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Tag Archive for: best of show

St. James Winery’s 2014 Vignoles won the coveted “Governor’s Cup” trophy at the 2015 Missouri Wine Competition, an event held exclusively for Missouri wineries. This year’s competition received 270 entries, all of which were judged during the two-day event held July 14 and 15 in Columbia, Missouri.

During the competition St. James Winery 2014 Vignoles first won Best Vignoles, topping 30 other Vignoles before moving on to be chosen Best Semi-dry White, then Best of Class, and finally Best of Show.

“We are ecstatic for our vineyard and winery team,” said Andrew Meggitt, St. James Winery Executive Winemaker. “They work hard to ensure the grapes and wine are the best they can be. This honor is the result of great teamwork.”

St. James Winery farms 15 acres of Estate grown Vignoles grapes in the Ozark Highlands AVA of Missouri. Vignoles, a French-American hybrid grape, is Missouri’s premier white varietal.

“This award is very humbling,” said Peter Hofherr, CEO of St. James Winery. “When my mom and dad founded the winery in 1970, their goal was to make wines that reflect our region. The Governor’s Cup recognizes the hard work, research, and development we have invested since the 70s to show the quality of the grape varieties that grow here.”

In addition to the Missouri Wine Competition, the St. James Winery 2014 Vignoles earned top honors in other 2015 wine competitions: Best White Wine at the Riverside International and Best of Class/Gold at the Pacific Rim International. These top awards make it the first Missouri Governor’s Cup winning wine to win not only the top prize in-state but in out-of-state competitions open to international entries.

St. James Winery has won the Governor’s Cup twice previously, in 1997 and 1998, each time winning for their Vignoles.

St. James Winery, the largest and most awarded winery in the state of Missouri, recently placed in the top 15 of the World Association of Wine and Spirits Writers and Journalists annual list of the 100 Top Wineries in the World.

Founded by the Hofherr family in the Meramec Highlands region of Missouri in1970, St. James Winery is celebrating 45 years as a family owned and operated winery. St. James Winery wines are sold in through the Midwest and South. Find the winery online at www.stjameswinery.com.

2014 Vignoles Bottle Shot

2014 Vignoles Tasting Notes

Andrew Meggitt, Executive Winemaker at St. James Winery, has had exceptional year in wine competitions.

Andrew Meggitt, Executive Winemaker at St. James Winery, has had exceptional year in wine competitions.

Wine has been called “poetry in a bottle.” If that’s the case, then the results of the 2014 wine competition season make it clear that St. James Winery’s Executive Winemaker, Andrew Meggitt, is a wine poet laureate.

“Last year during harvest, the fruit quality from our vineyards was superb, and I thought we could expect some excellent wines, but one would never imagine the record number of awards we have won this year,” said Andrew.

Outstanding is the word that describes the year Andrew and the St. James Winery winemaking team have had in international and national wine competitions in 2014, earning top honors at three international competitions, receiving 13 Best of Class awards, bringing home more than 70 gold medals. The winery was also named one of the Top 15 Wineries in the World.

“Our Riesling won the John Rose Award for the Best in Riesling at the Finger Lakes Wine Competition in March. In April, Friendship School White won Grand Champion at Pacific Rim. In May, it scored 95 points at Los Angeles, and in July, was named Best White Wine at Long Beach Grand Cru, “ Andrew said. “It’s been a very good year.”

In addition to the award winning Riesling and Friendship School White, St. James Winery’s Moscato earned Best of Class at three international competitions: Pacific Rim, Riverside, and Los Angeles. The 2013 Vignoles won two Best of Class awards: Riverside International and New World International. Friendship School Red and Riesling each won Best of Class at Pacific Rim, bringing the total for Best of Class awards to an impressive thirteen. Additional honors include two Double Gold medals for the 2013 Pioneer White at Finger Lakes and Florida.

“One thing worth noting is that we have a lot of different wines and flavor profiles that have been successful in competitions,” Andrew said. “ These wines are made from grapes grown and harvested here in St. James, proof that world class wines come from Missouri’s Ozark Highlands AVA.”

Andrew’s devotion to the Ozark Highlands AVA comes from his commitment to terroir: how the climate, soils and terrain affect the taste of wines from a particular region. Originally from New Zealand, Meggitt finished his university degree there before traveling the world for three years learning more about all the different winemaking styles and methodologies, and soaking in the way terroir influences the wine.

Andrew joined the winemaking staff at St. James Winery in 2002 and soon afterwards was named executive winemaker. Under his direction, St. James Winery has consistently been among the top four gold medal awarded wineries in the US. In 2013 he was named to IntoWine.com’s list of “Top 100 Most Influential U.S. Winemakers,” and in 2014 St. James Winery ranked in the top 15 on the World Association Wine and Spirits Writers and Journalists list of “Top Wineries of the World.”

Andrew quickly acknowledges the work of everyone at St. James Winery. “There are so many factors that have to come together to make a great wine. There’s the vineyard personnel whose work on the vines give us the best grapes possible. At harvest our crew brings the grapes in quickly and at the peak of flavor. Without all of them, I’m just a guy standing in front of a big empty tank. Then there’s the rest of the winemaking team, and the cellar staff and bottling line staff – our entire team plays a role in the wine that goes into the bottle.”

St. James Winery is the largest and most awarded winery in Missouri. Founded by the Hofherr family in 1970, St. James Winery celebrating more than 40 years as a family owned and operated winery; St. James Winery wines are sold in 18 states. Find the winery online at www.stjameswinery.com.

champions

St. James, MO – St. James Winery recently placed in the top 15 of the World Association of Wine and Spirits Writers and Journalists annual list of the 100 Top Wineries in the World.

This year St. James Winery has won three major international competitions, received 13 Best of Class awards, and earned more than 70 gold medals, once again making St. James Winery one of the most awarded wineries, not just in the United States but among wineries around the world.

“Our goal is for our grapes and wines to reflect the region where they are grown,” said Peter Hofherr, CEO at St. James Winery. “To be able to do this in the Midwest and compete at the international level shows that our efforts to evolve our grape growing and winemaking practices are paying off.”

St. James Winery’s winning year has been led by the phenomenal performance of its Friendship School White Wine—Pacific Rim Grand Champion, 95 points at Los Angeles, and Long Beach Grand Cru Best White Wine—and its Riesling, which won the John Rose Award for the Best in Riesling at the Finger Lakes Wine Competition and was named Best of Class at Pacific Rim.

“The credit goes to our winemaking and grape growing team, led by Executive Winemaker Andrew Meggitt,” said Hofherr. “Growing grapes and making wine in the Midwest is not easy. They’ve developed innovative techniques and processes to be able to compete at this level and achieve these excellent results.”

In addition to the award winning Riesling and Friendship School White, St. James Winery’s Moscato earned Best of Class at three international competitions: Pacific Rim, Riverside, and Los Angeles. The 2013 Vignoles won two Best of Class awards: Riverside International and New World International. Friendship School Red won Best of Class at Pacific Rim.

St. James Winery is the largest and most awarded winery in Missouri. Founded by the Hofherr family in 1970, St. James Winery celebrating more than 40 years as a family owned and operated winery; St. James Winery wines are sold in 18 states. Find the winery online at www.stjameswinery.com.

The World Association of Wine and Spirits Writers and Journalists
(WAWWJ) is the global association of international wine writers. Every year, WAWWJ classifies wines and wineries that participate in international wine contests. Since 1996, the World Ranking Wines and Spirits (WRW) employs the results of international competitions to rank each wine and winery in order. Last year 630,000 wines were evaluated across almost 500 separate contests around the world.

2014_best_of_show

St. James Winery’s Riesling has been named Best of Show-Riesling at the 14th annual Finger Lakes Wine Competition, winning the John Rose Award for the Best in Riesling.

With nearly 4,000 individual wines entered, the Finger Lakes Wine Competition described the event as “their tightest competition ever.” St. James Winery competed with wineries from 20 countries, all 50 states, and 6 Canadian provinces. Seventy-five national and international judges presented Best of Show awards to four wines, of which St. James Winery Riesling was one.

“It’s always sweet winning a Best of Show Award, but when we win Best of Show for Riesling in a wine competition located in the heart of Riesling country like the Finger Lakes Competition, it’s definitely cause for celebration,” said Peter Hofherr, CEO of St. James Winery.

In addition to the four top wines, the judges awarded 140 double gold, 284 gold medals. Of these awards, St. James Winery also received two double gold awards, one for its 2013 Vignoles and another for its 2013 Pioneer White (a dry white blend). The winery was awarded gold medals for St. James Winery Friendship School White (a semi-sweet white blend) and St. James Winery Blueberry Fruit Wine, as well as six silver and two bronze medals.

St. James Winery is the largest and most awarded winery in Missouri. Founded by the Hofherr family in 1970, St. James Winery celebrating more than 40 years as a family owned and operated winery; St. James Winery wines are sold in 19 states and is online at www.stjameswinery.com