New Jersey, Wine and Summertime
By Donna Albano
Welcome Summer 2018! I am Donna Albano, a happy new contributor to Shore Local Magazine. Summer at the Jersey Shore is full of opportunities to experience authentic “Garden State” flavors like Jersey tomatoes, blueberries, and peaches. Visitors and residents alike also flock to our unique shoreline boasting 130 miles of coastline to visit our beaches and bays, lighthouses, fishing villages and more. New Jersey also offers some of the best wineries and festivals allowing tourists and residents to experience “Jersey Fresh” up close and personal.
The history of wine in New Jersey is long and storied, but grapes have been growing in New Jersey since early colonial days. Since the year 2000, the New Jersey Winery industry has seen exponential growth, and the number of farm wineries continues to increase, developing old and new varieties of wine that grow well in the state.
Tom Cosentino, Executive Director of the Garden State Wine Growers Association, is happy to report that the industry is experiencing “continued growth” and speaks proudly of the newest designated American Viticultural Area (AVA), the Cape May Peninsula. This marks the fourth micro region designated by NJ State Department of Agriculture, joining Central Delaware Valley, Warren Hills and the Outer Coastal Plain, which covers Southeastern NJ including Cumberland, Atlantic, and Ocean Counties.
With over 50 wineries in the state, finding one near you is easy. The Garden State Wine Growers Association website is a great source of information, including a full calendar of winery events, wine trails, and festivals. They have a downloadable app that encourages you to use a Passport feature so you can easily find wineries near you and check in. Cosentino encourages the Passport because it gives the visitor a “great sense of what the state is making”. For more information visit https://www.newjerseywines.com/
Wine festivals are a great “entry level way to start” your New Jersey wine tasting experience, says Cosentino. “There’s something for everyone’s palate. The wineries that participate use festivals as an opportunity to pour their wine for a large audience, to cultivate fans of their wine, and encourage visits to their wineries and tasting rooms.
The wineries themselves provide a full experience of place and culture, from tasting the wine, to seeing the vineyard, to meeting the winemaker. You don’t have to go far to find award winning wines and beautiful tasting rooms for an authentic New Jersey experience.
Another way to experience and learn more about New Jersey is to participate in Stockton’s 2nd Annual Pinelands Summer Short Course on Thursday, July 19th in Hammonton, New Jersey. This full day experience allows you to pick from a menu of seven field trips and seven classroom lectures. One of those will be delivered by Tom Cosentino, of the New Jersey Wine Growers Association, on the History of New Jersey’s Wine Industry. Tom will discuss the history that links back to the 1800’s when the first commercial wineries were established in New Jersey including Louis Nicolas Renault and the Renault Winery. Information about the course and registration can be found at https://www.stockton.edu/continuing-studies/pinelandsshortcourse.html.
So plan your New Jersey winery trips this summer. As you enjoy a sip of your favorite varietal, be proud to experience all the state has to offer culturally, naturally, historically and authentically.
Donna Albano
Associate Professor – Hospitality & Tourism Management
Stockton University
Galloway, NJ 08205-9441
609-652-4493
donna.albano@stockton.edu
