Wine

Item Description

John and Chris Mason produce a single estate Pinot Noir from a dry-farmed, 2 acre certified organic vineyard located in Forestville at the juncture of the Russian River Valley and Green Valley AVA’s of Sonoma County. They live on the property, farm their estate Labyrinth Vineyard, and control all of the winemaking. 

Harvest starts when they feel the perfect balance of physiological ripeness, sugar, acids and tannins have been reached.  Different parts of the vineyard, and even different vines reach this point independently, necessitating several passes through the vines.  Often described as the most difficult grape, Pinot Noir requires a delicate touch.  The grapes are picked by hand in the cool of the early morning hours into 40 pound tubs.  Any less than perfect clusters are discarded in the field, and the grapes go directly through the destemmer and into  half ton fermenters.  These fermenters provide optimal surface to volume ratio, and allow them to gently punch down the cap by hand.

Fermentation with indigenous yeast usually starts within a few days.  This slower, cooler fermentation preserves the delicate, complex flavors and aromas of the grape.  When fermentation  is complete, they drain the free run juice directly into barrels.  The press wine is extracted with a small bladder press and goes into barrels without settling.  Unimpressed by the heavy use of new oak, their French oak barrels are on average, 3 years old. They choose these barrels to impart just a hint of oak, and to not overwhelm the delicate nature of the wine. Malolactic fermentation proceeds in the barrel, and the finish signals the first racking. The wine is racked off of the heavy lees at the new year, and the free run is combined with the press wine. The wine is moved either by gravity, or pushed gently from barrel to barrel, never pumped.  Barrels are topped monthly  to prevent oxidation, the wine is racked twice more, to clarify, and bottled after 18 months.  The bottles rest in their cellar for 12 months before release.

The Masons (both of them had the sir name Mason before marriage, but were unrelated) have been international relief workers since 1999 when they went to Kosovo to build homes and shelters in remote villages as part of relief efforts for homeless families. John is a retired paramedic and Chris a retired worker in the health care field with a master’s degree in dietary science. Every year, from December to February, they close up the farm while the vines lay dormant and the wine rests in barrels and travel to a foreign country where they are needed. They have been in Gujarat, India helping in the aftermath of a disastrous earthquake, in Bamenda Highlands of Cameroon assisting AIDS educators, and in Chaman, Pakistan where they established medical clinics in two border refugee camps and provided medical services to over 30,000 refugees. In 2005, they founded the Labyrinth Foundation for Disaster Relief to allow them to operate independently or in cooperation with other aid organizations. All of their profits from Emtu wines go to their charitable foundation.

This offer: One case of Emtu Estate Wines 2007 Russian River Pinot Noir

Item Special Note

All bidders on wine packages must be 21 year of age or older.