" We don't sell the wine without touching the vine "
Wine from St James Winery
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The St James Winery Estate
Wine brings people together….whether it’s lazy summer evenings spent on a deck or cozy winter nights in front of a fire. Wine is the special ingredient for toasts to the new year, the newly married, and the newly born. Because wine is made for sharing, its flavors turn a good meal into something extraordinary. Wine helps make memories, and for the Hofherr family at St. James Winery, wine is a family’s legacy.
Jim & Pat Hofherr believed there was great potential to resurrect the winemaking acclaim Missouri enjoyed prior to Prohibition, so with dreams of building a winery from the ground up, the Hofherrs came to St. James, Missouri, and opened their winery in 1970. It remains family owned and operated.
That first year, St. James Winery produced about 8,000 gallons of wine (3,400 cases), but two of those first wines have become the stuff of legend. Year in and year out since 1970, Velvet Red and Velvet White have been bestsellers, and the hundreds of awards these wines have won attest to their quality.
As the winery grew, the push for excellence became a driving force. St. James Winery began to win important awards at major wine competitions. In 1994, St. James Winery Norton was named Best of Show at the International Eastern Wine Competition, and in 1995 St. James Winery Seyval was named one of the Top 50 Wines in the World by Bon Appetit. In 1997 and 1998, the winery won back to back Governor’s Cup Awards for Best Wine in Missouri, each time for Vintner’s Reserve Vignoles.
The popularity of St. James Wines skyrocketed, and between 1995 and 2000, annual production went from 10,000 cases to 100,000 cases. St. James Winery’s reputation spread throughout the wine community. To continue to keep up with demand, St. James Winery grew its vineyard acreage, enlarged the cellar, added a twist-cap bottling line, expanded the warehouse, and increased its distribution network.
These changes made St. James Winery one of the most modern and best-equipped wineries in the state. In 2006 St. James Winery was included in Wine Business Monthly’s Top 10 Hottest Small Brands in the US, and in 2009 Critics Challenge named St. James Winery “Winery of the Year-Eastern US.”
Today St. James Winery makes more than 200,000 cases of wine each year.
The St. James Winery logo, a schoolhouse, honors these Italian settlers who first planted grapes here in Missouri. The original schoolhouse built to educate their children still stands today and is adjacent to the winery’s vineyards.
The St James Winery Vineyard
The winery tends vineyards planted with Catawba, Chardonel, Norton, Concord, Seyval, Vignoles, Chambourcin and Rougeon grapes.
During the 1800s, Missouri had a thriving wine producing community. German immigrants planted vineyards in the Hermann area, and Italian immigrants planted vineyards in the area around St. James, Missouri.
The Italian immigrants here called the area Rosati, and, and they prospered as they planted vineyards. Grapes became a big business in the region with eventually more than 2000 acres of grapes planted in about 200 vineyards.
Today, the area is known throughout the region as “Little Italy of the Ozarks” thanks to the Italian settlers who originally planted grapes here. Of course, the area has another name now because in 1987 it became an official American Viticulture Area known as the Ozark Highlands AVA.
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Made from Niagara and Chardonel grapes.
10.8% Alcohol by Volume
7% Residual Sugar
Delicate and sweet with intense fruity aromas and flavors. A blend of America’s best American and hybrid grapes.
Velvet White is superb served chilled by itself, with mild cheeses, or dessert.
Select Wine Competition Awards:
2011 GOLD Pacific Rim
2011 GOLD Critics Challenge
2011 SILVER Grand Harvest
2011 SILVER Florida State Fair International
2011 SILVER Winemakers Challenge International
2011 SILVER San Francisco Chronicle
2011 SILVER San Diego International
2011 SILVER Monterey
2011 SILVER Los Angeles International
2011 SILVER Tasters Guild
2011 SILVER Riverside
2011 BRONZE Finger Lakes International
2011 BRONZE Dallas Morning News
St. James Winery Velvet Red - NV is made from 100% Concord grapes from Ozark Highlands AVA.
10.5% Alcohol by Volume
12.1% Residual Sugar
Tastes and smells like ripe, just picked grapes.
Velvet Red is fruity and mouth-filling and best served chilled.
Select Wine Competition Awards:
2011 GOLD Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America
2011 SILVER San Francisco Chronicle
2011 SILVER Pacific Rim
2011 SILVER Finger Lakes International
2011 SILVER Grand Harvest
2011 SILVER Los Angeles International
2011 SILVER Critics Challenge
2011 BRONZE Florida State Fair International
2011 BRONZE New World International
2011 BRONZE Dallas Morning News
This sweet white wine starts with Welch’s 100% USA grown grapes that go from vine to press within 8 hours. Through the hard work of their 700 growers, St. James Winery is able to craft this sweet and bright white wine with a beautifully smooth finish. Sure to delight whether with friends and family, no matter the occasion.
Dive into St. James Winery's Sweet Rose - it's a fruit party in a glass. Velvety smooth, it's sweet but not overpowering, ending with a jammy finish that makes you want more. This wine is your go-to for relaxing or celebrating good times with friends and family.
Crafted from estate grown grapes grown in Welch's vineyard cooperative of 700 family farmers
This Concord sweet red wine is a tribute to the Concord grapes grown in the Ozark Highlands along Missouri’s Historic Route 66 for over 115 years.
When Italian immigrants settled in the St. James area, they planted vineyards. By the 1930s, over 1,000 acres of grapes dotted the landscape. When Prohibition started, grape vines across the state were ripped from the ground. The Italians in the Ozark Highlands region approached the situation differently and were key to keeping Missouri’s wine industry alive.
“Instead of destroying their vineyards during Prohibition like others in Missouri, the farmers formed a fruit grower’s association in order to keep growing and selling grapes, along with other fruit, to stores in St. Louis,” said Peter Hofherr, St. James Winery chairman and CEO. “During WWII, a long-term contract with a prestigious juice, jam and jelly company helped make the local Concord grapes famous. The farmers even negotiated to be allowed to sell small quantities or quarts of fruit to individuals. They set up grape stands and sold grapes to those traveling along the highways.”
Every year during harvest, Italian descendants from the St. James area still carry on this tradition by setting up Concord grape stands along Historic Route 66 to sell their fruit to travelers.
The Concord wine is juicy and sweet, with an intense grape jam flavor and light finish. Serve it at refrigerator temperature, over ice or mixed with a club soda to create a light, grape spritzer
Pair with peanut butter cookies, soft cheeses, or roasted pork chops.
St. James Winery Strawberry is made from blackberries
11.4% Alcohol by Volume
13.4% Residual Sugar
Fresh picked strawberries never tasted this good. Our Strawberry wine, made from sweet vine ripened strawberries, is excellent served cold especially for dessert with pound cake or milk chocolate.
Select Wine Competition Awards:
2012 GOLD San Francisco Chronicle
2011 BEST OF SHOW San Diego
2011 BEST OF CLASS Pacific Rim
2011 GOLD Dallas Morning News
2011 GOLD Grand Harvest
2011 GOLD Winemaker Challenge International
2011 SILVER Monterey
2011 SILVER Florida State Fair International
2011 SILVER Los Angeles International
2011 SILVER Riverside
Juicy raspberry flavor upfront, balanced by crisp lime acidity.
Bright, refreshing, and lightly tart with a touch of natural sweetness that keeps it lively and approachable.
Seasonal flavor, fruit wine.
Made from peaches
9.5% Alcohol by Volume
13% Residual Sugar
Our Peach wine brings fresh from the orchard peach flavors and aromas to your glass. It’s the next best thing to biting into a perfectly ripe peach.
Serve chilled with spicy cheeses or your favorite dessert.
Select Wine Competition Awards:
2011 SILVER San Francisco Chronicle
2011 GOLD Florida State Fair International
2010 BRONZE Indiana
2010 SILVER Tasters Guild International
2010 BRONZE San Francisco Chronicle
Sweet Fortified Blackberry Wine with neutral grape spirits made from real blackberries. Juiced has an intense flavor of ripe, sun-soaked blackberries that explode on the palate with deep jammy richness, balanced by a smooth finish.
16% ABV
Sweet and tart with bright, festive cranberry colors, aromas and flavors, with an added sparkle. St. James Winery’s Sparkling Cranberry Wine offers refreshing, fresh cranberry acidity with a nice, long cranberry finish.
- High quality carbonated Cranberry wine crafted with integrity, consistency and sustainable practices.
- Made from 100% real fruit with no artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners.
Made from cherries
10.4% Alcohol by Volume
13.5% Residual Sugar
Sweet and tart, St. James Winery’s Cherry Wine is better than rip cherries fresh from the tree. Tastes great with grilled pork or, for dessert, with milk chocolate.
Select Wine Competition Awards:
2012 GOLD Los Angeles International (92 points)
2012 GOLD Taster’s Guild
2012 SILVER Dallas Morning News / TexSom International
2013 SILVER San Francisco Chronicle
2012 SILVER Long Beach Grand Cru
2012 SILVER Indy International
2012 SILVER San Diego International
2012 SILVER New World
2012 SILVER Pacific Rim
2012 SILVER Riverside
2012 SILVER Houston Rodeo
2012 BRONZE International Women’s
2012 BRONZE NextGen
2012 BRONZE San Francisco International
2012 BRONZE Lone Star International
2012 BRONZE International Eastern
2012 BRONZE Florida State Fair International
This Blueberry Lemon fruit wine is sweet and tart with bright, festive Blueberry & Lemon aromas and flavors.
St. James Winery Blackberry - NV is made from blackberries
10.4% Alcohol by Volume
12.7% Residual Sugar
Is it fresh picked blackberries in a bottle or St. James Winery Blackberry wine? Tough call.
Sweet and delicious served chilled with your favorite dessert or for no reason at all, except to enjoy.
Select Wine Competition Awards:
2011 GOLD San Francisco Chronicle
2010 SILVER San Francisco Chronicle
Taste the tropics! Flavors and aromas of fresh cut pineapple and juicy mango make this Seasonal Selection a tropical treat. Enjoy with angel food cake or chili spiced nuts.
Love this wine with...
coconut cream pie
Made from blueberries
10.5% Alcohol by Volume
10.6% Residual Sugar
Fresh from the field Blueberry aromas and flavors. Excellent served chilled with your favorite dessert, or in a creative cocktail as a mixer with sparkling water and a mint garnish.
Select Wine Competition Awards:
2013 SILVER San Francisco Chronicle
2013 SILVER New World International
2013 SILVER Dallas Morning News
2013 SILVER International Eastern
2012 GOLD Indy International
2012 SILVER International Eastern
2012 SILVER Lone Star International
2012 SILVER Los Angeles International
2012 SILVER Long Beach Grand Cru
Showing 1 to 15 of 15 (1 Pages)
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'Belle Côte', French for “Beautiful Slope”, was named by Sir Peter after the famous ski run in Courchevel, France. The oldest of the four Knights Valley Estate Chardonnay vineyards, ‘Belle Côte’ consistently exemplifies the potential of crafting exceptionally high-quality Chardonnay from our mountain vineyards. Planted at 1,700 to 1,800 feet (518 to 549 meters), Belle Côte has a southeastern exposure and a western border of native trees, which shelter the vines from the hot afternoon sun. These unique attributes create a naturally cool microclimate that provides an extended growing period and slow-ripening fruit, resulting in a later picking schedule that often continues into October (two to three weeks longer than most Chardonnay vineyards in Napa and Sonoma Counties).
Vintage Notes
The combination of a wet winter with significant rains in December through March and cool weather delayed budbreak nearly a month. Flowering and fruit set were also pushed back and the weather during the later flowering was favorable resulting in decent fruit set and slightly above average yields for the Chardonnay vineyards—a marked improvement over the record-low yielding 2022 vintage. The growing season was temperate without major heat spikes allowing the berries to hold onto their acidity which carried through into the wines. Harvest was almost a month later than normal with the last Belle Côte block coming in on November 2nd.
Winegrowing Notes
As the oldest of the four Peter Michael Winery estate Chardonnay blocks, 'Belle Côte' exemplifies the consistent quality of Chardonnay these mountain vineyards produce. Due to the naturally cool climate of the site’s high elevation, and mitigated exposure to the hot afternoon sun by its southeastern exposure and a stand of trees on its western border, the vines are allowed to slowly ripen. The growing season for Belle Côte typically extends into October, two to three weeks longer than most Chardonnay vineyards in Napa and Sonoma Counties.
Winemaker's Tasting Notes
With highly expressive aromatics of orange blossom, jasmine, candied orange peel, and rose petal, the 2023 'Belle Côte' showcases its unique terroir and thirty-three-year-old vines with a rich, creamy entry, dense, broad, juicy mid-palate and a lengthy, refined finish. There is a seamless quality to this wine that matches power, gras, and intensity with structure and weightlessness. The 2023 'Belle Côte' can be enjoyed in its youth or after many years of cellaring.
Review:
This extraordinary estate-grown wine from a great vintage is super vibrant, energized and tangy, with vital acidity supporting luscious ripe pear and apple flavors on a silky texture. Can't think of anything it lacks. Seamless, layered, yet structured and fresh, boding well for longer-term aging. It has a melts-in-the-mouth quality and an extra long finish. Drinkable now and best from 2030.
-James Suckling 100 Points
Boussey Aloxe Corton Les Valozieres is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
The Aloxe Corton appellation is located right between the Cotes de Nuits and Cotes de Beaune, at the bottom of the Hill of Corton. The old vines planted in the village of "Valozieres" enjoy a perfect location and a specific terroir made of red/brown colored soils with a few silica veins and silex, limestone components, leading to solid and structured wines.
The wine displays a dark ruby and garnet color. The aromas are classic of the appellation with small red fruits, developping peony, jasmine, leather, truffle aromas with age. A firm structure, rich and chewy tannins, and a great length.
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