangiovese, calabrese, and a blend of zinfandel and petite sirah coming out of the barrel soon.
Garcia’s “baby” is her cabernet franc. It’s made with dry-farmed Paso Robles grapes, grown without any supplemental irrigation.
“The fruit is more concentrated. There’s less water in the pulp,” Garcia explained while looking at her glass. “You get less of a yield, but you get a richer … style of wine. … It just keeps changing a little bit. Sometimes I get more tobacco. Sometimes vanilla, caramel, a little more fruit. Then it’s a little dry. So, it just keeps your palate moving.”
Even while balancing a full-time job, Garcia makes time to help out at the tasting room. She hung every ceiling tile at the new place and joked that the Home Depot staff know her now.
Seeing the vision come together is a prize for the months of dedication and effort the owners exerted. They said it’s worth it when visitors come in for a taste and enjoy their wines or compliment the space.
Garcia’s perspective on wine changed after traveling to Portugal with her wife, who’s from the Azores islands. After each visit, the couple brings a little bit of the country home with them, including ideas for the business. Garcia learned a lot about winemaking from her in-laws and is inspired by the Portuguese style of wines. They are generally low tannin and fruit forward. Plus, there’s a different connotation around wine in Portugal.
“I really fell in love with the culture and how they incorporate food and wine together,” Garcia said. “In Portugal, it’s much more quaint. It’s like you’re going into their home, and they treat you that way.”
Martins agreed. It’s what she’s observed in her family for her whole life. She remembers helping pick grapes as a child and taking a clay pitcher to the barrel before meals. Nearly every family made wine in Portugal, but if one didn’t, odds were that the neighbors did. She thinks the tradition is changing with new generations.
“‘Wine is for the table,’ is what we’ve always said,” Martins remembered. “When you’re tasting someone’s wine, you’re coming to their table.”
She’s taken great care to adorn the tasting room like a home. It feels neat and polished but not stuffy or snobby.
Local artwork surrounds sofas and coffee tables, set with magazines and fresh flowers. Stools at a long bar are positioned for conversations with Martins and Garcia. Sometimes one of their friends is back there pouring, too. Dogs are welcome.
‘When you’re tasting someone’s wine, you’re coming to their table.’
—Ercilia Martins, Monarch Grove Winery co-owner
Martins, whose background is in counseling, manages the day-to-day at the tasting room and the Monarch Grove wine club. One day soon she hopes to hire a sales employee.
However, nothing would keep her away from the tasting room because she enjoys interacting with people.
“Just come and enjoy the wine that we make in our little place,” Martins said. “That’s kind of the theme behind our passion for it and the way we make it.”
Rather than thinking about what varieties will fly off the shelves, Martins thinks of creating a vibrant taste profile and food pairings. Her palate contributes greatly to her wife’s winemaking.
“The wine knows what to do,” Martins said. “Supporting it, what nature already does, that’s what we do.”
Sharing their wines is the most rewarding part. Both owners said they wstill can’t believe that after many months of labor they successfully moved and are continuing to pour for the community.
“It’s rewarding that we’re still alive,” Martins joked.
The last time they took a trip to Portugal was before they bought the winery, so they’re working on plans for another visit. The goal remains to grow the winery and hire another set of hands so Garcia and Martins can embark on their next flight. ∆
Sun Staff Writer Madison White, from New Times’ sister paper, enjoyed Monarch Grove Winery’s rosé of cabernet sauvignon. Reach her at mwhite@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in 40th anniversary edition.
