“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.
To date, collaborators have included Brooke Husband, Thomas Bachelder, Barb Condotta and Craig McDonald.
We hope you enjoy them while discovering the stories of the people involved.
Collab Series — Current Release Wines
Shipping is included for 6 bottles or more in Ontario.
2024 Mason + Husband — Rosé
Winemakers: Mason + Husband
Varietals: 100% Cabernet Franc
Viticultural Appellation: Twenty Mile Bench
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Pick Date : October 10th, 2024
pH : 3.57
TA : 6.51g/L
Alcohol : 12%
Residual Sugar : 3g/L
Fermentation : Wild ferment, full malolactic
Ageing : Stainless
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WINEMAKER JOURNAL:
Brooke and I have been collaborating on rosé since 2020, and this marks our third time working with Cabernet Franc for this wine. This year, we sourced fruit from young vines on Grimsby Hillside—always aiming to try something a little different each vintage.
Literally, we could have filled a journal just on the fermentation of this wine, as it gave us the longest ferment in history! The slow, cold ferment was a blessing, preserving the aromatics and freshness. Here’s how it went down: we picked on October 3rd, and it was still fermenting on December 10th. This long fermentation came with its fair share of stress, and it led us to draw the line—no more wild ferment next time. The anxious taste tests every other day and lab work became routine, but we were committed to seeing it through. This ferment lasted longer than some intern contracts, stopping at 3 grams of residual sugar, and that was it—done.
As much as we aim to avoid residual sugar, this was ultimately the best choice for the wine. The young vines, while full of potential, were a bit unbalanced, and as we know, Cabernet Franc is notorious for its acidity. That extra acidity from this grape helped balance things out.
Similar to our past rosés, the mid-palate shows texture with layers of flavor. As fellow wine enthusiasts, we hope you’ll appreciate this wine for all its nuances.
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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:
This is “ballet slipper” pink in the glass. Quiet on the nose, but offering up delicate rhubarb, sour cherry and strawberry with a whiff of reductive gunflint adding complexity and intrigue. There is just a small trace of residual sugar here, but the wine is essentially dry on the palate. The intense fruit flavour, ample body and velvety texture are more than capable of providing a distinct sensation of sweetness without relying on the artifice of excess sugar. There is sufficient acidity to keep things fresh and lively, but the real story here is the amazing purity of fruit and the outstanding concentration and intensity. There is a weight and seriousness to this wine that isn’t often encountered in rosé. The red fruit aromas are nicely replayed in the mouth and underscored by a stony mineral note. The finish is long and elegant. Tremendous effort here from Kelly and Brooke!
PRICE: $28
2023 Mason + Groux — Petit Verdot
Winemakers: Kelly Mason + JL Groux
Varietals: 100% Petit Verdot
Vineyard: Edgerock
Viticultural Appellation: Twenty Mile Bench
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Pick Date : November 24th, 2023
pH : 3.88
TA : 6.6
Alcohol : 13.5%
Residual Sugar : 0.6g/L
Fermentation : Wild ferment in stainless, destemmed whole berries to tank (no crushing), full malolactic and on skins for 30 days. Ageing : Aged in French oak, for 18 months.
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WINEMAKER JOURNAL:
Years ago, I bought a bottle of Petit Verdot from Stratus. It was rare to see this as a stand alone grape – it is often used in small percentages for its contribution of a fragrant nose, tannin, or colour to a blend. In reading, seems some New World areas are producing it as a stand alone grape.
JL’s Petit Verdot was an amazing wine – so dark, lots of structure and concentration. I never really forgot about it.
Jean-Laurent (JL) Groux is a true pioneer of Niagara winemaking. Early in his remarkable career, the first wine he ever made was a Petit Verdot. While learning at Château Giscours (Bordeaux), the winemaker entrusted him with the responsibility of crafting that very wine. JL, like any eager intern, was thrilled at the thought of working in a beautiful chateau. That excitement quickly shifted when he was led to a stone cellar with two concrete tanks, and the winemaker simply said, “This is where you’ll make the Petit Verdot.” He began learning typical fermentation aromas of the grape and how to work with its structure, acid and tannins. He is known as one of the Greats in Niagara and an expert in crafting intricate assemblages of various grapes.
As a winemaker who prefers working with varietals as stand-alone grapes, how fun—and ironic—it was for me to work with Petit Verdot, one of the most commonly blended grapes, and not be able to blend at all. Here we were: JL, with deep blending experience and intimate knowledge of the grape; and me, with an aversion to blending and zero experience with Petit Verdot.
How lucky was I to have his time, intelligence, and expertise? His generosity in mentoring me through my first experience with this variety was invaluable. It gave me the chance not only to learn from his depth of knowledge, but also to get to know him better. I’m truly touched that he said yes to this collaboration.
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NOTES:
For the wine aficionados out there, Petit Verdot requires a long hangtime. As you can see, we harvested in the last week of November (with very cold processing). The acid degradation is slow, and despite the extended hangtime, the must came in at a total acidity of 11.28 g/L (8.19 g/L malic) at harvest. JL shared that sometimes he ages this wine for up to three years in barrel. After tasting some of his past wines, we agreed that the key is not to crush the grapes at harvest in order to minimize tannin extraction from this naturally tannin-rich varietal. The wine underwent wild fermentation, both primary and secondary, and we didn’t hold back on extraction. It stayed on skins for 30 days post-fermentation.
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TASTING NOTE:
Wow! Opaque and black as ink in the glass, with only the rim betraying the purple ruby colour. The nose is tight and quite closed at the moment but will open up in time to show the full range of its personality. The aromas hint at licorice root, stewed black plums, juniper berries, green peppercorns, pink grapefruit and tar. On the palate the wine is deep and brooding with good acid, grippy tannins and a plush core of sweet, ripe fruit. The balance is exquisite, with the sturdy structure countered by a nice degree of flesh. This is a weighty wine that would be a great foil for a slab of meat, grilled rare over a wood fire and rubbed with rosemary. Put some aside in the cellar to see what this wine starts to say as it gets some age under its belt.
PRICE: $55
2024 Mason + Husband — Viognier
Winemakers: Kelly Mason + Brooke Husband
Varietals: 100% Viognier
Vineyard: Grimsby Hillside
Viticultural Appellation: Twenty Mile Bench
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Pick Date : October 28th, 2023
pH : 3.6
TA : 5.25
Alcohol : 12.0%
Residual Sugar : 0.4g/L
Fermentation : Wild Ferment
Ageing : 18 months in neutral barrels on lees.
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WINEMAKER JOURNAL:
This is the fourth release of our Collab Viognier. After the 2020 vintage, we realized this wine had found a following—and to be honest, that made the second release feel like a bit of pressure. But we learned quickly. Each vintage has deepened our understanding of both the varietal and the vineyard.
Pick day has become one of our most anticipated of the season, and during fermentation, our daily health checks are genuinely a joy—this wine always smells and tastes incredible.
Viognier isn’t the easiest grape to find—or grow—in Niagara, but we’ve now made it for five vintages, and we’ve become pretty attached.
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NOTES:
This year, we took a different approach and experimented with press fractions, a technique commonly used in Champagne. The press juice was separated into heads, hearts, and tails. The heads are the initial juice, often containing more solids and in our case, some mud. The hearts are the cleanest, most fruity, and expressive fraction, while the tails are pressed at a higher pressure, resulting in more phenolics and a heavier profile—something we particularly appreciated with Viognier.
To kickstart the wild fermentation, we added a few whole clusters to the tank, then transferred the fermenting must to barrel. We kept the barrels in a cooler room to encourage a slower fermentation, which helps preserve the aromatics. The wine underwent full malolactic fermentation and the natural ferment completed to dryness, leaving no residual sugar in the 2023 vintage.
As with the 2022 vintage, we only made a limited number of cases of this wine, so be sure to grab yours before it’s gone. Don’t hesitate, or it’ll be sold out.
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TASTING NOTE:
Subtle but complex and attractive nose upon pouring: almond, peach pit, honeysuckle, tropical fruit, light spice notes. Aromas open up to be more expressive with a bit of time and air. Bold on the attack with vibrant acidity, pronounced minerality, rich weight and suave texture, finishing with impressive length. Classy, yet with a characteristic dash of Viognier exuberance. This is true to the generous nature of the variety but with great freshness and polish. Exceptional wine.
PRICE: $39
“A wine should express the land where it’s made.”