It’s definitely time for revisiting Bellview Winery. I can’t believe it has been almost a year and a half since my first post about Bellview Winery. I guess it does not seem so long ago because I have visited a few times in the interim. I try to get to at least a couple of their festivals every year. There’s always good food and music and, of course, the wine. Bellview has a very nice line-up of wines, with truly something for everyone. I also like that they have a few taps with blends of wine, that add to the choices and are continually being updated to reflect their diverse selection of grapes. They are one of the few wineries in the state (or even tri-state area) with taps. The tap selections are available to take home in growlers.
Bellview Winery is located in Landisville, a small town in Atlantic County. Though a rural area, it is located only a couple of turns from Route 40, part of a “back road” route to the Jersey Shore. The tasting room is attractive and mid-sized, but larger than it appears from the exterior. Bellview also has a great space outside with a permanent outdoor stage for their musical acts and plenty of room to host their popular festivals.
Bellview makes some interesting and less well-known wines. This might be a good place to work on expanding your palate or following through on a resolution to try new wine varietals every month. Their dry white wines include: Chardonnay; Gruner Veltliner (an Austrian varietal that has a little spice, but has a very dry finish); Jersey Devil White (an off-dry blend of Cayuga and Traminette); Pinot Grigio; Traminette; and Vidal Blanc. Their reds include: Blaufrankisch (also known as Lemberger, and originating and popular in Austria); Cabernet Franc; Chambourcin; Coeur d’Est (Heart of the East, a red blend of grapes that must be grown in the Outer Coastal Plain, a distinctive, designated area in Southern New Jersey which they are a part of); Jersey Devil Red (a dry, unoaked red blend); Merlot; Petit Verdot; and Solavita (a red blend with a taste of wild cherry and pithy strawberry, and a hint of vanilla).
I tasted two of the tapped dry wine blends: Nashira (Chambourcin 50% and Petit Verdot 50%) and Sadira (Cab Franc 90% and Petit Verdot 10%). Both are worth trying. All of the tapped wines are available to taste from Bellview’s tasting menu. Just follow your palate!
Bellview makes three semi-sweet wines: Homestead (a lightly sweet and fruity Red Table Wine); Nana’s Wine (a semi-sweet white); and Under the Arbor (a Blush Table Wine). Their fruit wines include Black Currant, Cranberry, Fiesta and Jersey Blues. They also produce several specialty wines: Cristallina (ice wine); Dandelion (sourced from nearby Vineland); Winter Spice (a light, sweet wine with a bit of cinnamon, cloves and orange peel); a Sangria; and a Port (a fortified after-dinner wine made from Chambourcin and Petit Verdot grapes).
Bellview has won numerous awards for their wines over the past several years. Most recently, at the 2017 New Jersey Wine Competition Bellview won a Gold Medal for their 2015 Vidal Blanc, a Silver Medal for their 2016 Petit Verdot and two Bronze Medals for their 2013 Syrah and NV Port. At the 2017 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, they took two Silver Medals (NV Capella and NV Cygnus) and five Bronze Medals (2014 Coeur d’Est, 2014 Cabernet Franc, NV Pollux, 2013 Syrah/Shiraz and NV Cayuga).
My personal favorites during this visit included the Traminette, Chambourcin and Port. If you haven’t visited this winery, you should definitely do so in the near future. Check out at least one of their festivals (Winter Festival, Irish Festival, Italian Festival and Seafood Festival, to name a few).
The tasting room is open daily from 12 p.m.–5 p.m. Tastings are $5 per person and include eight tastes of the wines they currently have available and a souvenir tasting glass. Groups of eight or more should call ahead and make a reservation for a tasting. They also offer tours for $15 per person, which includes the tasting and souvenir glass.
Coming Attractions
- Private Tasting at White Horse Winery
- Balic Winery
- G & W Winery
- Updates on Resolution Progress (Trying new wines)
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Cheers!
