Will You Be in Lodi for #WBC16? Check out St. Amant Winery!

So this is a public service announcement of sorts for all attendees of the 2016 Wine Bloggers Conference. I am reposting a blog post I wrote waaay back in 2012 about the Portuguese and Spanish varietals produced by Stuart Spencer. If you’ll be in Lodi for the 2016 Wine Bloggers Conference, please check out St. Amant Winery.

Also, Stuart Spencer (not only the winemaker at St. Amant, but Program Manager at the Lodi Winegrape Commission as well) will be a moderator at the conference during a Friday morning (11:00am) seminar called The Truth About Viticulture. Panelists at the seminar include: Tegan Passalacqua, Director of Winemaking at Turley Wine Cellars; Stan Grant, Viticulturist, Progressive Viticulture; Chris Storm, Viticulturist,Vino Farms. If you’re a wine geek like me, this presentation is not to be missed!!

I am like, completely psyching myself out right now! Andy and I are looking forward to meeting all of you this week and now I will try and calm down. 🙂

Please enjoy the following from December 2012… a little food and wine pairing. Cheers and happy Monday!

PS: You can find the Wine Bloggers Conference on Facebook here.

DON’T MISS OUT!! Register for #WBC16 by clicking HERE!
Catch #WBC16 on Twitter @winebloggerscon for any updates and new information.

If you’ve never heard of St. Amant Winery, here’s an introduction. They are located in Lodi where lately, especially the last 3 years, some of my favorite red wines have also originated.

I first discovered St. Amant wines at a tasting at Treasure Island (in San Francisco of all places) during Fleet Week. I had the St. Amant Barbera and I thought it was the best red wine there. So, my recent interest in local Tempranillos has me searching around Lodi  to see what I can find. It’s becoming more and more popular of a varietal there. It turns out that St. Amant has been growing Tempranillo a long time. Their 2009 was their 8th vintage, so I’m guessing they’re not just trying to be trendy. 😉

In fact, St. Amant was growing grapes prior to the beginning of commercial wine sales in Lodi. In 1979, Tim Spencer (the late father of the current owner, Stuart Spencer) owned a couple of acres of Zinfandel vines and grafted them to five Douro Valley Portuguese varieties: TintaCao,Touriga, Alvarelhao, Souzao, and Bastardo. By 1981, he produced his first vintage port.

In 1996, the winery relocated to Lodi. St. Amant (named after Stuart’s mother’s maiden name) is one of the first wineries in Lodi to list Lodi on their label. Since the move, Stuart has been making some of the most interesting and food friendly wines including: a Verdelho, the aformentioned Barbera and Tempranillo, a Touriga, a red blend: Speakeasy Red, and of course the ever popular Old Vine Zinfandel (2 varieties). The current lineup also includes 3 different kinds of Port.

Last night’s food pairing (with the 2008 Tempranillo) was a baked sweet potato topped with broccoli, onions, hard boiled egg, and Diestel Turkey Chorizo. I also added a little Greek yogurt and black pepper. 😉

I encourage you to visit St. Amant this weekend, especially if you are looking for a special bottle of wine as a gift. They are located at 1 Winemaster Way, Lodi, CA. You can also find them at Total Wine & More or fax your order from this form here.

You can like Lodi Wine on Facebook here.

Save