The Germans who planted these vines called them "Black Malvasia". For many years, it was thought that the actual grapes were the "Malvasia Nera" variety, which is a direct translation of "Black Malvasia", but DNA research has revealed that they were actually "Cinsault". When the Scholium Project began, it was the first grape to be brought to the winery, so we named it "1MN" to mean the first "Malvasia Nera". This wine is made from 100% Cinsault grapes from the Bechtard Ranch, which was planted in 1870. The west side of Lodi is usually clayey soil with poor drainage, but the Bechtard Ranch has a mixture of sandy loam and clay soil formed by the flow of the Mokelumne River (a mountain stream in the Sierra Mountains), making it ideal soil for grapes. Although the vines are very old, they are still healthy because they are still rooted. With the 600L puncheon standing upright, remove the lid. The harvested grapes are put into the barrel and 1/3 of the juice is squeezed out by foot trampling. After that, the grapes are left as they are, and fermentation begins about a week later, but they are left alone. This process of leaving the grapes alone is called the "Courier Protocol". The caps that float up are soaked by a minimum number of punchdowns, but no pumpover is performed. Fermentation ends after three weeks, and the wine is transferred to 220L old barrels, where the free run and press wine are aged separately for a year. No SO2 is usually added, and this vintage was finished with 0mg/L free SO2 and 40mg/L total. The wines of the Scholium Project are infused with the soul of the owner Abe Schoener. Abe believes that success and failure are experiences, and says that the act of "making wine" itself is a study. However, no matter how hard you study, it is meaningless if the wine is not delicious. Abe seems to understand that this is the basic premise. Honestly, the wines of the Scholium Project are the type of wines that people either love or hate. Regardless of whether they like it or not, Abe says that there is meaning in consumers experiencing his wines, and that he hopes that they will then deepen their knowledge of wine. "Scholium" comes from the Greek word "scholion," which means "to learn about wine." Abe's mentor, John Kongsgaard, said the following about Abe: "Trying new things and making wine experimentally is something that any winemaker does. What's amazing about Abe is that he doesn't just serve these wines at home parties and ask for opinions, but he sells them publicly without hesitation. And while these wines often attract mixed reviews from consumers, for Abe, wine is not about whether you like the taste or not. By drinking that wine, did you discover something new, did you learn something new about wine, and did you think carefully about why the wine tasted the way it did? Only people who feel that drinking Abe's wines makes them make them think in some way can become fans of the wines he makes."