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Feature Article
Although prevented from selling wine beyond their winery property by Massachusett laws, sales have not stopped at Les Trois Emme.
Massachusetts (State Appellation)
Les Trois Emme:
Finding a Niche in the Berkshires
As realtors say, it’s location, location, location!
by
Eleanor & Ray Heald
November 25, 2008
Those who follow direct-to-consumer shipping legislation state by state know that Massachusetts has continued a ban on shipping, even though a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Granholm v. Heald declared it unconstitutional. However, one winery, Les Trois Emme, has discovered that location in the Berkshires tourist region of western Massachusetts has enabled it to make not only 2,000 cases of interesting wines, but to attract consumers who buy at the winery.
It started as an idea in 2002, and one year later, that idea became incorporated as Les Trois Emme Winery. Owners Mary Jane and Wayne Eline developed a wine interest while they were living and working in Virginia for most of the 1990s. The couple decided that when Wayne retired in 1999, they’d grow a few grapes and make wine in the basement of their home, located in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. Only 125 vines were planted in 2000. The Elines' children thought that this was the grandest idea. They could help with the vineyard and winemaking.
Wayne and Mary Jane ElineIn 2001, decisions were made to plant 500 additional vines in the sandstone soil. The additional 1,500 planted vines became a greater wine volume than the 200 gallons allowed by an amateur winemaking license. The Eline kids suggested that a small winery would accommodate the ensuing 2003 grape harvest. And here’s the real kicker: Mary Jane realized that Wayne was bored with retirement. He wanted to go back to work. A thesis short of a chemistry Ph.D., he qualified to be a winemaker from that standpoint. “It’s the same with any profession,” Eline notes. “If you’re into it, you have to know the inner workings and why things are done the way they are.”
The questions still beg: why Massachusetts, why the Berkshires, and why the name? “Because we owned the land since 1971,” Wayne said. The name is a play on French, very loosely translated as The Three Ms for granddaughters Megan, Madison and Mary Katherine. Other grandchildren get recognized by proprietary wine names such as blends called Nick Jackson, $15 (a blush wine blend of Cayuga White and Foch that’s light and crisp) and Julia’s Ruby Red, $15 (a blend of Foch, California Syrah and California Centurion from the Lodi area).
It started as an idea in 2002, and one year later, that idea became incorporated as Les Trois Emme Winery. Owners Mary Jane and Wayne Eline developed a wine interest while they were living and working in Virginia for most of the 1990s. The couple decided that when Wayne retired in 1999, they’d grow a few grapes and make wine in the basement of their home, located in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. Only 125 vines were planted in 2000. The Elines' children thought that this was the grandest idea. They could help with the vineyard and winemaking.
Wayne and Mary Jane Eline
The questions still beg: why Massachusetts, why the Berkshires, and why the name? “Because we owned the land since 1971,” Wayne said. The name is a play on French, very loosely translated as The Three Ms for granddaughters Megan, Madison and Mary Katherine. Other grandchildren get recognized by proprietary wine names such as blends called Nick Jackson, $15 (a blush wine blend of Cayuga White and Foch that’s light and crisp) and Julia’s Ruby Red, $15 (a blend of Foch, California Syrah and California Centurion from the Lodi area).
Appellation America: What varieties are you growing in your Berkshires location vineyard?
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