Rutgers University and New Jersey Wine

 

Until I started my wine journey around the state about two years ago, I was unaware of the connection between Rutgers University and New Jersey wine. In an effort to enlighten myself and others, I recently interviewed Dr. Dan Ward, Extension Specialist, at his office at the Bridgeton Campus. Dan’s background is in pomology (the science of growing fruits) and viticulture (the study of grape cultivation). Dan has been working at Rutgers for about 12 years. His duties include “creating and distributing information to increase fruit production efficiency, profitability and quality”; and evaluating and improving the experimental designs and statistical analysis of related research. Another key component he identified was that of outreach. This includes reaching out to wine growers, winery owners and winemakers across the state, sharing his knowledge to help them in areas such as making the best decisions with regard to choosing grapes which should perform best in the terrain, soil, micro-climate, etc. specific to their location.

The research component is a very interesting one. Rutgers has their own vineyards, where they are investigating things like producing hybrid grapes which can better withstand the cold winters in the state. Dan pointed out that some folks still have a negative bias when they hear the word “hybrid”, but pointed out that many fairly popular wines utilize hybrid grapes. An example of a commonly found New Jersey hybrid grape is Vidal Blanc. Another starting to become popular at several NJ wineries is Traminette.

The Rutgers Extension program has made many contributions over the years. Their research comparing parts of New Jersey with that of the Bordeaux Region in France was presented in 2010 at a symposium held in Bridgeton. The symposium was organized by the Outer Coastal Plain Vineyard Association in collaboration with Rutgers University, with support from the Garden State Wine Growers Association. The upshot of these presentations was showing how New Jersey’s regional climate and soils are not unlike those of the Bordeaux region in France (the kind of comparison that does not go unnoticed). The obvious conclusion was that New Jersey was capable of growing grapes of a comparable quality to those grown in Bordeaux. In fact, you can see this theme repeated in numerous newspaper articles and reviews, as well as on many of New Jersey winery websites.

This finding has been widely shared and has contributed to the increased status of New Jersey as a wine-growing region over the past several years. They also recently hosted the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Conference earlier this year. Dan Ward, served as host of this event. I believe this was the first time that this event was held in New Jersey.

Dan shared that there are 10 other staff at Rutgers whose work dovetails with his research. As in many other academic ventures, there is frequently some cross-pollination of ideas and shared work endeavors and goals. These may include areas such as business and financial considerations, public relations, etc. Dan’s work also takes him to the Rutgers Main Campus in New Brunswick a couple of days a week, where he confers with his colleagues and even teaches a class.

Dan was very kind to share his time with me, instructing me on how Rutgers and his work there are helping the industry and also explaining how they fit into the broader network of associations serving to better the quality and recognition for the state’s wine industry. The wineries in the state are fortunate to have someone like, Dan to be a resource. If we can clone grapes, maybe we should look into cloning Dan. He is a bright and accomplished man, but he (like many others) has to wear an awful lot of hats in his job.

I can’t mention Rutgers and wine without mentioning another name, Dr. Gary Pavlis. Gary has been a professor for many years with expertise in blueberry and grape/wine production. His research has been instrumental in assisting and advancing the blueberry and wine industries in New Jersey. He has served nationally on the board of directors of the American Wine Society.

I know I have only scratched the surface of what Dr. Dan Ward, Dr. Gary Pavlis and their colleagues at Rutgers do to assist and advance New Jersey’s wine industry, but I hope you have learned a little about the connection between Rutgers University and New Jersey wine and perhaps this will encourage you to find out more. The website for the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center in South Jersey is njaes.rutgers.edu.

Cheers!

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