newjerseynewsroom.com

BY JOSH McMAHON

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

COMMENTARY

Sal Turdo is an electrical contractor up in Bergen County. That's his bring home the money job.

But that's not his passion. Wine is.

Sip some wine with him on an August afternoon on the patio outside at his North Cape May vineyard and you soon find that out. He'll tell you about his boyhood days in Italy and the summers he spent helping his family nurture the grapes and then make the wine.

He packed that intense enthusiasm with him when he came to America but it wasn't' until a decade ago when he bought five acres in Cape May that he was able to once again to indulge his love of wine. Now he, his wife, Sara, and his son, Luca, run a winery that makes some dam good wine.

Sal is one of 34 winemakers in New Jersey.

By and large these are mom-and-pop operations run by people who, like Sal, are passionate about wine. I suppose they all make some money — but not much.

All they want to do is make wine and share it with others. But now that's being threatened.

A federal appeals court gavel is about to crush their dreams and rob them of their passion unless the guys in Trenton act — and soon.

Here's why: New Jersey has a law that prohibits out-of-state wineries from shipping directly to customers. The law, however, does allow local guys to sell bottles at their wineries and to pour tastings. Sort of like farmers selling their crops from roadside farm stands.

But a federal appeals court in Philadelphia says that's a no-no.

It violates the commerce clause of the Constitution, the court says, because it treats in-state and out-of-sate wineries differently.

The fix is simple but then again nothing is simple in Trenton and nothing gets done with any speed. More about that in a minute.

Now I suppose wine snobs are smirking, wondering why anybody would be fighting for New Jersey wines. After all, aren't they syrupy fruit wines that are hard to get down?

Well, no.

There are those out there but there also is some very fine winemaking going on in New Jersey and it's happening from Sussex to Cape May. The wines are wining competitions in places like San Francisco and the Finger Lakes of New York.

My wife and I have been traveling the state for the past year with an on-again, off-again quest to visit all the wineries. We've reached about half of them so far and most our tastings have been well worth the drives. There have been some clunkers but they don't need to be mentioned.

Last summer we hosted a New Jersey wine barbecue and all our guests were surprised at the quality. They, like so many others, figured what was inside the bottle bearing the label of a New Jersey winery wasn't worth the uncorking effort.

A particular hit that night was a rose from 4 JG'S Orchards and Vineyards in Colts Neck.

What we have found out on our trips is that thousands of others have discovered what we have. On weekends these wineries are crowded with fellow wine lovers and even during the week the tasting rooms are rarely empty.

Turdo Vineyards quickly became one of our favorites when we visited last summer but we waited to long to get much of his wine. Oh, we got a couple of three bottles but by early fall he was sold out. We won't make that mistake again.

Then there was a Sunday afternoon in March we spent at the Silver Decoy Winery in Robinsville. It's owned by a group of five guys who were united by their love of the grape. The day we were there the co-owner behind the bar was Todd Abrahams who in real life is a fifth grade teacher. He filled us in on how the guys got together and transformed a hobby into a business.

At Sharrott Winery in Winslow our pourer was a retired teacher who happened to be the mother of the winemaker. She, her husband and son pooled their money to start the vineyard and their hope is that one day soon her son will be able to leave his professional daytime job and devote all energies to the winery.

At Plagido's Winery in Hammonton we met the mother of Ollie Tomasello who is a fourth generation farmer and owner of the place. We walked in just as she was sitting down to have lunch with a few of the other workers. She pushed herself away from the table and graciously spent an hour with us pouring wine and recounting the history of the winery and how its name came about.

When we got lost trying to find the next winery on our itinerary, we returned to Plagido's and Ollie gave us directions. He wasn't concerned about the competition because the winemakers view themselves as part of a fraternity committed to spreading the word about New Jersey wines.

At Hawk Haven in Rio Grande it was the winemaker's father-in-law who did the serving and provided a rundown of each wine. It was another case of the family hoping that soon the son-in-law and daughter would be able to spend full time at the winery.

All of these wineries by the way are in beautiful settings but some of the tasting rooms are a bit more wine cellar chic than others. Many make a couple of extra bucks from weddings and festivals.

Some of the wines are available in a handful of restaurants and a couple retail outlets but 90 percent of sales are to tasting room visitors.

But now because of a New Jersey law they find themselves on the endangered species list. The Garden State Wine Growers Association is fighting back, challenging the court decision but the outcome is uncertain.

Across the country 35 other states allow direct shipping so the simple answer is to change the law. But Trenton can't seem to find the time even though the measure has bi-partisan support. It passed the Senate nearly a year ago but the Assembly hasn't taken any action.

Assemblyman John Burzichellli, the Democratic sponsor in the lower house, is pushing it but without much success so far.

It's not hard to figure out who opposes the measure — the major wholesalers and retailers who want a monopoly on wine sales in the state. They argue that if out-of-state wineries and in-state ones were allowed to ship directly to your doorstep, underage drinking would become more of a problem.

Yeah right! There will be legions of teenagers waiting by the door for their case of wine from that boutique winery. Besides, shipping companies have policies in place to prevent that.

My guess is that the opposition really fears allowing thousands of wineries in other states — nearly every state has a local wine industry — direct access to the New Jersey market. They want to control it and even more important get a piece of the action.

It's not the 34 New Jersey wineries that pose a threat but still it's the 34 New Jersey wineries that face a final harvest unless the state Assembly takes action.

Come on guys don't let that happen. Don't crush dreams.

Josh McMahon, who has pop the cork on more than a few bottles of New Jersey wine, is a former member of The Star-Ledger editorial board. He may be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it