The next stop in my Music in the Vines Series is Sharrott Winery in Hammonton. They have made a lot of changes in the past few years-upgrading and expanding their tasting room adding a kitchen, and more recently they have added a new winemaker (Nichole Bambacigno). However, they have always showcased a lot of talented musicians. They are now doing that four days a week-live music from Thursday through Sunday (twice on Saturdays).
Sharrott Winery
On Thursday evening, My wife and I were treated to the talented singer and guitarist, Oliver Dagum. We fortuitously were seated very close to him. Since I play a little myself (albeit rusty and out of practice), I still appreciate viewing acoustic guitar players up close. He was playing a Taylor guitar that looked a lot like mine.
Oliver has a great vocal range and played music from the seventies (Mercy, Mercy Me-The Ecology, Rocket Man and Cat’s in the Cradle) to the 90’s (Goo Goo Dolls-Iris). The latter was my favorite, though we thoroughly enjoyed them all. He accompanied his flawless vocals with his Taylor acoustic guitar and fine sound system. It was so good to be able to hear live music (especially after all those rainy days forcing cancellations lately).
We ordered some hummus, pita, and veggies as well as a mushroom and truffles flatbread that hit the spot and were as delicious as I remembered. If you haven’t tried their flatbreads, do yourself a favor and get one or two. The mushroom and truffles is awesome. To pair these treats we ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio and Tango (pictured below). The Pinot Grigio is a light, fruit forward wine that has been consistently good over the years (and one of my faves). The Tango is a very good, medium-bodied red blend with cherry notes and velvety smooth tannins.
It really was a very nice evening of music, food, and wine.
William Heritage Winery Members Only Event (Saturday)
This was a super event at their Mullica Hill location. Ironically, their new winemaker (for the past year), Kevin Bednar, is married to Sharrott’s new winemaker (mentioned above).
On Saturday, my wife and I arrived for our 4:00 reservation and were seated on the newly renovated and expanded porch (air conditioned and tastefully appointed). We received our complimentary choice of wine and sharable cheese board. I chose the Pinot Gris and my wife chose the Unoaked Chardonnay. Her Chard was delicious, though it should have been a wee bit colder. The Pinot Gris was very good, with nice acidity and notes of grapefruit and apple.
I decided to try their Members Flight (half-price at $13) of five wines:
- Penlyn Place Rose-Dry with strawberry and grapefruit notes.
- 2020 Grenache Syrah Rose-Wow! A delicious, serious Rose with lots of fruit and a rich mouthfeel.
- 2020 Unoaked Chardonnay-Estate Grown, fermented and aged in stainless steel; white peach notes and a long finish.
- 2020 Steel Aged Red-Estate Grown-Light in color, but not in body or taste, with notes of raspberry and cherry.
- 2019 Syrah-Estate Grown Nice floral bouquet with a deep, rich color and blackberry notes.
My favorite was the Grenache Syrah Rose-my new favorite Rose of this year! The Steel-aged Red was also surprisingly good (the color suggested a lighter body with less flavor than it delivered). My wife and I were glad that these two and the Unoaked Chard were in our quarterly allotment. Our only disappointment here was that they are completely sold out of their Pumpkin Hill Chardonnay! It has been a favorite of ours for several years.
There was also a live group who sounded very good when we ventured in the area. Seated on the porch, we were unable to hear the music. They played a popular old song by Gerry Rafferty (but one almost never covered by groups I have heard (Baker Street). They did it justice, too! There were also two food trucks: Philly Fry and Goodfellas. But we had other plans for dinner at home and catching up on some of our taped shows on TV in our newly updated den.
Our Members Only event at William Heritage Winery was a perfect way to start our evening.
Cheers!
Coming Attractions
- The Olive & NJ Wine-a new South Jersey Restaurant in Sewell
- Terra Nonno Redux
- More Music in the Vines
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