New Jersey wine

The Georgian-Dutch Colonial home of Edward Antill (later called Ross Hall) in Piscataway built 1739, destroyed 1954. Antill owned a 370-acre plantation with meadows, an orchard, and a vineyard of 800 vines for which he received an award from London's Royal Society of Arts in 1767.

In 1758, the Royal Society of Arts (formally, the "Society instituted at London for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce") sought to incentivize agricultural innovation and cultivation in the North American colonies by offering a "premium"—or cash award—of 100 British pounds (£100) for the planting of vineyards and the production of "five tuns of red or white wine of acceptable quality."[8][note 2] The initial award was unclaimed by 1762, and the Society augmented the bounty to £200 if the goal were reached by a colonial farmer by 1770 adding that at least five hundred vines should be planted and the wine produced equal "those Sorts of Wines now consumed in Great Britain."[8]

In 1767, two men had been recognized by the society for their undertakings.[8][12] William Alexander (1726-1783), the self-styled "Earl of Stirling," informed the society in 1767 that he had planted 2,100 vines at his estate in Basking Ridge, in central New Jersey's Somerset County.[8] Sterling had reported that his plantings were "chiefly Burgundy, Orleans, Black, White and Red Frontiniac, Muscadine, Portugals and Tokays."[13] Edward Antill (1701-1770) who inherited his father's estate and operated a large brewery at Raritan Landing across the Raritan River in Piscataway Township from the city of New Brunswick, advised the society that he had a vineyard of 800 vines of Madeira, Burgundy and Frontinac [sic] grapes as well as a few "Sweet-water Grape vines, and of the best sort of the Native Vines of America by way of tryal."[8] Antill had remarked in a 1765 letter that he had been "thought by some Gentlemen as well as by Farmers, very whimsical in attempting a Vineyard."[14] and had planted his vines "on the south side of a hill facing a public road so that his experiment could be advertised to the skeptics."[15]

The society had discussed offering the £200 to both men for their achievements.[8] However, the Society raised concerns about the legitimacy of Alexander's claim to a title of nobility. On 2 December 1767, the Society offered the cash award to Antill, and three weeks later offered Lord Stirling a gold medal "for having planted 2100 vines in North America in pursuance of the Views of the Society."[8] Shortly after his death, Antill published an 80-page tract entitled An Essay on the cultivation of the Vine, and the making and preserving of Wine, suited to the different Climates in North-America (1771) and this account influenced scholarship well into the nineteenth century.[8][16]

The developments of Antill and Lord Sterling did not translate into a long-term success or establish the industry in the state. Within a few years after their deaths, Antill in 1770, and Lord Sterling in 1783, their prize-winning vineyards were neglected and gone.[17] In the colonial period and early nineteenth-century, the prevailing market in the New Jersey was for Jersey cider and distilled spirits. During the 1840s, in Newark, producers were creating sparkling apple cider and marketing it as "champagne"—so much so that Scottish traveller Alexander Mackay asserted that he learned that most "imported champagne" in America came in fact from Newark.[18] While Mackay thought that it was "excellent as a summer drink" he quipped that, "many is the American connoisseur of champagne who has his taste cultivated on Newark cider."[19]

In the mid-19th century, New Jersey was once again recognized for its suitability for growing grapes. In 1859, an agricultural society was organized in Egg Harbor City and tested over forty different grape varietals for local cultivation.[20] Varietals of Vitis aestivalis and Vitis labrusca were selected, including Concord, Catawba, Norton, and several others.[21] The early industry was started through new German immigrants and by 1865 Gardener's Monthly claimed that these Germans were making wine "as good as any in the world."[22] Prominent vintners from the Egg Harbor City area during this period, who specialized in dry red wines primarily from Norton grapes, included Charles Saalmann and Julius Hincke. Renault Winery, located in the Egg Harbor City section of Atlantic County in the southern region of the state, was established in 1864 by French immigrant Louis Nicolas Renault. In its early years, Renault Winery was known for its American version of "champagne".[23] This was New Jersey's first commercial winemaking operation and remains one of the oldest continuously operating wineries in the United States.[24]

Philadelphia land developer Charles K. Landis (1833–1900) purchased 20,000 acres (81 km²) of land in 1861 in Cumberland County near Millville, New Jersey along an existing railroad line to Philadelphia, to create his own alcohol-free utopian society, a "Temperance Town" based on agriculture and progressive thinking. Landis declared that he was "about to build a city, and an agricultural and fruit-growing colony around it." The population reached 5,500 by 1865.[25] Landis determined the potential in growing grapes and named the settlement "Vineland", and advertised to attract Italian grape growers to Vineland, offering 20 acres (81,000 m2) of land that had to be cleared and used to grow grapes. Relocating to Vineland in 1865, clergyman, inventor and dentist Thomas Bramwell Welch (1825–1903), who developed the method for pasteurizing grape juice to prevent natural fermentation and spoilage in 1869, purchased the locally grown grapes to make "unfermented wine" (or grape juice) that was marketed as "Dr. Welch's Unfermented Wine" and later as Welch's Grape Juice.[26] Welch was an adherent to the Wesleyan Methodist Connexion, which strongly opposed "manufacturing, buying, selling, or using intoxicating liquors."[27][28] Despite Landis' efforts to create an alcohol-free community, Italian and German immigrants who settled at Vineland started producing alcoholic wine by the 1870s.[29][30]

Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol, circa 1921

Prohibition was a major reform movement from the 1840s into the 1920s, and was sponsored by evangelical Protestant churches, especially the Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Disciples and Congregationalists. Groups like the Women's Christian Temperance Union, Prohibition Party, and Anti-Saloon League used pressure politics on legislators to achieve the goal of nationwide prohibition during World War I, emphasizing a need to destroy political corruption, the political power of the German-based brewing industry, and the need to reduce domestic violence in the home and claiming alcohol was the cause. On 16 January 1919, Prohibition was established with the ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibiting the "...manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States..." and Congress subsequently passed the Volstead Act to enforce the law. New Jersey, coincidentally, was the 46th and last state to ratify the Eighteenth Amendment—not doing so until 9 March 1922.[31] Although it was largely unsuccessful, Prohibition would last for 14 years, becoming increasingly unpopular during the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression. A repeal movement pointed out the hypocrisy of Prohibition activists and politicians, the rise of organised crime, and how it undermined respect for the law. Seeking tax revenue and to weaken the base of organised crime, Franklin Roosevelt and other politicians sought to end prohibition, and did so with the passage of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution on 5 December 1933. By its terms, states were allowed to set their own laws for the control of alcohol.

During the Prohibition era (1919-1933), several wineries survived by adopting clever strategies for skirting the law and preserving their businesses. Renault Winery continued producing wine but cleverly marketed it in drugstores and pharmacies as a medicinal "tonic" that doctor's prescribed "liberally for maladies ranging from pregnancy pains to insomnia."[32] The Krumm family's "Seaview Winery" in Linwood chose to sell wine jellies, tonics, cooking wine and sherry which were permitted under Prohibition's Volstead Act (1920).[33]

By the end of Prohibition, the American wine industry which was (as a whole) fledgling, was largely destroyed. What had not survived the spread of Black rot and other grape diseases was severely damaged by Prohibition. Many winemakers had gone out of business, and to comply with the law many vineyard growers replaced productive wine quality grape vines with lower quality vines growing thicker skinned grapes that could be more easily transported as table fruit. Much of the institutional knowledge was also lost as winemakers either emigrated to other wine producing countries or left the business altogether.[9] Only a few wineries emerged from Prohibition. According to Pinney, they included H.T. Dewey, Herman Kluxen, Miele, Renault, Schuster, Tomasello. The Dewey winery (1857) closed in 1952; Herman Kluxen (1865) went out of business in 1974.[34]

Wine production within the state remained small until the 1980s when New Jersey began to relax its laws and regulations regarding the licensing and operation of alcoholic beverage production facilities (breweries, wineries, and distilleries). Laws that remained unrepealed after the end of the Prohibition era (1919-1933), prevented the creation of new wineries and limited licensing to one winery for every one million state residents.

In 1981, the state legislature passed the New Jersey Farm Winery Act subsequently signed by Governor Brendan Byrne. which sought to facilitate a rebirth for the state's wine industry by exempting low-volume family-owned wineries from the restrictions, and allowed wineries to create outlet stores.[10][11] This act effectively allowed anyone with a minimum of three acres and 1,200 vines to apply for a winery license.[35][36] According to the New York Times, by 1988, the provisions of Farm Winery Act had allowed the industry to grow from 7 wineries to 15, increased the acreage of wine grapes, and the state became the country's tenth largest producer with 204,000 gallons.[11] Comparatively, New Jersey ranked sixth in the country in per capita consumption of wine, with a total of 27,194,000 gallons drunk in 1986.[11]

In 1985, the state legislature directed the creation of the New Jersey Wine Industry Advisory Council, which serves to advise the state Secretary of Agriculture on production and promotion for the state's wine industry. [37] This council is funded by a per-gallon tax levied on the state's wine producers. The funds are used by each council for product research and improvement, promotional point-of-purchase materials and special promotional events.[38][39]

In 1999, New Jersey implemented its Quality Wine Alliance (QWA) program modelled after similar rigorous standards in Italy and France.[40][41] According to this process, a wine "must undergo a review by an independent review board of certified wine judges, wine editors, wine distributors, liquor store owners, and experienced wine reviewers."[42]

On 17 January 2012, New Jersey governor Chris Christie signed into law a bill (S.3172/A.4436) that legalised direct shipping from winery to consumers, and permits state wineries to open as many as 18 offsite retail tasting rooms in the state.[43] The law allows wineries that make less than 250,000 gallons of wine annually (a "capacity cap limit") to ship wine to state residents.[43] Because this prohibits 90% of wine made in the United States, but does not affect New Jersey's small wineries, proponents of the law fear that this section of the law will be struck down as unconstitutional.[43] The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit had struck down a similar limit in Massachusetts in 2008 and the Supreme Court of the United States addressed direct shipping laws a few years earlier.[44][45]

On 8 June 2012, a blind tasting comparing red and white wines from New Jersey and Bordeaux and Burgundy wines from France was held at Princeton University during a four-day conference of the American Association of Wine Economists (AAWE). It was modelled after the Judgment of Paris event in 1976, the famous blind tasting in which California wines beat French wines. It was organized by George M. Taber, a former journalist from TIME Magazine who attended the Judgment of Paris event and later wrote a book about it,[46] Princeton University economics professors Orley Ashenfelter and Richard E. Quandt, New York University economics professor and Journal of Wine Economics managing editor Karl Storchmann, and wine shop owner Mark Censits.

Of the nine judges in Princeton, five were American, three French, and one Belgian and represented vineyard owners, international wine critics and journalists. Each tasted ten wines, of which six were from New Jersey. New Jersey wines took three out of the top four spots in the white wine category and ranked third highest in the reds, and event organizers stated that the results were a "statistical tie."[47]

Several critics have publicly pointed out flaws in the competition including the comparison of weaker vintage French wines, and that the results are statistically meaningless.[48][49] Indeed, event organizers Ashenfelter and Quandt have published papers criticising the methods of the 1976 Judgment of Paris and undermining the effectiveness of wine tastings.[50][51] According to the AAWE, "A statistical evaluation of the tasting...further shows that the rank order of the wines was mostly insignificant. That is, if the wine judges repeated the tasting, the results would most likely be different. From a statistical viewpoint, most wines were undistinguishable."[52]

Geologically, the state offers variety from the Appalachian Mountains and the Highlands in the state's northwest, to the Atlantic Coastal Plain region that encompasses both the Pine Barrens and the Jersey Shore. The state's geological features have impacted the course of settlement, development, commerce and industry over the past four centuries. New Jersey has five distinct physiographic provinces. They are: (listed from the south to the north) the outer and inner Atlantic Coastal Plain Provinces, the Piedmont Province, the Highlands Province, and the Ridge and Valley Province.

Soils in the state vary. In the Atlantic Coastal Plain, fertile, loamy soil makes the land ideal for agriculture and is responsible for New Jersey's nickname of the "Garden State". The majority of the state's wineries are located in this area.[53]

Higher elevations of northwestern New Jersey's Appalachian mountains experience a cooler humid continental climate or microthermal climate (Köppen Dfb) which indicates patterns of significant precipitation in all seasons and at least four months where the average temperature rises above 10 °C (50 °F)[54][55][56] This differs from the majority of the state, which is generally a humid mesothermal climate, in which temperatures range between -3 °C (27 °F) and 18 °C (64 °F) during the year's coldest month.[55][57] Sections of southern New Jersey around Delaware Bay and along the Jersey shore experience a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.

New Jersey lies within USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 6a through 7b, generally increasing in grade from north to south.[58]

The Outer Coastal Plain American Viticultural Area was established by federal regulation in 2007. It consists of most of the southern half of New Jersey, spanning 2,250,000 acres (911,000 ha) across nine counties.[60] This AVA is roughly equivalent to the Outer Coastal Plain physiographic province, including most of the State's Atlantic coastline and the area known as the Pine Barrens.[61] Almost seventy percent (70%) of state grape production is located within this area. According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, 713 acres of the state's 1,043 acres dedicated to grape production (both wineries and commercial vineyards) were located in the counties that comprise the Outer Coastal Plain—Atlantic County (21 farms, 207 acres), Cape May County (10 farms, 100 acres), Cumberland County (6 farms, 14 acres), Camden County (8 farms, 88 acres), Burlington County (12 farms, 86 acres), Gloucester County (10 farms, 48 acres), Monmouth County (23 farms, 40 acres), Ocean County (10 farms, 104 acres), Salem County (5 farms, 26 acres).[62]

This region is known for its high production yields for all crops and is the center of New Jersey's blueberry, cranberry and tomato production. It is characterized by a combination of factors conducive to cultivating grapes, including a climate moderated by the influence of Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, a growing season extending 190–220 days, and fertile sand and sandy loam soils. This longer growing season and warmer climate allows the region to grow vinifera varieties that are too cold sensitive to be cultivated in the Northeastern United States.[63] As of 2019, 25 of New Jersey's 51 wineries are located within this viticultural area (32 when including the wineries in the Cape May Peninsula AVA, which is entirely contained within the Outer Coastal Plain AVA).[64]

The Cape May Peninsula American Viticultural Area was established by federal regulation in 2018. It consists of approximately 126,635 acres in Cape May and Cumberland Counties, New Jersey. The viticultural area lies entirely within the established Outer Coastal Plain AVA.[59] As of 2019, there are 7 wineries in the Cape May Peninsula AVA.[65]

The Warren Hills American Viticultural Area was established by federal regulation in 1988.[66] It consists of 144,640 acres (58,534 ha) of most of Warren County, New Jersey.[67] This is an area largely known for dairy farming, in the rolling hills and valleys of the Highlands physiographic province and drained by the watersheds of the Musconetcong River and Delaware River. Roughly 100 acres are planted with grapes in this AVA. This region is primarily planted with French hybrid grapes.[12] As of 2019, there are 5 wineries in the Warren Hills AVA.[64]

The Central Delaware Valley American Viticultural Area was created by federal regulation in 1984 and includes 96,000 acres (38,850 ha) surrounding the Delaware River in both southeastern Pennsylvania and central New Jersey north of Philadelphia and Trenton, New Jersey.[68] Its southern boundary is near Titusville, New Jersey, just north of Trenton, and its northern border is near Musconetcong Mountain. As of 2019, there are no New Jersey wineries in the Central Delaware Valley AVA.[69]

All common styles of wine—red, rosé, white (dry, semi-sweet and sweet), sparkling and fortified and dessert—are produced in New Jersey. Wineries market products made from more than 90 varieties of grapes including both internationally well-known and obscure local varieties, and from over 25 other fruits.[7][64]

Grapes: Albariño, Baco noir, Barbera, Blaufränkisch (Lemberger), Brachetto, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, Catawba, Cayuga White, Chambourcin, Chancellor, Chardonnay, Chenin blanc, Ciliegiolo, Colobel, Colombard, Concord, Corot noir, Corvina, Counoise, De Chaunac, Delaware, Diamond, Dolcetto, Durif (Petite Sirah), Fredonia, Frontenac, Frontenac gris, Gewürztraminer, Geneva Red, Grechetto, Grenache, Grüner Veltliner, Horizon, Ives noir, La Crescent, Lagrein, Lakemont, Landot noir, Léon Millot, Malbec, Malvasia bianca, Marechal Foch, Marquette, Marquis, Marsanne, Merlot, Mourvèdre, Muscat blanc, Muscat of Alexandria, Muscat Ottonel, Nebbiolo, Nero d'Avola, Niagara, Noah, Noiret, Norton (Cynthiana), Orange Muscat, Petit Manseng, Petit Verdot, Pinotage, Pinot blanc, Pinot gris, Pinot noir, Rayon d'Or, Reliance, Riesling, Rkatsiteli, Roussanne, Sagrantino, Sangiovese, Sauvignon blanc, Teroldego, Schiava Grossa, Sémillon, Seyval blanc, St. Laurent, Sumoll, Syrah, Tempranillo, Tinta Cão, Touriga Nacional, Traminette, Trebbiano, Vespolina, Vidal blanc, Vignoles (Ravat 51), Villard blanc, Villard noir, Viognier, Vranec, Zinfandel, and Zweigelt.

Other fruit: açaí berries, almonds, apples, apricots, Asian pears, bananas, beach plums, black currants, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, cranberries, dandelions, honey (mead), kiwifruit, limes, mangoes, nectarines, peaches, pears, pineapples, plums, pomegranates, pumpkins, raspberries, strawberries, sugar plums, and watermelons.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Cabernet Franc (seen here), along with Cabernet Sauvignon and Chambourcin are the red-wine grape varietals most widely grown in New Jersey.

Today, New Jersey is ranked seventh in the nation in total wine production behind California, New York, Washington, Oregon, Kentucky and Florida. However, New Jersey's production is minuscule compared to California's wine industry which produces 89.5% of the country's total production.[5] In 2010, 1.72 million gallons (approximately 716,000 cases)[note 3] of wine were produced in the “Garden State”—the most popular red wine varietals grown being Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Chambourcin and most popular white wine varietals being Chardonnay and Vidal blanc.[5] A considerable portion of New Jersey wine sales are non-grape fruit wines-particularly apple, blueberry, raspberry and cranberry wines—from produce readily identified with New Jersey, and which can be purchased from many nearby farms throughout the Garden State.[5] In 2007, vineyard crop production was valued at $4.7 million in 2007.[70] As of 2013, New Jersey's 48 wineries generate between US$30,000,000-$40,000,000 of revenue annually.[36]

According to Rutgers University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Census of Agriculture, in 2002, 551 acres of New Jersey farmland were dedicated to the cultivation of grapes.[71] By 2007, this had nearly doubled to 1,043 acres.[72] Despite estimates that total acreage might increase by 50%-100% when the 2012 census was released, growth leveled off, with 1,082 acres under cultivation in 2012.[4] As of 2014, New Jersey currently has 48 licensed and operating wineries and several others in development. In 2012, 197 farms in the state were growing grapes to be sold as table grapes and converted into wine and juice production—this was up from 182 in 2002.[71][4]

Wineries in the state of New Jersey must obtain licenses from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and from the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. New Jersey laws and regulation regarding farm wineries require that a farm cultivate a minimum 3 acres of vineyards. Wines, including fortified and sparkling wines, are taxed at 87.5 cents per gallon by the state.[73]

The New Jersey Department of Agriculture has expressed concern that wines made here are increasingly less dependent on grapes grown in the state and that business models are focused on sourcing grapes or juices for winemaking from out-of-state. Their concerns are centered on the credibility and authenticity of a "New Jersey" wine. As a response, they have recommended expanding the number of acres of vineyard production from 3 acres to 5 acres in order to obtain a plenary winery license. Further, the state is looking to certify wineries and permit the marketing of certain wines under its "Jersey Fresh" agriculture program based on their being produced with New Jersey grown grapes.

New Jersey law generally treats hard cider as a type of wine because it is made from fermented fruits.[74] There are currently three licensed hard cider producers in New Jersey. Cider can be produced with a plenary or farm winery license, or with the cidery and meadery license introduced in 2017.[75] Cider with less than 3.2% alcohol by volume is untaxed, cider with 3.2% to 7.0% alcohol is taxed at 15 cents per gallon, and cider with over 7.0% alcohol is taxed at 87.5 cents per gallon.[73]

• Jackson, Bart. "Garden State Wineries Guide", South San Francisco, CA: Wine Appreciation Guild, 2011. ISBN 9781934259573.
• Rignani, Jennifer Papale. "New Jersey Wineries (Images of America)", Mount Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2008. ISBN 9780738557229.
• Schmidt, R. Marilyn. "Wines and Wineries of New Jersey", Chatsworth, NJ: Pine Barrens Press, 1999. ISBN 9780937996386.
• Toms, Charlie. "Road to the Vineyard: Cruising Through New Jersey Wine Country", Akron, OH: 48 Hour Books, 2014. ISBN 9780990826705.
• Westrich, Sal. "New Jersey Wine: A Remarkable History", Charleston, SC: American Palate, 2012. ISBN 9781609491833.