“Collaboration is about discovery.”
Mason Collab Series Wines
Part of our mission at Mason Vineyard is to work collaboratively with peer Winemakers, both new and established, because this strengthens our region and each other.
When two Winemakers work together to make one wine, they share knowledge and inspiration resulting in exciting new approaches and discoveries. And it’s also fun.
The expression of our commitment to this mission is our Mason Collab Series: wines created out of a passion for working together with peer winemakers as well as a love for exploring other estate terroir throughout our region and beyond.
These collaborations are part of our soul and a vent for the creative energy that tends to build up while undertaking the arduous tasks that are a part of the everyday life around a hand-managed vineyard.
They’re an opportunity to stay challenged, try new techniques and share the frustration, exhaustion, and exhilaration that it takes to get a wine to bottle.
The collaborations don’t have a schedule, nor do they all come to fruition. This means that when they end up allocated here, they are truly special and worthy of getting to know.
One of the cool things about this Collab Series is that the wines are created from grapes sourced from other vineyards and the production, tanking and cellaring is at other wineries.
It’s within these variables that so much of the experimentation and creativity is put into play. These wines are stories of the vintage, expressions of the personality of each specific site, as well as the people that we collaborate with.
We hope you enjoy them while discovering the stories of the people involved.
Collab Series — Current Release Wines
Note: Shipping starts mid June 2024. Wine available for shipping in Canada only. BC Shoppers, shipping rate calculated at checkout. Remaining out of Province shoppers, shoot us an email at wines@masonvineyard.com.
Our shipping cut-off date is December 15th, so be sure to place your orders in time for the holidays!
Shipping is included for 6 bottles or more in Ontario. Use Discount Code: Free6
2023 Mason + Husband — Rosé
Winemakers: Kelly Mason + Brooke Husband
Varietals: 100% Cabernet Franc
Vineyard: Mason Vineyard
Viticultural Area: Twenty Mile Bench
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Pick Date : October 23rd, 2023
pH : 3.71
TA : 5.61
Alcohol : 13.0%
Sugar : 3.7g/L
Fermentation: Wild ferment, full malolactic
Ageing: Stainless
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WINEMAKER JOURNAL:
Brooke and I started out with our first Collab Rosé in 2020 with Gamay, then in 2021 we did a Pinot Noir and now here we are with our 2023 Cabernet Franc Rosé.
It is always so satisfying to see the light pink juice press out into the press pan. It smells like fresh fruit and offers so much promise. (Kelly has a video of this for an Instagram post). In general, one of the benefits of wild fermented wine is aromatics – the nose is layered, never two-dimensional and has complexity. Additionally, the midpalate often has a little more texture.
Wild ferment Rosé can be stressful to capture all these attributes in so little time. The struggle is worth it as the wine is fresh and expressive when it works out. For some of you, this wine will be savoured and appreciated for all its nuances and thoughtfully paired with food. For others, the flavour profile will entice you to consume glasses poolside. I like both options.
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NOTES:
These grapes were destemmed and whole berries into the press on a gentle pressing cycle. The must is then settled in a chilled tank for 48 hours and racked clean to a new tank. No oak was used.
Wild yeast generally become sluggish anywhere above 13% alcohol, and this rule of thumb is exactly true with our Rosé – hence the tiniest amount of residual sugar. We always like to make bone dry wines, but here we backed off and let the wine just be. The profile speaks for itself and the wine in bottle is refreshing and balanced.
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TASTING NOTE:
Beautiful medium salmon hue. Restrained and classy nose suggesting strawberry, white peppercorn, rhubarb and a delicate florality. This isn’t your grandma’s rosé. Unless your grandma likes really, really good rose; in which case, forget about what I said about your grandma.
Perfect balance between the fleshy aspects of the wine and the structural “bones.” This is dry but there is a suggestion of sweetness provided by immaculate balance of the structural elements and presumably, a masterful use of lees. Serious wine with a no-nonsense mineral streak carrying right through the extended finish. A very fine effort, indeed.
This has enough heft to stand up to a wide variety of dishes. For me it calls out for summery dishes where the grill takes center stage. Grilled pork, sausage, chicken, salmon or veggies spring to mind. But it would be equally at home with more homey autumn fare such as sauteed mushrooms, roasted vegetables, pork loin or ham.
Also, to my mind there is no shame in drinking a wine like this alone. Pour yourself a glass. Maybe share it if there’s good company about, and contemplate the year that has passed, what has transpired in our lives and the fleeting nature of existence. Reflect and pay homage to the 2023 growing season, the passionate individuals who toiled over this bottle and the beautiful region that has blessed us with the fabulous wine in our glass.
PRICE: $25 / Bottle
SOLD OUT
2023 Mason + McDonald — Sauvignon Blanc
Winemakers: Kelly Mason + Craig McDonald
Varietals: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Vineyard: Lake Lodge
Viticultural Area: Niagara Lakeshore
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Pick Date : October 7th, 2023
pH : 3.57
TA : 5.58
Alcohol : 12.5%
Sugar : 1.3g/L
Fermentation: 72% wild ferment in stainless, 28% inoculated in barrel. Blended together post élevage.
Ageing: Stainless and neutral French oak barrels 7 months.
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WINEMAKER JOURNAL:
I love Sauvignon Blanc – it is so fragrant at harvest that the whole cellar smells like a swirl of starfruit, green grass, and lychee. The idea behind this collab was to make Sauvignon Blanc with a Winemaker who not only has more harvests than me under his belt, but also many of those vintages with Sauvignon Blanc.
Craig has made Sauvignon Blanc at Vidal Estate, New Zealand, ( winery name has nothing to do with the common Ontario grape variety, vidal) and at Creekside with Rob Power and of course Craig is the winemaker behind Trius wines. Craig agreed to this collab provided he could ferment how he wanted to and his style was outside of my usual vinification practices and comfort zone. That’s what this is all about, isn’t it?
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NOTES:
Craig was able to source 30-year-old vines with Sauvignon Blanc in Lakeshore, Niagara. 72% of the must is wild ferment in stainless with the approach to maintain the ferment temperature cool and prolong the ferment. This produced a Sauvignon Blanc that with layered notes, grassy with herbaceous a bit austere.
The remaining 28% was fermented commercially in barrel (neutral French oak) and the goal was to allow the fermentation to go through with speed, no temperature control and with lees contact post ferment. This added some tropical notes and weight on the midpalate. Both vessels aged separately for 7 months and then were blended together.
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TASTING NOTE:
Medium straw with shimmering flecks of green. Wildly aromatic nose of lime, gooseberry, granny smith apple, fruit cocktail and nettle. The flavours on the palate echo these intense aromas, but with added weight, ripe fruit notes and considerable complexity contributed by the use of some barrel fermentation.
Super clean and fresh with great acidity and fine length. New World aromatic intensity married to Old World textural finesse. This wine absolutely screams of spring. Delicious and so full of life. Pair with green pea risotto, seared scallops with basil oil or grilled vegetables tossed with lemon and fresh tarragon.
PRICE: $37 / Bottle
2022 Mason + Husband — Viognier
Winemakers: Kelly Mason + Brooke Husband
Varietals: 100% Viognier
Vineyard: Grimsby Hillside
Viticultural Area: Lincoln Lakeshore
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Pick Date : September 28th, 2022
pH : 3.67
TA : 5.5
Alcohol : 13.0%
Sugar : 1.5g/L
Fermentation: Wild Ferment
Ageing: 17 months of élevage.
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WINEMAKER JOURNAL:
This is the third release of our Collab Viognier. These are young vines and we work closely with Josh Mitchell (Vineyard Manager) at Grimsby Hillside to follow the block and collectively assess for the right pick date.
With young vines, ripeness can be uneven and for us, we appreciate that some clusters will be at a different brix level than others. We are looking for the balance between going past the translucent phase of the grape to a riper more golden and even bronze colour variation is nice.
This time around we were ‘experienced’ and knew we wanted 17 months of élevage.
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NOTES:
We left a few whole clusters in the tank to get the wild ferment going and then transferred the fermenting must to barrel and kept the barrels in a cooler room for a slower fermentation – this helps preserve aromatics.
It went through full malolactic and the natural ferment stopped with about 1.5 g/L RS. We feel this is a nice amount for the palate to balance out the alcohol. Midpalate offers the familiar texture and slight oiliness with long finish.
A complete pleasure to drink - so fragrant, that you have to take a sip.
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TASTING NOTE:
Medium straw hue. Generously aromatic nose showing classic varietal character along with significant complexity. Peach puree, fresh mango and apricot, dried pineapple, honeysuckle and complex barrel spice notes. Full-bodied with gorgeous texture and just enough acidity to keep things balanced without compromising its voluptuous nature.
Ripe and unctuous with very well managed phenolics that provide a touch of palate-cleansing grip while avoiding any harsh edges or aggressive bitterness. Excellent length. This robust beauty is best served chilled just slightly below cellar temperature (10-12 ͒ C) for maximum appreciation. It only gets better on the second day open. I would recommend a good decant if drinking soon.
PRICE: $37 / Bottle
SOLD OUT
“A wine should express the land where it’s made.”