A recent news story on television (ABC) announced, “Grapes wanted in New Jersey.” Another more recent news story headlined that New Jersey received their first rating of 90 from Robert Parker’s famed Wine Advocate.* These two stories are not unrelated. If you have been reading my posts here, the GSWGA newsletter that Tom Cosentino puts out, and many other media outlets you already knew NJ wines have arrived. It didn’t take the recent headlines to convince you. Better than that as customers have been swarming to NJ wineries each year in record-breaking numbers you have tasted and cast your own votes already. Having said that, go to the GSWGA website and read the Awards section. The number of New Jersey award winners at famous state, regional, and international wine competitions is staggering.
As I said, the shortage of grapes for wine in New Jersey and the surge in award-winning wines, which are gaining in popularity every day, are related. I didn’t major in economics, but I think supply and demand is the simple correlation at work here. In addition to the first Wine Advocate 90 Points awarded to Heritage Vineyard, mentioned above, there were many other New Jersey wines garnering excellent scores. Here is a partial list: Beneduce Vineyards Blaufrankisch 88 Points (Pictured above); Unionville Chardonnay Pheasant Hill 89 Points; Rose 89 Points; Pinot Noir 89 Points; Working Dog Winery Syrah 88 Points; William Heritage Winery Chenin Blanc 88 Points; Rose 88 Points; Vintage Brut 90 Points!
A rating of 80-89 signifies a wine with no noticeable flaws and with varying degrees of finesse and flavor with the upper range (like those 88 and 89 scores above) being characterized as very good.
A rating of 90-95 signifies an outstanding wine of exceptional complexity and character (like Heritage’s Vintage Brut, listed above).
As I shared on these pages previously (http://wp.me/p74VSa-gi), a recent event showcased wines from the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association, with wines from Virginia to Vermont. The New Jersey wines more than held their own with all of these wines showcased.
There is no need to hide the label with the name or map of New Jersey on the label. Beneduce Vineyards was named as one of the top 25 vineyards in the country by Travel & Leisure. At this year’s Finger Lakes International Wine Competition, there was one Double Gold Medal winner (Plagido’s), five Gold Medal winners, 43 Silver Medal winners and 34 Bronze Medal winners from New Jersey wineries!
In my forthcoming book, entitled, New Jersey Uncorked: A Snob-free Taste of N.J. Wine,** I have included a section in the description of each winery, where applicable, a list of their most recent awards. In most cases it is impossible to list all of them because there are so many. Instead, I had to highlight the most recent awards. It should be mentioned that a winery need not win awards to produce terrific wines that have a great following, but the many awards NJ wines are earning are helping the state’s growing reputation for making some world-class wines that can hold their own with wines from anywhere.
Congratulations to our state’s wineries, with a well-earned shout out to the four listed above.
* For those unfamiliar with Robert Parker or the The Wine Advocate: Robert Parker left his law practice early in his career when he realized he had an even greater skill than those obtained in law school – his senses of smell and taste (both now insured for $1,000,000). He is famous for being able to identify style, place of origin and even vintage of wines in blind taste tests. He founded the Wine Advocate over 40 years ago and recently sold a “substantial interest” in it and stepped down as editor-in-chief, though his name was wisely retained (still referred to as Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate). It is a bi-monthly newsletter which publishes reviews of wines from all over the world.
** I anticipate a late November to early December publication date for my book.
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