- July 21st-31st: Special request orders and additional wines will be added to your order and processed. Wines will ship as they are processed unless you make other arrangements. You can change your shipping address, billing information, or add wines to your order any time before your order processes. Please keep in mind, once your order processes, we cannot guarantee your requests. You MUST CONTACT WINE CLUB to make any changes or additions to your order information.
- August 1st – 2nd: All Will Call orders charged
- August 1st: Wine Club newsletter emailed to you
- August 3rd: Starting now, all Will Call orders available for pick up
- August 1st – 7th: All regular shipping orders charged
- August 3rd- 10th: All regular shipping orders packed and shipped
Spotlight On
Gru-Ner-Vee
GRU-NER-VEE. This new member exclusive wine is beautiful to look at and has a name that is easy to say… so you can ask for it again and again! GRU-NER-VEE is made from the Grüner Veltliner grape, an Austrian white wine grape that grows very well in the Lake Michigan Shore AVA. Super aromatic, Grüner Veltliner translates from German to “the green grape from the village of Veltlin.”
The Grüner Veltliner grapes for GRU-NER-VEE were grown during the 2024 vintage by St. Julian’s grower partner Ed Oxley in Lawton. One of the first growers of Grüner in the state of Michigan, Ed’s vineyard is located on a high hill within the Lake Michigan Shore AVA. Influenced by the lake effect, warm days help the grapes ripen and develop sugar, while cool nights offer a needed relief to keep acidity levels high. The result is a dry, crisp, and refreshing profile with flavors of lime, nectarine, green apple, white peach, and lemon zest. Fans of Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Grigio love this wine. The wine’s high acidity and bright fruit are key characteristics, contributing to its refreshing and crisp character. Easy drinking and best served ice cold on a warm day, Grüner is an excellent wine for your weekend BBQs, picnics, and “the kids are in bed and we can finally relax” moments. Green wines pair well with green things, so think grilled asparagus and cheesy artichoke dip. Grüner goes with so many foods thanks to its acidity. Thai foods, spicy Indian, chicken fajitas, seafood with lemon, sushi, roasted pork, fried chicken, and pesto pasta all would be excellent with this bottle…Or just a sunset. That works too!
Limelight
“I can’t wait to see what’s new this time!” We hear that all the time and we love it! Each quarter, members are treated to new styles, blends, and grape varieties, making Wine Club release so exciting. Introducing Limelight, a new sweet white blend (7.3% RS) made from Traminette, Vidal, and Aromella grapes.
Different grapes have different levels of acidity, fruitiness, flavor components and aromatics. Blending allows winemakers to combine the unique characteristics of multiple varieties, leveraging the strengths of each grape to achieve a more complex, balanced, and interesting wine. This becomes important when dealing with Mother Nature and her influence on the grapes each year. The winemaking team uses their skill and creativity to bring out the very best from each variety. Such is the case with Limelight!
The three grapes featured in Limelight were the stars of the 2024 vintage. Due to the extreme winter conditions in January, many of the European grape varieties suffered severe damage and did not survive, or were harvested in limited amounts. Traminette, Vidal, and Aromella are white hybrid grapes that not only survived but thrived! As more challenges happen in vineyards across the world due to changes in weather, the value and importance of hybrids, and the beautiful wines that they produce, is finally in the well-deserved spotlight. Limelight blends the floral aromas and slight spicy flavors from Traminette with higher acidity and fruity grapefruit and sweet pineapple flavors of Vidal. The addition of Aromella adds bright honeysuckle and citrus peel flavors, making the wine an excellent choice for spring. Pair with all your spicy or salty or fruity favorites!
Spotlight On
Assistant Winemaker Kayla McQuinn & Prelude
Meet Assistant Winemaker Kayla McQuinn! Kayla joined St. Julian in 2020 as a harvest intern where her hard work ethic, skills, and enthusiasm earned her a position as an Enologist working alongside Winemakers Nancie and Kyle. A biology major from Albion College, she was promoted to Assistant Winemaker in 2024, furthering her knowledge, responsibility, and creativity around the fascinating world of wine at St. Julian. As assistant winemaker, Kayla is involved in every step of the winemaking process from vineyard to bottle, a process that combines art with the science she studied. “My background at Albion was biology, so I think my oversight of our lab is where I excel, but what I love most about this job is how hands-on it is; no two days are the same. One day I may be in the barrel cellar, another I’m in the lab running chemistry, and another I may be out in the vineyard.”
Kayla gives much credit to the team at St. Julian. “Our entire production crew is like family, and without any of them, the wine doesn’t happen,” McQuinn said. “My role has increased my appreciation for wine,” McQuinn said. “Now I know how much work goes into every glass. I hope to stay in a winemaking position for the remainder of my career.
Lucky for all of us! This quarter, members are being treated to Kayla’s first wine in which she had complete winemaking control; from harvest to fermentation to bottling. Introducing PRELUDE; a sweet rosé made from Frontenac Gris and Frontenac Blanc from the 2024 harvest! While working in the vineyard, Kayla loved the fresh acidity these two grape varieties expressed. She knew they would make a beautiful wine.
Kayla chose to co-ferment these two varieties together because she loves the way they work off of each other, adding a unique profile to the finished wine. Stopping the fermentation kept some sweetness in the wine (5.3% RS) to balance with the crisp acidity. Flavors of fresh strawberry, lime, red raspberry, and green apple make this a super easy drinking rosé. When it came to the label, this was the hardest part for Kayla, as she has more of a science brain. She relied on suggestions from the team and the name PRELUDE was a natural choice. Kayla plays the piano and the prelude in a song is the beginning of something wonderful, just like this wine is the prelude to many wonderful wines to come with her name on the label. The flowers are orchids, which she will be carrying on her wedding day this June in Lake Como, Italy. Once again, the prelude to many great things for our Kayla!
A FAMILY REUNION IN THE VINEYARD
Saturday, July 19th | 5:00 – 8:00 PM
Mountain Road Estate Vineyard
Coloma, Michigan
Wine Club members are family! Join us at our estate vineyard in the heart of the Lake Michigan Shore AVA for an evening with the Braganini Family and the St. Julian winemakers. Enjoy food, wine, cocktails, and classic nostalgic family reunion games. Enjoy vineyard tours and amazing views! Members have exclusive access to tickets from now until May 30th. Tickets are $60 per member. We hope to see you in the vines!
SUMMER RECIPE PAIRINGS
Recipes and photos courtesy of former Rockford tasting room manager, Shaylan Owen!
LEMONY GREEN GARDEN SOUP
Pair with Gru-Ner-Vee or Limelight
This silky soup is spring in a bowl! Tons of spring veggies with fresh lemon makes this super light and refreshing.
Ingredients:
Ingredients:
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 fennel bulb, diced
- 1 pound fresh asparagus
- ⅔ cup green peas
- ½ cup white wine
- ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 lemon, zest & juice
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1½ teaspoons salt
Instructions:
-
1
Trim and discard the bases of the asparagus stalks, then cut the stalks in half. Slice the top stalks into bite sized pieces and set aside, then dice the bottom stalks.
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2
Simmer the vegetable stock, white wine, lemon zest and juice, onions, and fennel in a medium pot for 15 minutes. Add the chopped bottom asparagus, peas, parsley, garlic, ginger, salt, and honey, then simmer for 10 minutes.
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3
Cool soup well and carefully purée to very smooth. While puréeing, melt the butter in the empty pot, and add the flour. Cook for 1 minute and turn off heat. (Optional: strain the puréed soup for a smoother texture.) Return the purée to the pot with the butter/flour over medium heat and whisk until it thickens.
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4
Whisk the egg yolks in a large mixing bowl. Remove the soup from the heat, and while whisking constantly, slowly add the soup to the eggs one ladle at a time. When half the soup has been added to the yolks, return it all to the pot and simmer while whisking. When thickened, season to taste. Sauté or steam the sliced asparagus tops to garnish each soup bowl. Makes 4 to 6 servings. For an entrée soup, add your favorite cooked rice and chicken.
