Initially employed in the automotive sector and despite having always loved wine, she had never thought about it as a career, until she completed her Master of Business Administration.<\/p>\n
Mason originally intended to pursue a career in sales or marketing in the wine industry, but before she could sell or market the product, felt it was important to gain a thorough understanding of how the product was made.<\/p>\n
Her journey in the wine world began as a harvest intern at Saintsbury Winery in California\u2019s Napa Valley in 2007. The moment she started in the cellar, her plans shifted once again.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as I started working on the floor, I loved it,\u201d Mason says. \u201cI ended up staying at Saintsbury for two years, and that\u2019s when I realized, 100 per cent, I don\u2019t want to go into marketing, I want to go into winemaking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Upon returning to Canada, Mason enrolled in Brock\u2019s OEVC<\/a> program.<\/p>\n When she reflects on her time at the University and its Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI), she says the program was perfectly suited to her.<\/p>\n \u201cOf all the schooling I did, it was the most interesting and the most fun,\u201d Mason says. \u201cYour first degree, you don\u2019t always know what you\u2019re going to do with it. This time, I had the benefit of being really connected to why I was going back to school; I had a clear focus, I was driven.\u201d<\/p>\n Mason\u2019s path after graduating from Brock \u2014 from interning at Tawse and Le Clos Jordanne and working her way to winemaker positions at Domaine Queylus, The Farm and Honsberger Estate Winery \u2014 makes her passion for Pinot Noir evident.<\/p>\n The current Mason Vineyard release includes five estate wines.<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cPinot is a challenge to grow and it\u2019s a challenge to make. I like that internal competition every year that I have with the vineyard and also in the tank. I love that it\u2019s hard to do,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen it\u2019s beautiful, when you have the nose and the beautiful palate and a really nice finish and it\u2019s all in harmony, it\u2019s the best feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n Since moving to California, Mason quietly worked to realize her end goal to own a vineyard and eventually create her own label.<\/p>\n Her search for the perfect plot of land began in the outskirts of the Napa Valley and then Ontario\u2019s Prince Edward County (PEC) appellation, before ultimately shifting to the Niagara Peninsula.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the bench, there was this different vibe \u2014 niche, boutique producers that were becoming a little more focused and only doing one or two varietals,\u201d Mason says. \u201cI\u2019m seeing it now, 10 years later, that I absolutely chose the best piece of land that I could for me and what I wanted to do,\u201d<\/p>\n In the end, she says it was CCOVI affiliate Kevin Ker who helped her to find her property in the Twenty Mile Bench.<\/p>\n The current Mason Vineyard release includes five estate wines and four \u201cCollab wines\u201d that Mason says explore what winemakers can achieve when working together.<\/p>\n Although she does not currently have a formal tasting room, Mason is offering a limited number of exclusive taste and shop sessions throughout the month and hosting an event alongside her \u201cCollab wines\u201d counterparts at Honsberger Estate Winery on Sunday, Oct. 30.<\/p>\n For the latest details on Mason\u2019s vineyard and offerings, visit masonvineyard.com<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Five](\"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Mason_Bottles.jpg\")