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Tag Archive for: niagara

2015_harvest

As of 9:19pm on August 11, harvest is on here at St. James Winery, and so far the results have been absolutely glorious!

“Throughout the summer, our Meramec Highlands region has received abundant rainfall,” said Andrew Meggitt, executive winemaker for St. James Winery. “The fruit quality has been outstanding, and the taste profile of the grapes is excellent. So far we’re very well pleased with the 2015 harvest.”

Already this season, St. James Winery has harvested Aromella, Niagara, Rougeon, Seyval, and Vincent. These blending grapes make up some of your favorite wines. For instance, Seyval finds its home in Pioneer White and Rougeon is found in our Friendship School Red.

We’re all harvesting Vignoles, but the waiting and ripening continue with blocks of Chambourcin and Norton grapes.

Pick up a few bottles of your favorite grapes!

Celebrate Missouri Wine Month

With more than 100 wineries calling Missouri home, there are plenty of places to visit on a wine tasting tour to celebrate Missouri Wine Month. So grab some friends, get in the car, crank up the tuns, and enjoy a wine-tasting road trip!

Be sure to schedule time for at stop at the St. James Winery Tasting Room to sample the 2015 Missouri Governor’s Cup award winner: St. James Winery’s 2014 Vignoles!

Visit the Missouri Wine and Grape Board at MissouriWine.org to learn more about Wine Month and winemaking in the State of Missouri!

Harvest 2012 is has proven to be one for the record books.

In all the years St. James Winery has been in operation, no one can ever remember harvest beginning in July, but thanks to very hot summer temperatures, the grapes were really on the grow.

Usually at the end of August, harvest crews would still be in the thick of things, but because an early start means an early finish, harvest 2012 is really winding down. The only grapes remaining in the vineyard are a few Chardonel grapes and, of course, the Norton, which always takes its good sweet time to ripen.

What does the harvest look like so far?

Around 1,200 tons of grapes — including Seyval, Niagara, Cayuga, Rougeon, Chambourcin, Valvin Muscat, Vignoles, Catawba, Chardonel, Concord — have hit the crush pad. We expect the Norton to be ready very, very soon.

Everyone in Missouri has complained about the heat and drought this summer (did we mention it’s was brutally hot here?), but because the vineyards are irrigated, the lack of rainfall was not problematic.

There was, however, another side effect to the drought. The minimal rains paired with our carefully controlled watering meant less disease pressure on the vines. There were fewer insects, and the rot issues which can arise with too much rain were non-existent.

Everyone on the winemaking staff is thrilled with the exceptional grape quality and outstanding flavor profiles, so we’re already looking forward to the third Thursday in November (the 15th this year!) when we release our 2012 Nouveau — a first taste of this season’s harvest!