fbpx
Peachy Sangria Wine

Peachy Sangria wine is a light and fresh blend of award-winning St. James Winery Peach, Raspberry, and Moscato wines, and it has returned just in time for summertime sipping. In each bottle of Peachy Sangria, you’ll enjoy aromas and flavors of freshly sliced peaches and juicy Moscato with a touch of raspberry on the finish. Peachy Sangria fan, Connie from Texas writes, “I love sweet wines and this is a perfect combination of peaches and sangria. I love the taste!”

That’s not all, peach fans, there’s more. Peachy Sangria now has a Sparkling partner! New Sparkling Peachy Sangria begins with the same blend of award-winning St. James Winery Peach, Raspberry, and Moscato wines. Then, our team adds just the right amount of sparkle and packages it in ready-to-drink 12-ounce cans. It’s a winning combination that’s right at home at the lake, poolside, and at your next backyard barbeque.

You’ll appreciate that both versions of Peachy Sangria wines are crafted with all-natural fruit, with never any artificial colors or flavors. The fruit flavors shine in these wines, and the Moscato adds a unique layer of both aroma and flavor. The wines are fruity and light without being overly sweet. Just perfect to quench your thirst on a relaxing summer evening.

Peachy Sangria and Sparkling Peachy Sangria are available today in our St. James, Missouri tasting room. Our tasting room is open seven days a week and conveniently located along I-44 at exit 195. Plan your visit and join us for a guided tasting.

Peachy Sangria and Sparkling Peachy Sangria are coming soon to a retail store near you. Bookmark the handy Store Locator tool for ease in locating retail outlets.

Read more about the original Peachy Sangria wine from Executive Winemaker Andrew Meggitt HERE.

Just in time for the first day of spring, we are excited to announce the online release of our newest wines – sparkling fruit wines in 375 ml cans! These new additions to our lineup are a variation of our popular 750 ml fruit wines, which happen to be the most awarded fruit wines in the USA. Like our traditional fruit wines, these new canned wines are made with 100% real fruit, with no added colors or flavors and are gluten-free.

Although similar, there are a few differences in our traditional fruit wines and these new sparkling fruit wines. Other than being in a convenient, ready-to-go anywhere can format, the sparkling fruit wines are a lower ABV and are carbonated to create a light, sparkling fizz. Our traditional fruit wines are 10% ABV while these new sparkling fruit wines are 6.2% ABV. These changes lend itself to a lighter and very refreshing wine that is perfect for outdoor occasions and summer weather!

The flavors included in the lineup are Blackberry, Strawberry, Peach and Mango. Cans will be available in stores after April 1, but you can buy these single cans online starting TODAY!

Sweet, light and refreshing, these new wines are made for getaways & gatherings, docks & decks, pools & porches, and backyards & BBQ’s. Cheers!

Shop our award-winning wines

When we re-released our Brut Champagne American in the summer of 2016, we shared the story of our champagne-making process and the potential disaster that ultimately led to greatness.

Of the three exceptionally small batches made, Bin 3 was the first to be released in June 2016 with only 18 cases produced. It had a pronounced floral nose, with flavors of bright citrus, peach and honeycomb with a lively effervescence and medium creamy body.

Now Bin 1 and Bin 2, with 4 cases and 12 cases produced respectively, are ready to be released.

Join us at the Brut Champagne American Tasting Event on Friday, March 17, 2017 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the St. James Winery Tasting Room in St. James, Mo.

You’ll be the first to taste these two very limited sparkling wines and pair them with cheese, chocolate and fruit. The wines will also be available for purchase that evening, while supplies last.

Congratulations to Rock Island Trail State Park for opening the first 47.5 miles of trail connecting Kansas City to the Katy Trail and St. Louis! Once the trail is completed, the Katy Trail and Rock Island Trail will form a world-class loop showcasing Missouri’s many beautiful landscapes.

champagne-close-upOur Chairman and CEO, Peter Hofherr, sits on the trail’s board and he’s excited about the agritourism opportunities this trail provides. He encourages everyone to get out on the trails and enjoy what rural Missouri has to offer.

To help celebrate the opening of the trail, we provided our Brut Champagne American to present to Governor Nixon during this historic dedication.

Read more here.

wine_food_MWGB

St. James Winery and the Missouri Wine and Grape Board are excited to announce the launch of the Missouri winery Visitors’ Program (MVP). MVP will reward visitors to Missouri wineries through points redeemable for unique rewards. The program will officially launch on Thursday, September 1, just in time for the first weekend of Missouri Wine Month!

Participating wineries, including St. James Winery, will hand out MVP tickets, each with a unique code, which program participants can collect every time they visit. These codes are then entered into a free account the participant creates on MissouriWineMVP.com for points. The first visit to a winery will earn participants 500 points, with visits 2-10 to that same winery being worth 100 points each, and 11+ visits to the same winery accruing 10 points each. Points are redeemable for rewards on the MVP website. The best strategy to earn points for rewards is to explore Missouri wine country – visit new wineries throughout the state and you’ll not only earn more points, but you will also discover great wineries and award-winning wines along the way!

wine_food_people_MWGB

Wine enthusiasts to those new to the wine scene will have the opportunity to get acquainted with St. James Winery and Missouri wines… and earn points for each winery visit! With more than 125 wineries and 10 wine trails in Missouri wine country, what are you waiting for?

Although wineries will not be handing out tickets until September 1, those interested in becoming an MVP can register ahead of time on the program’s website MissouriWineMVP.com. For more information about MVP, please review the program Terms and Conditions and FAQ on the MVP website.

A Benedictine monk named Dom Perignon is credited with discovering the artful blends of wine and the process that creates the famous bubbles of Champagne. Before it was fine-tuned by the monk, champagne was originally found the same way many great breakthroughs are… by accident.

In homage, our champagne-making process had some disasters that led to greatness.

It had been 17 years since the last time St. James Winery winemakers put their hand to making our exceptional Brut Champagne American. For last several years, Executive Winemaker Andrew Meggitt and Winemaker Aaron Spohr carefully considered undertaking this laborious (but rewarding) endeavor. The two spent time at several Californian champagne houses, studying various methods. In 2015, the time for procrastination reached an end and they agreed it was time to start the meticulous process again.

During the harvest, juice from two different grape varieties, Valvin Muscat and Aromella, was selected and set aside. Each was fermented separately into a completely dry wine. No sulfites were added to ensure a second fermentation cycle, a critical step in making sparkling wine. The two wines were blended to create a mélange, which became the base for the champagne.

In mid-December it was time for tirage bottling, the all-important start of the second fermentation that produces the smooth bubbles for which Champagne is known. This step happens in the same bottle purchased by the consumer.

The steps immediately prior to tirage bottling have significant impact on the final result. First, a culture is built up by adding wine, sugar, and yeast suited for champagne together in carefully monitored amounts for a few days until the yeast multiplies from a bucket-sized to barrel-sized volume.

Next, sugar is added to the base wine to give the yeast plenty of food for the second fermentation. At this stage, fate stepped in and threw our winemakers a curve ball: because of an error in a set of complex calculations, too much sugar was added to the wine, “overfeeding” the yeast and jeopardizing the fermentation process. Typically at that point, the base wine would have been unacceptable for champagne.

For many winemakers, an error of this magnitude means scrapping the project and chalking it up as an expensive failure.

St. James Winery winemakers, however, are experts—Andrew, Aaron, and their team have the spirit and wisdom to overcome the bleakest of challenges thrown their way.

Using 60 gallons of unsweetened base wine, the winemakers made lemonade from lemons. Hedging their bets, the winemakers created three separate batches, or bins, of champagne, used three slightly different blending methods.

Each bins’ bottles were filled with their appropriate blend along with yeast, and capped with crowns that resist pressure in the bottle as second fermentation proceeds. As with many sparkling wine batches, not every bottle survived the second fermentation, bursting from the pressure.

Next, the remaining wine was aged on the yeast lees and moved to riddling racks that help move the remaining sediment from the yeast into the neck of the bottle. To clear the champagne, an ice plug is frozen in the neck of the bottle. When the plug is removed, the sediment goes with it. This process is called disgorging.

After the ice plug is removed, the bottle is topped off with dosage, a champagne liqueur that fills the remaining space in the bottle. It is then corked and a metal cage is placed on top, holding the cork in place despite the pressure inside the bottle. The bottle is scrubbed clean and a foil cap added over the metal cage. Finally, the bottles are labelled and ready to be enjoyed.

After the earlier miscalculation, the winemakers created the three different bins, hoping that one, if not all, would produce the desired wine. The team was pleasantly surprised to find that all three bins were of excellent quality, each with its own delicate nuances.

From potential disaster to greatness, these three unique Brut Champagne American sparkling wines from St. James Winery surprise your senses. Only available in our tasting room in St. James, Missouri, we encourage buying all three as they are released throughout the year to see if you can detect the subtle character of each. Each bin can be identified by a small sticker on the back of the bottle in the lower right corner.

Cheers!

2014_valentines_day

Okay — so if you forget to wish your sweetheart a happy 4th of July…eh…no biggie. But if you forget your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day…uh…it’s could very well be a long, cold rest of the winter.

With the groundhogs predicting another six weeks and the weather forecasters sending plenty of winter storm warnings, it’s really not worth the risk.

St. James Winery recommends staying on the safe side.  How about toasting Valentine’s Day this year with our Sparkling Moscato.

Our Sparkling Moscato is an incredibly fruity and intensely floral sparkling wine with hints of honeysuckle on the nose and flavors of peaches and apricots.

Order no later than Thursday, February 6th, to ensure delivery by Valentine’s Day.

new_sparkle

With the heart of the holidays here, it’s time to pop open some sparkling wine to add some sparkle to your celebrations. St. James Winery has two sparkling wines that add fun to any party!

  • Sparkling Moscato: Incredibly fruity and intensely floral sparkling wine with honeysuckle on the nose and flavors of peaches and apricots.
  • Sparkling Blush: A zesty, fruity sparkling wine with flavors of butterscotch, candied apples, and fruit salad.

St. James Winery’s sparkling wines taste great when mixed with our fruit wines to add just a little kick of bubble and fizz. They’re also wonderful in sangria and punch. Here are a few recipes you might like to try.

Where did January go? It’s hard to believe the first month of the year is almost history and Valentine’s Day right around the corner.

Use the next couple of weeks to get a little bit of a head start on your Valentine plans for with bottles of St. James Winery’s sparkling wines.

  • St. James Winery Sparkling Blush has been a winery favorite for years! It’s a zesty fruity sparkling wine with flavors of butterscotch, candied apples and fruit salad.
  • St. James Winery Sparkling Moscato is an incredibly fruity and intensely floral sparkling wine with hints of honeysuckle on the nose and flavors of peaches and apricots.

For sparkling wine and food pairings, here are a few fast and easy suggestions:

  • Find a beautiful place, then fill it with chocolate truffles or chocolate dipped fruits.  If you’re feeling really energetic, try a chocolate fountain and with strawberries, raspberries, banana, or black cherries.
  • Serve a fruit or chocolate topped cheesecake with sparkling wines and let the bubbles balance off the sweet, heavy cheesecake.
  • Show off the beautiful bubbles with a flute glass, then float strawberries or raspberries in the wine as a garnish.

Just remember, our sparkling wines are only available online or in our Tasting Room, so unless you’re traveling to St. James in the next couple of weeks, order now if you want to have these on hand in time for Valentine’s Day!