Collab Series Wines Historical Record
Collaboration is core to the spirit of Mason and each wine represents a very special relationship and story.
As your wines age in your cellar, look to this section for a permanent record of collab story, winemaking and tasting notes as well as, hopefully, some other smart ideas we have up our sleeves. — Kelly
2020 Wild Ferment Rosé
Winemakers: Kelly Mason + Brooke Husband
Varietals: Gamay
Vineyard: Willms Vineyard
Viticultural Area: Four Mile Creek
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Pick Date : October 6th, 2020
pH : 3.62
TA : 6.70
Alcohol : 12%
Sugar : 1g
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COLLAB WINEMAKER:
Brooke Husband — Brooke and I have worked together for three years; Brooke is the Assistant Winemaker and as she likes to say, it's a fancy title for following me around to every project I work on. Her job is definitely a lot harder than just following! She helps keep us on track, asks tough questions, finds solutions, and makes sure the job gets done.
We started working together in 2017 when she did her first harvest at Domaine Queylus for her college practicum with Niagara College / Winery and Viticulture Program. She then went on to live in a 14ft trailer in the Okanagan while interning at Black Hills Estate. Her focus and passion is making wild fermented Pinot Noir, so I was lucky to be able to get her back for the 2019 harvest and we have not stopped since! In 2021, she is going into her fifth harvest.
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SOURCE VINEYARD:
Willms Vineyard — For forty years, The Willms’ family has been farming their vineyard, and working the same land in the Four Mile Creek appellation – they understand their soils by they the way the cultivator works in them, just like when you hoe different parts of you garden. The soil can shift from clay to sand even in over a couple hundred feet. The Gamay sits in a mix of clay and limestone. For Brooke and myself, when looking for interesting vineyards for Gamay, this vineyard was the one to work with.
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NOTES:
The first of this Collab Series is with Brooke Husband. I have made many other wines with her assistance and the Winemaker often gets the lion’s share of the credit. It is fitting that the first wine of the Collab Series is with Brooke, and we can both share in the credit for the winemaking.
The Gamay is from Willms Vineyard in Four Mile Creek. We pressed whole berries at low pressure then moved the juice to a tank that was lined with whole cluster Gamay. Primary and secondary fermentation were wild and we kept the whole clusters in until the end of ferment. The wine started off with an early ferment with some carbonic maceration as well as late ferment skin contact. This is what contributes to the texture you see on the midpalate and the flavours supported by different notes from the wild ferment.
Enjoy. This wine was a challenge.
2020 Wild Ferment Viognier
Winemakers: Kelly Mason + Brooke Husband
Varietals: Viognier
Vineyard: Grimsby Hillside Vineyard
Viticultural Area: Lincoln Lakeshore
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Pick Date : October 10th, 2020
pH : 3.69
TA : 5.30
Alcohol : 13.6%
Sugar : 2.5g
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COLLAB WINEMAKER:
Brooke Husband — Brooke and I have worked together for three years; Brooke is the Assistant Winemaker and as she likes to say, it's a fancy title for following me around to every project I work on. Her job is definitely a lot harder than just following! She helps keep us on track, asks tough questions, finds solutions, and makes sure the job gets done.
We started working together in 2017 when she did her first harvest at Domaine Queylus for her college practicum with Niagara College / Winery and Viticulture Program. She then went on to live in a 14ft trailer in the Okanagan while interning at Black Hills Estate. Her focus and passion is making wild fermented Pinot Noir, so I was lucky to be able to get her back for the 2019 harvest and we have not stopped since! In 2021, she is going into her fifth harvest.
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SOURCE VINEYARD:
Grimsby Hillside Vineyard — The Grimsby Hillside Vineyard is one of the oldest vineyards in Niagara - the first harvest of grapes from the site was in 1874. The vineyard is 90-acres and is mainly planted to Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling, and Pinot Noir. The soil is predominantly clay and silty clay/loam over calcareous red clay subsoils. The vineyard is farmed without reliance on chemical herbicides, and adopts other sustainable land stewardship practices including undertaking biodiversity plantings and habitat restoration.
The Viognier was planted in 2017, using clone 642 on 3309C rootstock. The vines were planted on a 1.9 acre parcel immediately adjacent to the forest edge at the Escarpment base - this offers a slightly higher elevation that contributes to even greater diurnal shifts later in the growing season, preserving acidity, which is especially important in a variety such as Viognier.
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NOTES:
Viognier is not that common in Niagara and it often gets mixed in with white (and red in Syrah) blends - it's a good blender for aromatics. We unexpectedly found a small plot of young vines Viognier on the Grimsby Hillside Vineyard located in the Lincoln Lakeshore appellation.
We have never made Viognier before. We like drinking it and thought this was a great opportunity to make a small batch and try something new. Friends and family came out to help us pick the grapes and help with the hand sort. We fermented in stainless for the first half of primary fermentation and in neutral oak for the second half. And yes, it's another wild ferment.
To go along with our ’hands on winemaking approach’ we decided to hand bottle all 370 bottles. Why you ask? Because we are suckers for punishment. And to further our learning in making Viognier we’ve decided to hold back 1 more barrel to see how a year of aging fairs on the wine. So, look out for part 2 which should be released sometime in 2022.
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TASTING NOTE: Wild fermented and aged in a combination of stainless steel and neutral French oak. The nose has notes of honeysuckle, fennel, ginger, and chalk dust. The midpalate is textured and layered, expanding from the nose to show notes of ripe peach and subtle clove. The finish is soft golden apple and dry.
“A wine should express the land where it’s made.”