The 2018 Sharrott Wine & Music Festival was at least my fifth or sixth over the past 10 years or so. Much has happened at Sharrott during these past 10 years. One need only look at the above picture of their newly remodeled, expanded and enhanced facilities. Their new tasting room is beautiful and significantly larger than their “old one” (not really old at all, just smaller). Now Sharrott can do their concerts outside or inside. The new patio has a roof, pillars and even ceiling fans.
I knew that Sharrott always runs a high quality festival, with lots of good food trucks, vendors and, of course, lots of good wine to taste and enjoy. Consequently, the only “iffy” question: the weather. Somehow, this time of year, the weather always seems to be an issue, or at least a question mark. Last Saturday, the question was answered. Go for it! …and we did. My wife and I and friends decided to defiantly wear our sunglasses and hope for the best. (I wish we had packed some suntan lotion)!
Sharrott Winery also now has a full kitchen and with that a new policy about picnic lunches and outside food. While I look forward to trying some of their new foods made on the premises, I will miss the ability to pack a meal or snack to listen to some music and enjoy Sharrott wines. However, Sharrott did waive the new policy for the festival, allowing festival goers to bring food to the festival.
While we had the option to bring food, we chose to travel light, just in case our optimism was doused with a serious downpour. Fortunately there were five food trucks with sandwiches, salads, cannolis and other specialty items. My wife and I loved our sandwiches from Top Shelf Cuisine Food Truck (mine was a thick, juicy black bean burger and a huge portion of Old Bay Fries) washed down with our bottle of Sharrott’s Tango.
While we made our way from one winery tent to another, we enjoyed the music of the Matt Nofsinger Band. They played a lot of classic rock covers. Among the best of these were hits from Cream, The Allman Brothers and Tom Petty.
The wineries represented were:
- Bellview Winery
- Chestnut Run Farm
- Coda Rossa Winery
- DiMatteo Vineyards
- Monroeville Vineyard & Winery
- Plagido’s Winery
- Sharrott Winery
- Villari Vineyards
My highlights from the wines I sampled:
- Bellview Winery’s Gruner Veltliner (a classic, but less common dry white) and Traminette (with an aroma of flowers suggesting a sweetness to follow, but with only the slightest hint of sweetness)
- Chestnut Run’s Dry Asian Pear wine and Spiced Sweet Asian Pear wine (the latter, making me wish for a sushi food truck, with its ginger spice and sweetness to stave off the wasabi heat)
- Coda Rossa’s Ameritage (a very good red blend using Californian grapes) and Super Tuscan (think Chianti blended with Cabernet and Merlot)
- DiMatteo’s Chocolate Raz (think dessert) and Jersey Red (nice full-bodied red)
- Monroeville’s Stillwater Red (their signature red and my personal fav at Monroeville) and Stillwater White
- Plagido’s Winery’s Pole Dancer and Empire Port-style red (both robust full-bodied reds with a delicious sweetness that disguises their higher alcohol levels)
- Sharrott’s Pinot Grigio (one of my favs here) and Tango (a nice, “easy drinking” red blend that goes well with burgers and barbecued meats). In keeping with my usual festival strategy I focused on wineries I don’t get to as often. Therefore, I did not sample Sharrott’s wines, but…I did buy these two bottles, knowing they would be good choices with what we were going to get from the food trucks.
- Villari’s Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon (they did not have a Merlot with them, which has been a personal favorite from Villari).
Thanks to the weather for holding back the rain until after we left. A special thanks to everyone at Sharrott Winery, all of the participating wineries, food trucks, vendors and the Matt Nofsinger Band. Great job! I think the rain held off for most of the day on Sunday as well. Missed Shorty Long and The Jersey Horns this year, but those who went on Sunday did get to see a terrific group.
Cheers!
Tried a New Jersey wine lately? Visited a NJ winery recently? Share your experience here. Like what you read and see here? Consider subscribing and getting your weekly pour of NJ wine right in your inbox. No spills. No mess. No fuss.
Coming Attractions
- Bellview’s 2018 Concert Series
- Updates on my book: New Jersey Uncorked: A Snob-Free Taste of NJ Wine.
