Strawberries and barbecue!

These are two great ways to herald the arrival of warmer temperatures.  It’s time for outdoor living and entertaining!

Get inspired for the arrival of the summer season when you try these tasty recipes featuring our award-winning St. James Winery Strawberry Wine!

• Strawberry Lemonade
• Strawberry Fields Forever
• Strawberry and Spinach Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette
• Lamb Rib Chops with Strawberry & Rhubarb Sauce
• Marinaded Watermelon
• Strawberry Wine Sauce
• Strawberry Crepes
• Strawberry Fruit Fool

Wear your walking shoes and bring your (crowd-friendly) pooch for an afternoon dog walk exploring our vineyard doggy trail and enjoying your favorite award-winning wines from St. James Winery.

A portion of the proceeds will go toward the Tri-County Humane Society. Donations of non-perishable dog food, pet toys, and cleaning supplies are also most welcome.

Advance tickets are $15 per person ($20 at the door), and admission price includes two glasses of wine for you, as well as water and treats for the furry friends. There is a limit of 2 dogs per person, and dogs must be kept on leashes at all times.

To reserve tickets: email tickets@stjameswinery.com or call 573-261-3308.

Feeling the need for a beach getaway but no vacation time on the horizon? Running a little short on Vitamin “Sea”? For a tropical taste treat, grab some St. James Winery’s Mango Fruit Wine, it’s the next best thing to a vacation in the sun.

“Now that the days are getting longer and the countdown to summer is on, it’s time to enjoy Mango Fruit Wine,” said Peter Hofherr, CEO of St. James Winery. “Better hurry though, our Mango wine is a seasonal selection and only available for a limited time.”

Like all other St. James Winery fruit wines, Mango wine makes a delicious wine cocktail. This weekend for Cinco de Mayo try a Mango-Rita. For on the rocks drinks grab a big pitcher and mix a bottle of St. James Winery Mango wine with seven ounces of tequila and a half cup of chopped fresh mango. Add the juice of a lemon and a dash of lime juice and serve them up in salt-rimmed margarita glasses with a snip of mint.

For food and wine pairings, Mango wine goes well with either sweet or salty (or both!) It’s terrific with angel food cake or orange pound cake and tasty with chili spiced nuts or garlic bagel chips. Or try layering flavors: slice fresh mango off the sides of the seed, leaving the peel on. Sprinkle the top of the fruit with raw sugar and broil until the sugar caramelizes. Scoop the warm fruit from the peel and enjoy with a glass of mango fruit wine. Mango fruit wine also makes a delicious smoothie by blending equal parts fresh mango, mango fruit wine, and ice, then adding raw sugar to taste.

St. James Winery Mango Wine can be found wherever St. James Winery wines are sold. Look for the mango sunshine label or order online right now!  And with Mother’s Day coming up, why not share the Mango Wine love with Mom — she’ll thank you for it!

When your livelihood comes from the earth, which is the case with viticulture, then every day is Earth Day! Face it, if it weren’t for the good earth, there wouldn’t be any wine…and wouldn’t that be dreadful!!!

Here at St. James Winery we’re especially excited about Earth Day this year because it’s only been in the last few days that springtime has (finally!) arrived in the vineyard. The vines are sprouting shoots and we’ll have little baby grapes there in just a little while.

Get outside, stoke up the fire pit, and pour a glass of your favorite wine.

Looking for some super-grapey goodness?

• Velvet Red (with Concord grapes)
• Velvet White (with Niagara grapes)

Feel the need for fresh berry deliciousness?

• Blackberry
• Blueberry
• Raspberry
• Strawberry

Have a hankerin’ for orchard-ripened fruitiness?

• Cherry
• Peach

Here’s to you, Mother Earth!

Now head on over to our online store — stock up on a few bottles, and do some good while you’re at it — our End Early Childhood Hunger is still going on!

St. James Winery has always drawn inspiration for its award winning wines from the spirit of the early Italian immigrants who settled the area around St. James, Missouri, during the late 1800s. Now with the introduction their Frontier Selection label, St. James Winery is re-branding five of its award-winning varietal wines — Cynthiana, Estate Norton, Moscato, Riesling, and Vignoles — and developing two new dry wine blends, Pioneer Red and Pioneer White.

“We’re very excited about our Frontier Selections line for many reasons,” said Peter Hofherr, CEO of St. James Winery. “Since St. James Winery first opened its doors, we have pioneered the art of creating award-winning wines made from hybrid and native grape varietals. People talk about the wine frontier of South America or the South Pacific, but it’s also right here in Missouri. Because the wine frontier is any emerging wine region, and the Ozark Highlands of Missouri where we grow and make our wines is definitely the wine frontier.”

Within the Frontier Selections family there are two new dry wine blends — Pioneer Red and Pioneer White — which are named in honor of two Missouri wine pioneers. “Because we’re a family-owned winery, we believed it was important to honor the contributions of my parents, Jim & Patricia Hofherr, who founded St. James Winery more than forty years ago,” Hofherr said. “Pioneer Red and Pioneer White are perfect tributes to their entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering contributions to winemaking in Missouri.”

Pioneer White blends Chardonel, Seyval, and Vignoles to create a wine with smoky oak and pineapple aromas with zesty gooseberry and kiwi on the palate. Crisp balanced acid and a lively finish. Pioneer Red blends Norton, Chambourcin, and Rougeon grapes for a bright crimson wine with intense, layered flavors of plums, dark cherries and spicy oak.

“Another thing we’re very excited about with the Frontier Selections brand is the introduction of bottles with a carbonless footprint package,” Hofherr said. “Our labels are screen printed on the bottles using an organic, soy-based inks that are environmentally friendly, free of heavy metals, cadmium, solvents, and volative organic compounds (VOC). Because these are 100% recyclable through the traditional waste management process, the bottles are very eco-friendly. We chose the design to reflect the region and heritage of St. James Winery: the one-room schoolhouse and the rolling Ozark Highlands.”

St. James Winery is the largest and most awarded winery in Missouri. Founded by the Hofherr family in 1970, St. James Winery celebrates more than 40 years as a family owned and operated winery. St. James Winery’s award-winning wines are sold in 19 states.

And one of our favorite ways to enjoy our Strawberry Wine is with this delicious and easy mixed drink. Drinks, like good food, should involve multiple senses. This one looks great, smells great because of the mint, and tastes great.

Strawberry Fields Forever

Ingredients

• 8-10 fresh mint leaves
• 1-1/2 ounces Limoncello
• 3 ounces St. James Winery Strawberry Wine
• cold club soda

Instructions

1. In a mixing glass muddle mint and Limoncello.
2. Fill with ice and, using a Boston shaker, give a quick shake to let the ice further break up the mint.
3. Pour contents, ice and all, into a large wine glass.
4. Add wine and top off with a splash of club soda.

This is a refreshing, thirst quenching drink that is also modest in the alcohol department so you can sit on a deck and drink a lot of them on a sunny day.

To make them by the pitcher, simply muddle the mint in the bottom of the pitcher, then add two part wine and one part limoncello. To keep the fizz factor, add the club soda as you pour individual drinks.

The Easter weekend is coming up, and we hope you find you basket filled with all the things you love best … like maybe some wine from St. James Winery!

If you’re in the market for a traditional Easter Basket, look no further than our Velvet Red Basket which features a pretty Longhorn stained oval basket filled with our award-winning Velvet Red Wine, crackets, cheese spread, chocolates, and more. Order the basket and get it shipped for less than $50!

When it’s your job play Easter bunny and make some fun baskets for the grown-ups, hop on over to the wine aisle of your favorite market and grab a few packs of St. James Winery Velvet Red and Velvet White minis. These cute little 187ml bottles are just the right size to tuck into a basket. Add a chocolate bunny and some jelly beans and you’re set.

Psst — one more quick idea:  for an eggs-tra special bit of fun at an adults-only Easter egg hunt, use glue dots to attach a plastic egg to the labels of our mini-bottles. Then, hide the bottles in the grass, bottle-side down so only the eggs show.

St. James Winery’s Moscato has a new look this spring! But don’t worry because inside the bottle, it’s the same great wine you’ve come to know and love.

“>Moscato has a delicate nose filled with the aromas of dried apricot and pineapple. A semi-sweet white wine, our Moscato is a combination of crisp nectarine and apricot flavors, plus juicy notes of tropical fruit that culminate in a neat, clean finish. Moscato tastes great with salty bagel chips and Blue or Gorgonzola cheeses.

Fresh off gold medal wins at the Florida State Fair International and Jerry Mead’s New World International, “>St. James Winery Moscato is a great value at under $13/bottle (& case discounts apply!).

Moscato is part of our new Frontier Selections series, wines dedicated to the pioneering spirit that flourishes at St. James Winery. Look for new Frontier Selections labels on your favorites like Norton, Cynthiana, Vignoles, and Riesling in the months ahead.

This year, try pairing traditional Irish fare with your favorite wines! Here are a few ideas to get you started.

• St. James Winery Riesling wtih Corned Beef & Cabbage. The saltiness of the corned beef and cabbage loves the soft sweetness of our Riesling.
• St. James Winery Norton with Irish Lamb Stew. Our Norton absolutely loves to be paired with lamb, and a hearty Irish stew is no exception.
• St. James Winery Moscato with Bread Pudding. The sweet homey flavors of warm bread pudding are a perfect complement to chilled Moscato.

If you’ve got food and wine pairing ideas for St. Patrick’s Day, be sure to let us know by giving St. James Winery a shout-out on Facebook or Twitter!

Sláinte!

St. James Winery is launching an annual campaign against childhood hunger beginning in March and running through the end of May 2013. During this time, St. James Winery will donate a portion of proceeds from the sale of their wine to support the Missouri Food Bank Association and its local food bank child-feeding programs. The winery’s goal is to raise awareness of childhood hunger issues, as well as educate and encourage others to get involved.

“March is National Nutrition Month and the right time to begin a campaign raising awareness of childhood hunger issues,” said Peter Hofherr CEO of St. James Winery. “In Missouri alone, there are thousands of children living in poverty, and school breakfasts and lunches are the only source of reliable nutrition. Weekends and holidays are especially tough for these at-risk children. Backpack programs provide kid-friendly, nutritious foods to supplement their meals when there is not enough to eat at home during weekends and holidays.”

“For the past five years, our winery family has been dedicated to the reduction of childhood hunger by raising money for the Buddy Pack program here in St. James, Missouri,” Hofherr continued. This new, larger program simply extends something we’ve already been doing and offers our customers an opportunity to improve the quality of life for children in a very concrete way.”

St. James Winery is working in tandem with the Missouri Food Bank Association, which is a coalition of the six Missouri food banks working to provide hunger relief to every county in the state. Collectively, the Missouri Food Bank Association distributes more than 90 million pounds of food each year through a network of more than 2000 community programs, including the child-feeding programs for kids.

Customers should look for St. James Winery point-of-sale materials with colorful handprint graphics or visit the St. James Winery Web Site (www.stjameswinery.com) to learn more about how to help and how to donate.

St. James Winery is the largest and most awarded winery in Missouri. Founded by the Hofherr family in 1970, St. James Winery celebrates more than 40 years as a family owned and operated winery. St. James Winery’s award-winning wines are sold in stores in 19 states.