Passing the beautiful Inn at Laurita Winery before you turn into a long driveway with elegant views of the tasting room, vineyards and beyond you realize this is not your average venue. The grounds and building with a lovely patio and deck, the piped-in music with a great sound system all elicit a feeling that you are about to have a very special experience.
Once inside the spacious and very well-appointed interior, the ambience and wine do not disappoint. For the $7 tasting fee I selected their unoaked Chardonnay (with very nice floral notes – even with my allergy-tainted nasal passages), their oaked Chardonnay (subtly oaked in Hungarian oak barrels), their Cabernet Franc (excellent), their Merlot (excellent), their Cabernet Sauvignon (very good), their Norton (an interesting red grape I’ve seen more often in Virginia than New Jersey) and their Lemberger (a red Austrian grape with some spice). While the Lemberger was not my favorite, it is awesome to be able to try a wine you’re not going to find very often in NJ (or in this country for that matter).
Our server was friendly and quite knowledgeable. She even suggested a place for dinner nearby – Ninuzzo’s Trattoria, a great BYOB Italian restaurant minutes away. We enjoyed the whole experience so much we repeated it a couple of weeks later with friends (including the restaurant)!
Visited a New Jersey Winery lately? Leave a comment, email me, or send me a tweet with your thoughts or feedback.
Cheers!
