Norton…and Still We Wait….

September 1st, 2010 by Gina

It’s another harvest day in the vineyards here in Missouri.

This August, St. James Winery has picked more grapes than in any previous August in the winery’s history. According to St. James Winery CEO, Peter Hofherr, “the quality of what I’m tasting coming out of the press is exceptional.”

Many factors have led to this being an early harvest, but the two most important are the intense heat coupled with the large amount of rain that’s fallen in Missouri this summer.

In the vineyards, we’re finishing up with our Rougeon grapes, French-American hybrids that produce a medium-sized black fruit. One of the primary uses of Rougeon grapes is in blending to provide a rich, red color. Rougeon grapes give our Friendship School Red its amazing shade of purple. (Sunset through a glass a Friendship School Red…it’s a beautiful thing!)

Backyard gardeners and grape enthusiasts take note: Rougeon grapes are also great for shade, and just one vine can put out enough leafy growth
to cover an arbor or a walkway. Interestingly, the grape doesn’t always produce fruit every season!

Meanwhile, the winemakers continue to get their exercise walking the rows of Norton in the vineyard.

Norton has the unique characteristic of a very high Ph level with a very high acid level, “and at the very end the flavor comes in,” said Peter Hofherr. “So the winemakers come out and walk [the Norton] almost every day looking for that moment when the flavor comes in.”

Hear more from Peter Hofherr about grape harvest 2010 at St. James Winery:

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Sights & Sounds of Harvest

August 25th, 2010 by Gina

The 2010 grape harvest is well underway here at St. James Winery, and if you have a chance to stop by during the next few weeks, you’ll often find the rich smell of fermentation in the air. One of our friends on Facebook called it an “awesome aroma! A sour kind of…beery-raising bread-winey-grapey-yeasty smell!”

If you can’t make it for a visit we thought we’d share some of the sights and sounds of harvest with you.

The first thing that happens is a grape harvester picks the grapes and empties them into a gondola that transports them to the winery. On average, we have
eleven gondolas coming from the vineyard each hour. Which means a fresh load of grapes about every six minutes!

The grapes in the video are Cayuga, which were the first we picked this year. Cayuga are used in St. James Friendship School White and several of our other wines. So far this year, we’ve also picked Chardonel, and Vignoles, both of which are white wine grapes. Once the gondola tips them into the receiving hopper, an auger moves them along.

Next the grapes go up the incline conveyor (a little escalator, just for grapes!) that raises them to… the crusher, a.k.a. the crush pit.

After the crusher, the winemakers decide whether or not to destem the grapes, then the “must” (nope, they’re no longer called grapes!) is chilled.

Because white wine is fermented juice only, the next stop is a press tank that separates the juice and skins. Following the press tank, the juice is pumped into settling tanks where it rests for 24 hours while any solids settle to the bottom. The next day clean juice is racked into new tanks and yeast is added to begin the fermentation process.

From this point on, the winemakers work their magic, Some white wines demand stainless steel tanks, other whites needs barrels. Some require a second fermentation. It all depends upon the style of wine that the winemakers are trying to achieve.

Note: The process for making red and white wines differs. For instance, if these were red wine grapes they’d be fermented with skins on in order to get the color and tannins from the must. So far this year, St. James Winery has picked Concord and Rougeon (red) grapes.

You can continue to keep up with the harvest here at St. James Winery by checking the blog for future posts and following us on Facebook and Twitter (search for #grapeharvest).

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Going Gold

August 19th, 2010 by Gina

St. James Winery believes in keeping the bar set high for our wines and winemaking process. That’s why we enter wine competitions… so we’ll know how professional wine tasters view our wines.

The good news: the judges think St. James Wines are as wonderful as we do.

This year we’ve focused our varietal wines rather than the full (and extensive!) menu of St. James Wines. Now at the end of the summertime flurry of wine competitions, and before the fall competition season begins, St. James Winery thrilled with our more than 30 double gold & gold medals so far this year.

Dry wine lovers take note of the awards our dry wines have won this year.

If your taste leans more toward semi-dry wines, here are the results you’re looking for.

  • Vintner’s Select Vignoles won a double gold from San Diego and gold in Florida, Los Angeles, International Eastern, and Dallas
  • Riesling won gold at Amenti, Grand Harvest, and Mid-America
  • Friendship School White was awarded a double gold at by Tasters Guild and gold at Indy
  • 2009 Vignoles won gold at Long Beach, Lone Star, and Indy International

For sweet wine devotees our sweet varietal wines are our late harvest and dessert wines.

  • Late Harvest Chardonel took a double gold at Tasters Guild and gold at Indy International
  • Late Harvest Vignoles, Norton Dessert Wine, and Chardonel Dessert Wines all won gold medals at Tasters Guild
  • Concord Dessert Wine was a gold medal winner at Indy International

It’s always fun to win awards, but at the end of the day, St. James Winery wants you to know you’re going be happy with what’s inside each time you open
a bottle of our wine.

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Harvest Time is Here

August 11th, 2010 by Andrew Meggitt

concord_harvestWinemakers are often asked is it a good harvest, or a good crop of grapes. The answer could be a very simple yes or no, alas not. There are an enormous number of factors influencing the quality of the wine every year.

A large crop is not always indicative of a quality wine, conversely a large crop is not always a factor in a lower quality wine. To produce quality wine requires the elements to cooperate at very specific times during the growing season.

The first hurdle is getting past the last frost day of the season when buds are starting to push out. When the emerging bunches start flowering we need warm dry weather. If it rains there is a risk of disease damaging the fruit; if it is too windy (or, God forbid, there is hail) there could be damage to the bunches. From a winemaking perspective we do not want any of these things to come to fruition. Then after that point in the season we need dry warm spells. Water is still needed, but not when the grapes are almost mature. Mature grapes are at their most vulnerable. High sugars and thin skins mean that any excess humidity or rain will cause rot and disease pressure.

We are fortunate that the grape varieties we grow are bred and suited to our Ozark climate.

So what makes a good harvest? Combinations of all the above in small doses, coupled with grapes grown well, and positive, smart winemaking.

Still, no matter what happens wineries are always subject to whatever nature deals us. It is our ability to respond to those conditions within the constraints of the fruit that comes from the field, our response to the harvest conditions and being able to make our wines with the season in mind are what makes good harvests.

Of course the enthusiasm of the fabulous St. James Winery staff (and the fact that we get to make wine!) help in no small part in a good harvest.

Posted in All About Wine, In The Vineyard, Winemaker's Journal | 2 Comments »

Keeping It Balanced

August 2nd, 2010 by Andrew Meggitt

balance_yoga
Much has been written lately about wines that have higher alcohol contents, and certainly the wine media have commented on the subject.  But these higher alcohol wines still have friends. They hadn’t been exiled to the recycling with yesterday’s newspaper.

Wine alcohol level is essentially a discussion about wine balance. Certain commentators think that high alcohol makes the wine too hot and unbalanced.   But what is that number?

Legally table wine is between 7.00% and 14.00% alcohol. At 14.00% it moves to another tax category.  That’s the difference…the tax table.

So why the statements about 14.00% being too high in alcohol?  Well, some restaurants, vendors and sommeliers will not have wine on their wine lists above 14.00 % alcohol, but truly, there is a place for all types of wine at different times.

Wine balance isn’t a number, it’s a complex interaction of acid, tannin, alcohol, and residual sugar.  Higher alcohol does not create terrible wines, just wines that are higher in alcohol.  As long as the wines are balanced and refined, it should not matter.

The pundits judge higher alcohol as unbalancing other aspects of the wine. Words like “fruit bomb” and “massive” are used. This may be true, but if the wine drinks well and has high alcoholic, what’s the problem?  When the alcohol and sweetness pertained from the higher alcohol are dominant, the wine is out of balance…and that is a problem.

Alcohol levels on wine have crept up over the past few years.  Whether it’s climactic, trend, or market driven is hard to say.  In the final analysis, whether we like or dislike a wine should not depend on the numbers on the label but on our innate ability to form opinions of our own.  Personal taste is just that, personal.  Don’t judge it by the exterior numbers but by the quality of the contents.  If you think a wine has balance and (more importantly) you enjoy drinking it,  go ahead and enjoy.

Cheers!

Posted in All About Wine, From the Tasting Room, Red Wine, White Wine, Wine Awards, Wine Tasting, Winemaker's Journal | No Comments »

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