Pizza, wine, and live music at White Horse Winery in Hammonton. All of the ingredients for a fun Thursday night! (or any night ending in —“day”). I have found wineries to be a real refuge during this pandemic. In the past I have referred to wineries as coffeehouses for adults (where you can listen to live music and drink adult beverages). I always loved going to coffeehouses. It was a cheap date and touched two of my passions: acoustic guitar music and coffee (and you didn’t have to be an adult to do either). Wineries can touch three of my passions: acoustic guitar, food, and wine (which I love even more than coffee). Food trucks have been lifted to new levels of culinary enjoyment in recent years. Just watch an episode of Guy Fieri on the Food Channel.
The Food
Increasingly, many wineries also have kitchens and create some of their own treats. On Thursday evening my wife and I took advantage of the Antipasto from the kitchen and an excellent thin crust margherita pizza from the Buon Viaggio Mobile Wood Fired Pizza company.
The Antipasto proved to be an excellent appetizer to enjoy while we waited for the pizza to be done. The antipasto consisted of a selection of three cured meats, apple slices, grapes, roasted peppers, olives, with crackers, a little dried fig and cracked walnuts. (See photo below)
The Margherita Pizza was perfect. Tomato sauce, a little mozzarella cheese and fresh basil. Simple, yet incredibly good, without an overdose of gooey cheese. The crust was amazing. I usually throw away pizza crust. But not this time. Truthfully, it was downright healthy (for pizza). They are small, but it was perfect to share after the antipasto. (See photo below)
The Wine
I often sound like a broken Billy Joel record, ordering a “bottle or red, bottle of white…” But it’s a pretty good formula. In this case, the red was the White Horse Winery 2018 Chambourcin Reserve. It won a Best of Award in Philly Magazine for local red. It is one of my favorite Chambourcins in the state (and only $18 per bottle). For our white, we chose the 2019 Estate Barrel Fermented Chardonnay. It is our favorite white wine here and one of our favorite Chardonnays. Rich and creamy, without being overpowered with the oak. In fact, the fruit shines and I love the creamy mouthfeel. But the dry finish makes it a very food- friendly chardonnay.
The wonderful Chambourcin is pictured with the antipasto, while the Chardonnay is shown above. I should also mention that we loved these two wines so much, we took two more home with us.
Speaking of wonderful wines from White Horse Winery, I recently pulled out a bottle that I had stored for about three years in my cellar. It was a bottle of their 2014 Nebbiolo. (Pictured below) I had a bottle of the same vintage a couple of years ago and it was good, but I should have been more patient and let the tannins smooth a bit. Time and proper storing was all that was needed for this beauty to blossom!
The Music
After finishing our pizza (but not our wine), we were able to move to a better location, where we could see and hear the live music of Camille Peruto. She is a singer/songwriter who plays a wide swath of cover songs, as well as some originals, which are featured on her two albums. Some of my favorite covers included Cold Play’s “Yellow,” The Police’s “Every Breath You Take,” and Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic.” We also enjoyed her original, “Silver Lining.” You can catch her at a number of wineries and distilleries in South Jersey. For more information, try her website: www.camilleperuto.com
Cheers!
Its not too early to think about Christmas presents (perhaps for yourself). You’re reading here so why not buy my ebook (New Jersey Uncorked) at a great price. Order from the Apple iBook app and use the coupon Fall2020 to get it for $9.99!
Coming Attractions
- Dining at Tisha’s & NJ Wine
- More great Takeout & NJ Wine
- Another Home-Cooked Dinner & NJ Wine episode
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