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Tag Archive for: missouri

Velvet Red and BBB Pork Steak Pairing

Be a backyard hero this BBQ season with four expertly paired St. James Winery wine and barbecue food pairings!

 

It’s time to fire up the BBQ grill, folks! Spring is here to stay. Feel it in the air, in the sweet smells of new plant life, and in the sounds of peepers in the evenings.  Spring in the midwest means warm afternoons, cool evenings, and delicious food off the grill. Whether you’re barbecuing for one, or hosting a neighborhood block party, you’ll need a delightful beverage to accompany all of that mouth-watering barbecued goodness. We’re here to help you stock the cooler with the wines that are sure to make you a backyard hero this season.

 

Velvet Red + Pork Steak

First up is a classic Midwestern pairing of Velvet Red wine and BBQ Pork Steak. The smooth, sweet, fruity flavors in Velvet Red are the perfect match to the full-flavored, smokey regional favorite pork steak.  Preparing a tender, juicy, fall-off-the-bone pork steak is an art. Likewise, here at St. James Winery, we believe there is art in the way we sustainably grow grapes and craft wine. Velvet Red has been crafted by our family-owned winery for 50 years, and the quality and love shine in each sip. You don’t even have to be a sweet wine lover to appreciate the depth of this pairing, especially when the sauce is on the spicy side. In our circles, no barbecue is complete without a glass or two of chilled Velvet Red wine.

 

Friendship School White + Burgers and Dogs

Next up on the grill is the all-time favorite of hamburgers and hotdogs. We’re pairing this backyard, crowd-pleasing duo with Friendship School White wine. We love the way the crisp, clean finish of this semi-dry white wine complements the smoky meats and the array of toppings we add to hamburgers and hotdogs that make each unique. Topping your burger or dog with grilled onions and cheese – Friendship School White! Plan on piling up your burger or dog with ketchup, mustard, and pickles – Friendship School White! It’s so delicious and so versatile that it just might be our overall favorite pairing.

 

Sparkling Mango + Chicken

Now it’s time to come in hot with a savory, flavorful beer-can chicken – except we’re switching it up! Instead of beer, we love our whole chickens on the grill cooked atop a can of Sparkling Mango fruit wine. The chicken, seasoned on the spicy side with cumin, chili powder, garlic, salt, black pepper, and paprika, takes on just the right amount of that all-natural mango flavor from the wine as it cooks. We serve the chicken de-boned, topped with fresh cilantro, and alongside a cold can of Sparkling Mango fruit wine. This is the pairing that’ll surprise you and keep you coming back for more!

 

Norton + Rib-Eyes

As the last pairing on the list, we thought it appropriate to treat ourselves. For this special dinner, we paired Moondance Farm Rib-Eyes with Winemaker Series Norton 42. This award-winning bold, dry red wine is full of old-world charm and dark fruit aromas. Its subtle oak and integrated tannin structure are the perfect complements to the marbling and rich beefy flavors of the Rib-Eye steak. Seasoned only with sea salt and coarse ground black pepper, the organically grown beef was simply made for this beautiful wine, which is crafted using the highest quality blocks of Norton grapes in our St. James, Missouri vineyard. The way in which the flavors meld together as you savor each juicy bite and each balanced sip is simply magic.

 

We’d love to hear from you!

Are you a St. James Winery wine and barbecue food pairing expert? Do you have a barbecue and wine pairing that makes you a backyard hero and don’t see it on our list? Share it with us in a comment! We’d love to experience the flavors!

 

Walk or run in the Grapes & Grain Fun Run 5k on Saturday, May 4 starting at 10 a.m. This is an off-road run/walk through the St. James Winery’s vineyards with a beer or wine sample waiting for you at each mile. This event is a fun run and will not be chip timed. Please, no pets allowed. You must be 21 years or older to register.

Start and finish will be located at:

St. James Vineyard Cottage, 19506 Co Rd 1000, St. James, MO 65559.

What you’ll experience during this fun run:
• Wine and beer samples at mile one and mile two
• Celebratory wine or beer at the finish line
• Logoed beer or wine glass of choice to keep

NEW THIS YEAR
We’re hosting our Heritage Music Fest (http://bit.ly/HeritageMusicFest) at the St. James Taproom the same day as our Grapes & Grain Fun Run 5K. Fun run participants can enjoy special pricing for both events.

Find out more when you visit our registration site: http://bit.ly/GrapesGrain5k

Jump into summer with the newest addition to our seasonal series, Summer Berry!

You may recognize Summer Berry from our 2017 Podium Series where this innovative blend blew our customers out of the water. The proof is in how quickly this small batch sold out in our Tasting Room and online.

A fresh, sweet blend of Strawberry, Peach, Blueberry and Raspberry wine, Summer Berry is here just in time for the summer season. Its crisp, lively fruit flavors with tart berry and stone fruits will certainly help you defeat the heat. Made with 100% real fruit, Summer Berry has no added colorings or flavors.

Try it chilled or add a splash to your summer mixology with our Summer Berry Sangria. Keep an eye out for this new seasonal wine at a retailer near you this April. You can also stop by our Tasting room or order a bottle (or two!) with our friendly customer service team!

 

Our wine of the week is the highly awarded Friendship School Red! This medium-bodied, semi-dry red is made from our estate-grown Rougeon grapes and comes in a bottle worthy of display. It is rich with the flavors of black cherry and blackberry with a deep purple hue. This versatile wine is great to pair with herbed goat cheese, barbecue pork ribs or even chocolate cheesecake making it a wonderful table wine for any gathering.

In addition to its award-winning taste and beautiful presentation, this wine is a toast to the one-room schoolhouse adjacent to our vineyards. The Friendship School was built in the late 1800s, by Italian families who brought winemaking to our Meramec Highlands region. They used this one-room schoolhouse to educate generations of children in both academics and heritage. This schoolhouse is preserved today in our vineyards and our Friendship School wines were created to reflect the sense of community and heritage represented in that little schoolhouse.  

In fact, we are so inspired by this schoolhouse, we have formed a Friendship School Foundation to continue the work of preserving the cultural and environmental sustainability of our community. Through our partnership with this foundation, we are able to invest in and work to sustain the cultural heritage of our vineyards, our craft and our community. We love the land we work and practice sustainability wherever we are able. A few of our sustainable efforts are:

  • Use of a fine-tuned irrigation and soil monitoring system so we use less water in our vineyards.
  • Creation of energy savings through efficient harvesting equipment and low-energy wine fermentation storage processes.
  • Leadership of a large solar energy investigation project with our local community.
  • Use of recyclable screw tops versus hard-to-recycle cork as our wine closure method.
  • Eco-friendly lighting. Business recycling program.
  • Large composting efforts to create less impact to waste streams.

These are just a few of our sustainability efforts today and with the help of our Foundation, we are always investigating how we can do even more. So, the next time you lift a glass of your favorite St. James Winery selection, especially our Friendship School Red, know you are supporting a Missouri winery, its community and our shared environment. Cheers!

Country family_2015

The iconic Route 66, also known as “Main Street of America,” is a fixture in American popular culture. Ever since St. James Winery opened in 1970, the Main Street of America has been an everyday part of the winery’s life because the original route runs directly past the St. James Winery Vineyards and Tasting Room and through the town of St. James.

This summer to celebrate and honor the tradition and heritage of Route 66, St. James Winery’s Country Red and Country White wines are getting a fresh new look with eye-catching art that pays tribute to the winery’s little piece of “The Mother Road.” The labels feature a distinctive old blue pickup truck motoring down the road, its bed filled with crates of red and white grapes and sporting a Route 66 license plate on the back bumper.

St. James Winery Country Red and Country White wines are both delicious sweet wines. Country Red is bursting with delicate fruity flavors and aromas and flavors of fresh berries, while Country White features flavors of ripe pears, green apples, and melons. Both pair well with spicy foods, making them the perfect choice for a backyard barbecue featuring hot and spicy sauces.

Look for the new labels on St. James Winery’s Country Red and Country White wines at grocery and wine stores throughout the South and Midwest. St. James Winery, the largest and most awarded winery in Missouri, has been making exceptional wines for 45 years. Find the winery online at stjameswinery.com.

Wine connoisseurs might not expect delicious wines to come from Missouri — a place that many people see as just another state to fly over.

But because Missouri has unique environmental challenges and opportunities, winemakers use innovative techniques to create exceptional wine. Dedication and continual progress is what sets Missouri’s vineyards apart from those in California, France, and New Zealand.

In this article at Medium.com, Andrew Meggitt discusses why Missouri produces phenomenal wine despite being a less likely place for great grapes to thrive.

2014_norton_dessert

St. James Winery’s Norton Dessert begs to be sipped from a snifter on late winter evenings, and it’s especially lovely when paired with a cozy fire.

Our Norton Dessert wine is rich and sweet, with a complex structure and flavor of Norton grapes, and the oak imparts a nutty character.

After hearing this weekend’s weather forecast, we think Norton Dessert Wine sounds like a great way to stay nice and warm.

St. James Winery - Missouri State Parks Collector's Series

St. James Winery - Missouri State Parks Collector's Series

There is an ongoing trend toward making the holiday season meaningful, whether it’s the events we attend or the gifts we purchase. For wine lovers and outdoor enthusiasts, St. James Winery’s Missouri State Parks Collector’s Editions wines – Johnson’s Shut-Ins Red and Montauk White – embody this principle.

St. James Winery developed a series of wines that celebrate Missouri’s exquisite state parks, and through their partnership with the Missouri State Parks Foundation, proceeds from these wines will go to keep Missouri State Parks strong and sustainable, providing for their future.

The Missouri State Parks Collector’s Edition wines are wonderful additions to your holiday entertaining. Johnson’s Shut-ins Red, a 2012 Norton, is a dry red wine with a fruity nose of plums and red cherries with dynamic flavors of black cherries and blackberries. Montauk White, a 2012 Seyval, is a dry white wine with aromas of melon and grapefruit, bright acid accentuating crisp lemon, green apple, and slate flavors.

Limited amounts of Johnson’s Shut-Ins Red and Montauk White have been bottled, making these true collector’s items, and the specially designed labels are inspired by vintage travel posters. The Missouri State Parks Collector’s Edition wines are available for sale online at www.MOStateParksWine.com for $19.99 a bottle.

If someone you love values the beauty of the natural world, particularly Missouri’s exquisite state parks, then St. James Winery’s Missouri State Parks Collector’s Edition wines are a gift that gives twice – once to the person on your list and once to the future of Missouri’s State Parks.

About St. James Winery
St. James Winery, located in St. James, Mo., is the state’s largest winery. This family owned winery is dedicated to sustainable practices and ensuring Missouri’s state parks stay both vibrant and viable.

About the Missouri State Parks Foundation
The Missouri State Parks Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that was founded in 2001 for the purpose of helping Missouri State Parks in its mission of providing unparalleled recreation and education opportunities for Missourians.

St. James Winery and the Missouri State Parks Foundation have partnered to create a series of wines that celebrate the state’s exquisite state parks and help provide for their future. The first two Missouri State Parks Collector’s Edition wines, Johnson’s Shut-Ins Red and Montauk White, will be available online at www.MOStateParksWine.com October 10 for $19.99 a bottle and at StJamesWinery.com.

All proceeds from the Missouri State Parks Collector’s Edition wines will go to keep Missouri State Parks strong and sustainable.

A limited amount of each wine has been bottled, making these true collector’s items. The Missouri State Parks Collector’s Edition wines feature bold, specially designed labels inspired by vintage travel posters promoting breathtaking destinations. Future bottlings will showcase different Missouri state parks.

“We are pleased to help contribute to the preservation and sustainability of Missouri’s great state parks,” said Peter Hofherr, CEO of St. James Winery. “Our hope is that this collection will raise awareness of one of the finest parks systems in nation and the mission of the foundation.”

Proceeds from sales will go to the Missouri State Parks Foundation’s endowment, which provides funds to assist Missouri’s award-winning state parks system stay a place for Missourians recreate and connect with nature, friends and families.

“The Parks Foundation jumped at the opportunity to work with a leader in Missouri’s wine industry to promote our state parks and historic sites,” said Sam Phillips, president of the Missouri State Parks Foundation. The fruit of this partnership will be the joy of park visitors for years to come.”

Johnson’s Shut-ins Red, a 2012 Norton, is a dry red wine with a fruity nose of plums and red cherries with dynamic flavors of black cherries and blackberries.

Montauk White, a 2012 Seyval, is a dry white wine with aromas of melon and grapefruit with bright acid that accentuates crisp lemon, green apple and slate flavors.

About St. James Winery
St. James Winery, located in St. James, Mo., is the state’s largest winery and is dedicated to sustainable practices and ensuring Missouri’s state parks stay both vibrant and viable.

About the Missouri State Parks Foundation

The Missouri State Parks Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that was founded in 2001 for the purpose of helping Missouri State Parks in its mission of providing unparalleled recreation and education opportunities for Missourians.


Andrew Meggitt, executive winemaker at St. James Winery, was recently named to IntoWine.com’s list of “Top 100 Most Influential U.S. Winemakers.” A native of New Zealand, Meggitt joined the winemaking team at St. James Winery in 2002 and moved to the position of executive winemaker in 2006.

IntoWine.com recognized Meggitt for his work as executive winemaker, work which has consistently placed St. James Winery among the top gold medal awarded wineries in the U.S. The article also noted Meggitt’s stretching the boundaries of traditional winemaking by integrating both old and new-world techniques.

When asked about the recognition, Meggitt said,“I’m very happy to be named to the list, because being on it is better than not being on it. But in truth making wine is such a team effort, seeing just my name up there…, well, it isn’t accurate. Winemaking, at least here at St. James Winery, is more like an orchestra, one in which we all participate equally to create a vast array of music. No one person can play all the instruments at the same time, but together, we can create something very special.”

“Obviously Andrew’s recognition is great for St. James Winery,” said Peter Hofherr, CEO of St. James Winery, “but it also boosts awareness of Missouri winemaking as a whole. His inclusion on this list of 100 Influential US Winemakers really draws attention to Missouri as an emerging wine region and the high quality wines we are producing here.”

About St. James Winery
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 throughout the Midwest and the South. St. James Winery is online at www.stjameswinery.com.

IntoWine.com
IntoWine.com has made it their goal to aggregate the collective knowledge and experience of the wine community on one site, a site geared purely for those people who are into wine. They have contributors from nearly all walks of “wine life” including sommeliers, chefs, bartenders, waiters, wine industry professionals, wine producers, as well as a gaggle of super enthusiasts. Visit them online at www.intowine.com

Tag Archive for: missouri

Concord Sweet Wine - St. James Winery Missouri
Peach Hard Apple Cider - McIntyre Cider - St. James Winery Missouri

Juicy peach aromas mixed with fresh apple notes. Clear, sparkling blond in color. Subtle flavors of biting into a ripe peach with juicy apple comes from pure fruit. Finish is clean and crisp.

This premium hard cider was crafted in Missouri in the European style, has no artificial flavors, colors, or sweeteners, and is naturally gluten free.

We know a good thing when we taste it, and so will you. St. James Winery proudly presents McIntyre Cider: crafted using 100% real fruit juice.

Now available in the St. James Winery Tasting Room and select retail locations.

Blackberry Hard Apple Cider - McIntyre Cider - St. James Winery Missouri

Hints of jam on the nose combine with aromas of fresh apples. Clear, sparkling berry blush in color. Notes of fresh-picked blackberry flavor with juicy apple comes from pure fruit. Finish is clean and crisp.

This premium hard cider was crafted in Missouri in the European style, has no artificial flavors, colors, or sweeteners, and is naturally gluten free.

We know a good thing when we taste it, and so will you. St. James Winery proudly presents McIntyre Cider: crafted using 100% real fruit juice.

Now available in the St. James Winery Tasting Room and select retail locations.

Hard Apple Cider - McIntyre Cider - St. James Winery Missouri

Aromas of fresh apples. Bright, sparkling straw-yellow in color. Bold, juicy apple flavor comes from pure fruit. Finish is clean and crisp.

This premium hard cider was crafted in Missouri in the European style, has no artificial flavors, colors, or sweeteners, and is naturally gluten free.

We know a good thing when we taste it, and so will you. St. James Winery proudly presents McIntyre Cider: crafted using 100% real fruit juice.

Now available in the St. James Winery Tasting Room and select retail locations.

Sauvignon Blanc Dry Wine - St. James Winery Missouri