PRODUCER: Brick & Mortar
REGION: Sonoma Coast, Anderson Valley, Napa Valley
WINEMAKER: Matt Iaconis
Brick & Mortar work with coastal and high elevation vineyards within Sonoma Coast, Anderson Valley and Napa Valley, able to express the elegance and purity of cool-climate Northern California fruit. The wines are made with minimal intervention, highlighting texture, freshness and balance, a glimpse of the dynamic time and place of vintage and vineyard.
WINERY HISTORY
Founded in 2011 by husband-and-wife team Matt (winemaking) and Alexis (business) Iaconis, the name serves as a metaphor for their foundational philosophy: the “brick and mortar” of their approach is to highlight the vineyard with minimal intervention.
The couple first met at the Michelin three-star Restaurant at Meadowood in Napa Valley, where Alexis was working as a sommelier and Matt - then a recent hire - was working nights to pay for grapes to make his first wines. Their shared love of great Champagne and Burgundy brought them together and inspired their projects. Alexis and Matt launched Brick & Mortar with just 84 cases of Pinot Noir two years later, while continuing to study and taste the wines from Burgundy and Champagne that truly informed their vineyard choices and style.
VITICULTURE & WINEMAKING
At the heart of the range are long-standing relationships with growers in select coastal vineyards above the fog line in Napa Valley, Sonoma Coast and Mendocino County. Matt and Alexis prioritise sites at elevation, exposed to coastal breezes, north-facing or sloped, creating a dynamic growing environment where slower ripening produces grapes with more maturity, character and texture, but less sugar.
Matt’s goal in the winery is to preserve the natural acidity and texture of the fruit. He uses only native yeasts and minimal sulphur. Maturation takes place in a mix of new and used 500L puncheons from François Frères and Damy. Chardonnay is foot-trodden in bins and left for 8–12 hours before being pressed directly into puncheon for primary fermentation. Depending on the cuvée, the Chardonnays age on lees without bâtonnage for 8–20 months in barrel before bottling. Pinot Noir is also foot-trodden to start fermentation, which proceeds slowly and at as cool a temperature as possible, with two punch-downs per day. The wine is then pressed directly to barrel and aged for 8–20 months without racking. These are bright, fresh, food-friendly wines that very much deliver on their claim to be “inspired by Europe yet rooted in California.”
The fruit for their Sonoma Coast Chardonnay comes from the Ocean View vineyard in the heart of the Russian River Valley, a stone’s throw from the iconic Kistler and Ritchie vineyards. The wine exhibits beautiful depth of flavour while maintaining its inherent brightness. Their Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir comes from a single vineyard in the cool climate of Carneros, just five miles from San Pablo Bay. This coastal proximity brings purity of fruit, lively natural acidity and precision.
Matt and Alexis are also the duo behind Delta Wines, through which they support non-profit organisations dedicated to making a positive environmental impact and fighting climate change.
GRAPE VARIETIES
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah.
