St.Amant Winery

08/24/2025

Harvest 2025 – 1st Week

Monday (8/18) – picked 6.21 tons of Verdelho from our vineyard in Amador County. Destemmed and let sit on the skins overnight. Pressed the grapes on Tuesday and chilled down in tank for several days.

Thursday (8/21) –Celebrating our 30th harvest at Mohr-Fry Ranches with 5th and 6th generation winegrowers Bruce & Mohrgan Fry. I believe it is the earliest we have ever picked Lodi Zinfandel. 4.31 tons from Marian’s Vineyard (ungrafted vines planted in 1901) and 4.48 tons from Block 416 (ungrafted vines planted in 1944). The grapes look great! With old vine Zinfandel, I typically like to pick multiple times. Today was the first of probably three separate picks. Marians came in at 22.5 brix and Block 416 at 25.0. Great acidity in the juice this year likely due to the cool summer.

Saturday (8/23) – picked 3.9 tons of Touriga Nacional from our vineyard for Arnot Roberts. They use it in their rose. Also picked 3.21 tons of Trousseau/Bastardo from our older block planted in 1995. 1.28 tons was destemmed and will be used to make Bastardo Port – a wine that most likely won’t be bottled for 10 years. 1.93 tons was sorted and we will ferment whole cluster.

Sunday (8/24) – Sunday wine work by myself. Need to get in harvest shape! One of the interesting features of Trousseau/Bastardo is that it doesn’t juice very easy. It’s too difficult to punch down. It’s like pushing sand so we jump in the bins and stomp it. Both lots will ferment naturally. The Zins have been cold soaking for 3 days. Just starting to show the first signs of fermentation.

07/22/2025

Earlier today, my mom accepted the Golden Bear for the Best Red Wine of Show at the California State Fair. Our 2023 Lodi Barbera, grown in the Leventini Vineyard planted back in 1972, was recognized. This is the third time in ten years we’ve received this award, previously for our Tempranillo in 2016 and Touriga in 2018.
The vineyard isn’t fancy. It’s an old, weathered, ugly looking vineyard, but year after year, it produces delicious soulful wines. This award is a reminder that California’s historic vineyards still have so much to say. And instead of tearing out these vines and replacing them with cheap bulk imports, maybe we should try paying the growers a fair price and making better wines.

04/02/2024

You may not be able to see the article as its paywalled, but I'm featured in an article at the LA Times today on the millions of gallons of cheap foreign bulk wine being imported by California's largest wineries. All this bulk wine is undermining California growers, and crowding out many of us small local wineries that make 100% California wine. Look at labels carefully!

Struggling California vineyards are having to compete with bargain-basement wine prices from overseas growers, due to global oversupply.

12/02/2023

Unveiling three new port-styled wines and our new Bastardo Society Port Club this weekend during our Holiday Open House from 11am – 4pm. (Link in Bio)

2005 Verdelho Port
Aged for 18 years virtually untouched. Crafted more in a Madeira style with extended oxidation, some heating, and years in barrel. Never racked and never topped. It’s delicious. Only 33 cases.

Tawny Port – Lot #16
A blend of three barrels! Two barrels of 2010 Bastardo Port and one barrel of 2007 Port (a mix of 6 Portuguese varieties). Aged untouched with no racking or topping. Deep amber hue, room-filling aromas, and a nutty finish that lingers. Only 68 cases.

2021 Bootleg Port
Our classic vintage-styled ruby port blended from six traditional Douro Valley Portuguese varieties grown in our Amador County vineyard. A wine that celebrates my dad’s bootlegging beginnings in the wine business.

11/22/2023

Nice mention of our Mohr-Fry Zinfandel!

Thanksgiving wine pairings: Pairing wines for Thanksgiving dinner can feel overwhelming, with many possible options. Follow these guidelines

10/15/2023

Foot treading the Souzao in the old Guild brandy cellars. This rare Portuguese variety is prized for its incredible color (see pic #2) and off-the-charts acidity. It plays a critical in our port-styled wines and we make a small amount as a dry table wine. But only for those that love acidity in their wines.

The Guild Winery & Distilleries was a 500-member grower cooperative based in Lodi formed shortly after Prohibition ended. Our winery is located in the old brandy ageing cellars and bottling rooms (See pic #3). The wooden racks support the ceiling limiting its usage…but it looks really cool!

08/23/2023

Moved oldest daughter across country to start Grad School at University if Connecticut…PhD in Business Marketing. Big change from having lived her whole life in California. I think the Dairy Bar (campus ice creamery) sold her. We are so proud and look forward to all the adventures to come! Including introducing St.Amant wines to fellow grad students!

07/10/2023

Happy 82nd birthday to my amazing mother, Barbara St.Amant Spencer. Second photo is my mom and dad broadcasting fertilizer the old school way back in the early days. Each vine got a coffee can full! And still working the tasting room today. My dad may have been the face of the winery, but mom was always behind the scenes keeping it all going!

04/12/2023

What a difference a year makes! Marian’s Vineyard Zinfandel, own-rooted, planted in 1901.
Pic #1 – Today (April 12, 2023)
Pic #2 – One year ago (April 12, 2022)

The cold wet winter has the vines off to a slow start, but all the winter rains are good for soil and vine health moving forward.
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