Revisiting Laurita Winery

Laurita Winery boasts one of the largest and most beautiful tasting rooms in the state. I have been meaning to revisit here for quite some time. I’m glad I did. Laurita Winery is located in New Egypt. Depending upon your route, you may pass their Inn, Spa and Horseback Riding Centers before you turn into the long drive that takes you past a small pond before you reach the parking lot. You can immediately see why so many couples are married here. It is a gorgeous, romantic setting. More importantly, at least for wine lovers, Laurita’s wines are also very good.

How good are their wines? Good enough to win numerous awards. In 2017 they won Silver Medals for their Cabernet Sauvignon and New Egypt NV R2 and a Bronze Medal for their 2014 Merlot at the New Jersey Wine Competition.

Pictured above, from left to right: Laurita Norton, 2017 Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay Reserve (2), 2018 Riesling and Chocolate Therapy.

On my last visit, my favorites were their Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay. On this trip my favorites were their Cab Franc, Norton, Chardonnay Reserve, Riesling (Dry) and Chocolate Therapy. Laurita produces two Chards-an unoaked version and their Reserve Chardonnay. I much preferred the oaked version. The oak did not take away from the apple notes. This Chardonnay possesses enough acidity to complement any number of dishes.

The Riesling was also a nice surprise. it accompanied our appetizer at Cross Culture (a delightful Indian restaurant in Haddonfield). The Cabernet Franc was the most surprising and enjoyable of the wines I tasted. It was delicious on its own, but also stood its ground respectably with some of the other Indian dishes we enjoyed at Cross Culture.

The Norton (aka Cynthiana) was lighter in color and body than many I have had, but quite good and versatile.

The Chocolate Therapy was one of my incentives for a return visit. I had promised myself to try it on my next visit. It was a remarkably delicious last-minute add-on ($1 extra for our tasting). We were told that the base for this treat is a red wine (more specificity was not forthcoming-perhaps a state secret). It did not matter to my wife or me. We both agreed that it could be favorably compared to a glass of Bailey’s Irish Cream (maybe not quite as rich or full-bodied), but a really awesome finish to our tasting and it will make an awesome finish to a future meal.

   

I could spend hours soaking up the ambience at Laurita Winery. We decided to open one of the bottles we purchased and do just that. But all good things must come to an end. We had an hour plus drive ahead of us and we were already getting hungry. The winery was going to be setting up for their evening of Country Line Dancing soon. So we packed up our booty and headed out, vowing to return soon. As an incentive we got our six bottle purchase stamped on a card that will reward us with a free bottle after purchasing just four more bottles (buy 10, get one free).

Cheers!

Haven’t ordered your copy of New Jersey Uncorked yet? You can still do so at store.bookbaby.com/book/New-Jersey-Uncorked. You can also still purchase the e-book at Apple’s iBook store, using their app. The e-book looks great on any iOS system (Mac, iPad or iPhone).

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