Vinca Minor / Moonland
Jason Charles spent time after College working as a photographer in the US, Mexico, and Europe. He caught the wine bug waiting tables in New York City restaurants. After experiences working in vineyards in Saint Emilion in Bordeaux and the Sonoma Coast, Jason started the Vinca Minor label to “explore the intersection between farmer, winemaker and artist.” He believes in organic farming, and attempts to make the wines as naturally as possible, always working with indigenous yeast, never filtering or fining, and racking only once before bottling. Jason started last year with a special plot of very old carignan vines in Redwood Valley, Mendocino, and will harvest a second vineyard of Merlot in Napa Valley in 2014 for the first time.
Enjoy a quick introduction story on Jason and his wines
- Rosewood Vineyards Carignan
- Babrak Vineyard Merlot/ Cabernet Franc
- Carignan Rosé
- California White Blend
- Pear/Sauvignon Blanc
- Mendocino Light Red
- Mendocino Carignan & Zinfandel
- Moonland Apple & Carignan Sparkling Rosé
- Moonland Apple & Petite Sirah Sparkling Rosé
- Moonland Pear Blend Sparkling White
- Moonland Apple Pear Grape
- Mendocino Carignan Gewurztraminer Petite Sirah
Rosewood Vineyards Carignan: — Back to the top
Age of Vines: 85 years old
Total Production: 100 cases
Soil: Redvine, red clay strewn with fist sized rocks
Varieties: Carignan
Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested as whole bunches which are and pressed to stainless steel and used french oak. The bunches are foot tread for 3 hours, after which point the juice is pressed to tank and barrel. The wine is aged 5 months before being bottled, unfined and unfiltered, with 10 parts per million of sulfur added.
Viticulture: Rosewood Vineyards is farmed organically by a couple who have been on the property for over four generations.
Babrak Vineyard Merlot/ Cabernet Franc — Back to the top
Age of Vines: 20 years old
Total Production: 32 cases
Soil: Limestone Gravel and Rock
Vineyard notes: This vineyard is located in the Santa Cruz Mountains on Montebello road. The vines are farmed organically by Jason. It has a Southeast exposition with a 60% graded slope.
Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and destemmed. The wine is fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts. Fermentation went dry after 13 days, where it was then racked once into 7 year old 60 gallon barrels, where it aged for 5 months. Bottled with zero added sulfur. No fining or filtration.
Age of Vines: 85 years old
Total Production: 95 cases
Soil: Clay and Rock
AVA: Mendocino
Vinification Method: Grapes ferment as whole clusters and are foot tread. The stems and skins are with the juice for a 3 hour soak, and the juice is then pressed to tank, settled overnight, then transferred to used barrels for 7 months. Bottled unfined and unfiltered, with 10 parts per million of sulfur added.
California White Blend — Back to the top
Varieties: 2022 is Vermentino, Picpoul Blanc & Orange Muscat
Vineyard: organic and dry-farmed
Vinification Method: Vermentino & Picpoul are direct-pressed. Orange Muscat fermented on its skins for 1 week. Blended and aged in older French barrels and stainless steel.
Personality: succulently marine! Crushed rock, yellow orchard fruits, wild herbs and a salty minerality, rounded by citrusy skin-contact aromatics from the Muscat.
Buddy Buddy Pear/Sauvignon Blanc — Back to the top
Total production: 41 cases
50% Heirloom pears, 50% Sauvignon Blanc, both farmed organically.
Pears and grape juice were co-fermented in older French oak barrels. Bottled in fall, unfined, and unfiltered with zero sulfur added at bottling.
California Light Red — Back to the top
Grapes: 2022 is a blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Sauvignon Blanc
Vineyard: organic
Making of: Co-fermented semi-carbonic. Aged for 6 months in older French barrels and stainless steel.
Personality: Light and bright. Hibiscus tea, tart red fruit and fresh-cut herbs. Serve well chilled.
Mendocino Carignan & Zinfandel — Back to the top
Grapes: 50% Carignan & 50% Zinfandel
Vineyard: Hawkeye Ranch, Redwood Valley, Mendocino. All the varieties are old vines, grown together. Organic, dry-farmed. Pinole Gravelly Loam soil with excellent drainage. Large diurnal temperature shift provides excellent fruit maturation while maintaining balance.
Making of: Fruit was picked mid-September and de-stemmed. Fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks. Once dry, the wine aged for 10 months in older french oak barrels.
Personality: “Hands down, the 2021 vintage produced some of the most exciting red wines. Dense fruit, backed up by acid and soft tannins.”
Moonland Apple & Carignan Sparkling Rosé 2020— Back to the top
Moonland is Jason’s new project experimenting with fruit beyond grapes to discover new horizons while battling the current climate, weather, and other challenges.
Blend of fruits & Carignan grapes from organic orchards and vineyards in Redwood Valley, Mendocino.
Making of: The fruit ferments spontaneously together and is bottled while still fermenting. No S02 added.
Personality: tad exotic, tad appley, tad salty, wonderfully drinkable (9% ABV) and fizzy above all! Get ready to get addicted.
125 cases produced
Moonland Apple & Petite Sirah Sparkling Rosé 2021— Back to the top
Moonland is Jason’s new project experimenting with fruit beyond grapes to discover new horizons while battling the current climate, weather, and other challenges.
Blend of organic apples from Filigreen Farm & old-vine organic Petite Sirah grapes from Redwood Valley, Mendocino.
Making of: The fruits ferment spontaneously together in old French oak barrels, and are bottled under crown cap while still fermenting, to finish as a pet-nat. Unfined, unfiltered, no SO2 added.
Personality: just look at that beautiful color! Super refreshing drink bursting with tones and blueberries and pepper – courtesy of the P. Sirah – and beautiful acidic lift wilt floral-appley undertones. Gone in 1, 2…
Moonland Pear Blend Sparkling White 2021— Back to the top
Moonland is Jason’s new project experimenting with fruit beyond grapes to discover new horizons while battling the current climate, weather, and other challenges.
Blend of organic pears from Filigreen Farm & organic Sauvignon Blanc and Picpoul grapes from Redwood Valley, Mendocino.
Making of: The fruits ferment spontaneously together in old French oak barrels, and are bottled under crown cap while still fermenting, to finish as a pet-nat. Unfined, unfiltered, no SO2 added.
Personality: pretty pearsy succulent Sauv & prickly Picpoul! Ok, nerdy alliterations aside, this is a really charming and easy drink whose lush flavors and saline/acidic end-kick will work wonders with all kinds of raw seafood with some citrusy/tangy seasoning…
Moonland Apple Pear Grape — Back to the top
Moonland is Jason’s new project experimenting with fruit beyond grapes to discover new horizons while battling the current climate, weather, and other challenges.
Blend of organic apples and pears from Filigreen Farm & organic Picpoul grapes from Windmill Vineyard, Yolo County.
Making of: The fruits co-fermented spontaneously together, then a bit of Picpoul Blanc was added in the spring right before bottling. Unfined, unfiltered, no SO2 added.
Personality: juicy, tangy and aromatic. Super refreshing and easy to dring wine-fruit cross with 9% ABV.
Mendoncino Carignan Petite Sirah Gewurztraminer— Back to the top
Jason on this wine: “Last year’s fires forced us to be creative and to move fast. By early September there was already a high potential of smoke taint for most vineyards in Northern California. We approached our classic dry-farmed vineyards with a lighter touch for a deeper style rose.”
Vineyard: Redwood Valley // Anderson Valley // Mendocino
Grapes: 25% Carignan, 50% Petite Sirah, 25% Gewurztraminer
Making of: the Carignan and Petite Sirah co-fermented for five days on the skins and were then gently pressed into older French barrels. The coastal Gewurztraminer was blended in the following spring.
Personality: peak summer flavors of ripe peaches and blackberries. Drink chilled.