March 1997, Volume 20, Issue 3

St. George Spirits Tour

by Paul Marshall

St. George Spirits is at 2900 Main St. in Alameda. It shares space with Rosenblum Winery and is across from the Naval Air Station on the right side just before you would enter the Posey tube to take you over to Broadway in Oakland. It is practically the last turn off before entering the tube.

Caltrans fact on the Posey Tube: The tube (Route 260) between Alameda and Oakland that goes beneath the Oakland Estuary. It is named for the engineer who devised its construction. The tube runs beneath the floor of the estuary and was built in 1927.

To get there, get off in down town Oakland at the Civic Center (near Pacific Coast Brewery) and take the Broadway tube to Alameda and go to the left as you come out of the tube, or you can take one of the bridges to Alameda and follow Webster until it runs into Main and follow the road to Oakland, which is the tube. St. George also is directly across from the Ferry terminal on Alameda Island.

From the internet site at http://www.orangecoast.com/ brandy.htm

"I come from the eau-de-vie side, where the flavor of fruit is more important than the wood," says St. George founder Jorg Rupf. He says he was the first to distill brandy in the United States, beginning in 1982. Prize ribbons from state fairs cover one wall of his warehouse distillery, which also houses a 65-gallon, Jules Verne-like Holstein still imported from Germany, a pair of enormous stainless steel tanks, and a couple dozen barrels of aging brandy. In addition to Pale Brandy (375 ml, $30) released under his own label, Rupf also makes brandy for Acacia Winery. Befitting an eau-de-vie maker, Rupf uses no additives of any kind, and doesn't look to long years in wood casks to make his product good. His unique distilling methods yield a smoother brandy that captures more of the qualities of the fruit.