We have just released the 2019 Iowa St. Pepin and it is available only at the Winery. We have been making wine from St. Pepin for about 15 years however this is the first time, we’ve offered it as a varietal. Some people will say it resembles an off-dry Riesling because of its fruit and floral character. We recommend that you serve this wine well chilled.
The 2019 Iowa St. Pepin is a dry white wine with lemon and floral notes on the nose and notes of pear and mandarin orange on the palate. It has a tart, spicy finish. The St. Pepin grapes it was made from were grown in three of our four vineyards in Mahaska County.
St. Pepin is a hybrid created by Elmer Swenson sometime between 1970 and 1990. It is a hard grape to grow because it is pistolate. That means that it has an imperfect flower and it does not self-pollinate. It requires a source of pollen from nearby grapes with just a little wind at pollinization-time. We plant siblings of St. Pepin including LaCrosse and Brianna in alternate rows to provide the pollen. LaCrosse and Brianna were chosen because they bloom at about the same time the St. Pepin blooms.
2019 Iowa St. Pepin is best when served cold.