newjerseynewsroom.com

BY ADELE SAMMARCO

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

It’s been a long, hot, dry summer and that means and an early harvest for New Jersey’s wineries.

Harvest season kicked off this week for members of the Garden State Wine Growers Association. The dry weather of July and normal rainfall in August made the Garden State’s soil ripe for the pickings.

Wineries throughout the state are showcasing their harvest and displaying their vintage grapes, all the while increasing New Jersey’s visibility and credibility as a viable wine-making state.

Winemakers cite 2010 as one of the best years ever for grape-growing in the state as a result of the shortage of rain during the summer growing season from June through August. Only six inches of rain fell during that period, making it the fifth driest period in a century.

Wine enthusiasts agree that while a lack of rain can be harmful to crops, a dry growing season is beneficial to grapes.

"The 2012 harvest is well underway, overall grape quality has been excellent. The crop is a small one due to some of the effects of a frost back on April 29th, but the grapes are excellent quality. I would liken the vintage to 2007 which yielded wines that competed very well at the recent Judgment of Princeton against some of the world's best Bordeaux, but not quite as big at the 2010, which was both a very large crop and had a very hot summer, " said Charlie Tomasello of Tomasello Winery in Hammonton.

Tomasello Winery is one of 40 wineries that are part of the Garden State Wine Growers Association. They begin harvesting the grapes in August and will continue into October.

New Jersey specializes in making Chardonnay, Merlot, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc and Syrah, among others, and won several awards in competitions throughout the country. This past June, some leading New Jersey wines competed against wines from France in the Judgment of Princeton at the American Association of Wine Economists conference at Princeton Universit

Well-known French wines took top spots in the red and white categories, but two 2010 New Jersey chardonnays finished second and third and a New Jersey red blend ranked third in that category. A chardonnay from Unionville Vineyards in Ringoes finished second, one from Heritage Winery in Mullica Hills came third and Silver Decoy’s "Black Feather" chardonnay ranked fourth. The Heritage Estate Reserve BDX blend finished third in the red wine category.

"We are very excited about our Outer Coastal Plain Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 current release and about the upcoming 2010 which is currently being offered on futures and will be released in April under our new super-premium Palmaris label," said Tomasello. "With every passing vintage by NJ's wineries, we see their status improving and gaining respect as the quality of their wines continues to improve. The terrier of the Outer Coastal Plain lends itself to the production of premium red wine blends with both the subtlety and complexity of Bordeaux wines."

Organizers of the event said the scoring results in the blind taste test were so close it was basically a statistical tie.

The value of New Jersey wines were also more economical as compared to the top two French wines that were priced at $650, about 10 times the cost of leading New Jersey competitors.

And if price isn't a hindrance to your taste buds, Louis Caracciolo of Amalthea Cellars in Atco says for those wine connoisseurs there are exceptionally tasting wines produced in the Garden State that are just as equally expensive as the French brands.

NJ wine consumers will be able to sample wines from all of the leading GSWGA wineries at three upcoming festivals:

• Jersey Fresh Wine Festival Sept. 29-30 at Burlington County Fairgrounds
• Cape May Wine Festival Oct. 6-7 at Cape May Lewes Ferry Terminal
• Grand Harvest Wine Festival Oct. 13-14 at Fosterfields Living Historical Farm in Morristown

Advance tickets can be purchased at www.newjerseywines.com.