I recently had the opportunity to talk with John Cifelli, General Manager at Unionville and Executive Director of the Winemakers Co-Op. I wanted to learn more about the Winemakers Co-Op and to share what I learned with you. John is an interesting guy, who wears many hats. Incidentally, his sidekick in the above picture is a cat named, “Festival.” He was given his name because he was found without an owner at one of their wine festivals and was adopted and has become a part of the Unionville family.
So what is the Winemakers Co-Op and what does it do? The Winemakers Co-Op has existed for about two years. It consists of the owners and winemakers from four wineries in the state: Unionville Vineyards, Beneduce Vineyards, Working Dog Winery and William Heritage Winery. They were formed, in part due to a kinship and mutual philosophy about how to improve the quality of New Jersey wines and enhance the reputation of the wines. One of the key components is a belief in the use of classic vitis vinifera grapes (like Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling) that are dry or classically off-dry (e.g. Riesling and Chenin Blanc) and from 100% New Jersey grown grapes. Another important consideration for members (and most wineries in today’s economy and ecology) is that of sustainability. A final guiding philosophy of the Co-Op members is “a rising tide raises all ships.” John was quick to point out that the four wineries do not feel they are better than the other wineries in the state and there a many other New Jersey wineries making fine wines that are primarily dry or off-dry vinifera varietals. In fact, the Co-Op members are open to expanding their membership.
In addition to occasionally pooling their resources between the four member wineries to do promotions and research (and even pursuing a grant to obtain a full-time viticulturist), they also offer a spring and fall portfolio of combined wines from the four wineries for an amazing tasting event. The most recent event was the Fall Portfolio Tasting at Working Dog Winery on October 29, 2017. These events also highlight renown experts and writers who share their knowledge with participants at these events. At the Fall Portfolio (which I was unfortunately unable to attend), Bianca Bosker, author of the NYT bestseller, Cork Dork spoke to the participants.
One of the many reasons I regret being unable to attend the Fall Portfolio event was the tasting of the wines which were recently (this past summer) reviewed and rated by Mark Squires, from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. In his review 32 wines from these four wineries were reviewed. 26 of the 32 wines reviewed scored between 85 and 89, with one (William Heritage’s Brut Sparkling Wine) scoring 90 points. This was the first ever 90 pointer from the Wine Advocate for a New Jersey wine. For those unfamiliar with these wine scores, 85-89 points are considered very good, while a score of 90 or above is considered excellent. For those of us “mere mortals” when it comes to tasting, the average person is said to be unable to tell the difference of one or two points. I can say that I have now tasted all but one or two of these wines and can vouch for the quality of each of these, with a few ranking among the best I have tried over the years (and not just the best in NJ)!
The winemakers reach out to the press, as well as eliciting their attention with high quality wine. These initiatives are paying off with an impressive number of press clippings and the media’s glowing reviews of what the Co-Op members have been accomplishing. Most of these reviews have been written by wine experts. This, of course, adds to the already increased reputation and recognition of our state’s ability to produce fine wines.
The next Winemakers Co-Op event will be the Spring Portfolio Tasting at William Heritage Winery in Mullica Hill. I will not miss that one!
Coming Attractions
- These Are a Few of My Favorite Things… (A Holiday list with apologies to Oscar Hammerstein II)
- Variety is the Spice of Life (pursuing my quest to try 100+ grape varietals and sharing some of my favs)
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