Steve’s been an inspiration to me, happy for him he’s retiring with zip on the fastball. Sad for the end of an era and a production that gave us so many fine wines.
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Hats off to a great wine maker and a great career. I recall first reading about his wines in a Parker book in the mid-90s and I promptly bought some Durell syrahs and cotes sauvages.
I attended a dinner a number of years back with Steve and Bob Lindquist aptly named the ‘Woodshed’ dinner by @TomHill, and I’m sure Tom will pipe in with additional info, but Steve was simply a walking encyclopedia about the CA Rhone movement - in his very modest way. And his wines that night were stupendous.
He certainly will be missed (ie not making any new wines) , but luckily there are plenty of how wines still out there. And the Rhone Rangers will be honoring him with a Lifetime Achievement Award this June at a dinner at the Girl and A Fig’s extra spot in the downtown Sonoma Square. I’m hoping he’ll bring an oldie or two to share . . .
Cheers
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No one more deserving!
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Sad day for us, although he seems OK with it. A California legend for wine nerds. Article talks of at a winemaker that never got the broader recognition he deserved. And there are so many small winery brands like this that produce excellent wines, but never kind of get their time in the sun.
I wish him good luck in retirement and hope to get my hands on some of his last vintages!
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/article/edmunds-st-john-winery-19381393.php
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Knew that Steve was no longer making wine, and I guess this makes his retirement official. I feel very fortunate to have been able to work with Steve a little when he was making his “Rocks and Gravel” wine in Emeryville and then back at his original winemaking spot on Camelia Street in West Berkeley. He was never aggressive about promoting himself or his wines, and I liked him for that although I’m sure it made selling his wines more difficult. Really one of my winemaking heroes, and I wish both Steve and Cornelia the best.
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There was already a thread about this (I started it).
Mods, can you combine them?
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Here’s the main thread: I guess it's official now (ESJ) - Edmunds St John Closing
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It truly is sad to see him no longer making wine - but he seemed to truly enjoy what he did for as long as he did . . . which is a rarity in the wine world. I’m looking forward to hanging with him at that Rhone Rangers dinner - and luckily I took part in a library sale he did awhile back and have some older wines to open and toast him with . . .
Cheers
Casey, I bought wine from you for several years, and we even did a special bottling of Eaglepoint Fruit called Redneck 101 with the highway sign on the label. How quickly they forget 
Be well, my friend
Steve
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I’m just a little sneaky dude, John; a Merry Prankster
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So looking forward to help ‘celebrate’ you in June, my friend . . .
Cheers
God bless you my friend. I hope the future brings happiness!
Bryan Harrington wrote me “Best compliment you can give to an artist is to say “He was a painter’s painter.”
Steve was a winemaker’s winemaker.”
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Some of my favorite wines ever. I think a real influence on a younger generation of winemakers as well.
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Yesterday, another friend and I celebrated a joint May milestone birthday celebration. We have many of the same friends. We figured herding cats twice in the same month would be near impossible. There were about 30 people so magnums were suggested, but we didn’t care. We just wanted it be a great party and it certainly was! Besides the '54 Rioja I opened, my birth year (AGE Bodegas Unidas Fuenmayor, it was soooo good), I finally opened this. It was the most difficult cork I’ve ever dealt with, even with a Durand. It was absolutely terrific. There was still around 500ml left which I’m polishing off now.
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Just finished listening to the most recent episode on Bedrock Wine Conversations with Steve. Really entertaining and informative!
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And here’s a link from a conversation Jason Haas had with Steve - partly in honor of his upcoming Lifetime Achievement Award Dinner later this month in Sonoma. I’ll be in attendance - and speakers will include Patrick Comiskey, Bob Lindquist and Randall Graham I believe. Tickets are still available - reach out if you’d like more info:
Looks like another tranche of library releases flowing into NY:
Hey Andrew,
If you’ve had Steve Edmunds’ soulful, long-lived red wines, then you were probably quite excited to see this email in your inbox. And if you’ve never heard of Edmunds St. John, it’s likely the result of Steve’s understated personality and limited production (around 2000 cases per year in total). Either way, the takeaway is simple: his syrah, especially with age, is special. It’s on a very short list of California’s greatest ever Rhone-style reds.
We just received a few of his single-vineyard wines in small quantities - 3 bottles or less of each - with age and perfect provenance. Let us know if you have any questions.
Edmunds St. John, Syrah ‘Fenaughty Vineyard’ 2011 $200
Edmunds St. John, Syrah ‘Wylie-Fenaughty’ 2010 $200
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