St. George, Patron Saint of Wine Press

When it came to picking wines, I was a blank slate. I fell in love with the process of finding new wines and learning about new regions and producers.  There wasn’t a heavy marketing slant, so I was able to find what I like and keep going.

The spirits category is different. Big producers are well established, they have huge marketing budgets. Before you’re of legal drinking age, it would be easy for most of us to recognize the top spirits brands in each category.  So when you order that first Jack and coke at a bar as a newly minted 21-year-old and it tastes awful, you just accept that that’s how it’s supposed to be.

I was lucky enough to be exposed to the St George products early in my ownership of the Wine Press.  It all started with the Gin – the St George Terroir Gin.  For me it tasted like nothing I had before – juniper was dialed back to give way to sage and Douglas fir – an amazingly refreshing spirit.  We immediately brought in their Gins to the store.

Nine years ago, the craft gin market was in its infancy. The big brands still ruled the market but there was this category – bourbon (maybe you’ve heard of it?) that was getting customers to think more about spirits from the domestic market.  We saw this as an opportunity and expanded our offerings of St George.

Fast Forward to now. It’s been a fun ride seeing what Lance and the team at St. George come up with. I’m continually impressed with their innovation and dedication to craft distilling using local ingredients.  Next time you’re in the shop ask me about using Bruto Americano instead of Campari or how you can swap Kahlua for NOLA Coffee liqueur.  Just as our favorite winemakers are always improving their wines, distillers like Lance Winters will continue to create new spirits and challenge the market.  

From now through Thanksgiving we’re offering 10% off all. St George Products.  Check out some of their newest offerings like the Basil Eau de Vie and Sochu! 

Stay tuned – we’ll be dropping something St. George Related each week from now until Turkey Day!