The old historic barn that now houses Alba Winery’s tasting room dates back to 1805. Tremendous care and skill were necessary to convert this old barn into a modern facility for making, tasting, and selling wine. Alba has been open to the public since 1982. The result is a truly unique and charming experience, blending the old with the new in a very tasteful, upscale style. Fortunately the wines produced here are very good and worthy of their surroundings.
Their white wines include: Mainsail White, Chardonnay, Dry Riesling, Gewürztraminer and Riesling. They also offer Chelsea Dry Rose and Rosa Semi-Sweet. Red wines include Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chambourcin, Heritage (Cab Franc), Old Mill Red (a blend of Chambourcin, Cab Franc and Pinot Noir) and Pinot Noir. Their Dessert Wines are Blueberry, Red Raspberry and Vintage Port.
Alba also produces another label reflecting their Washington State sourced fruit for these wines. They call this label Chelsea Cellars Wines. These three wines carry this label: 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012 Merlot and 2011 Syrah and are only available by the bottle.
My favorite white was the Mainsail White (a blend of Chardonnay, Vidal Blanc, Riesling and Traminette). My favorite red was their Chambourcin, though their Old Mill Red is quite good (and reasonable) and their Pinot Noir is also very good. I’m not a big fan of sweeter wines, but their Port is very good (smooth and not cloyingly sweet).
Tried any New Jersey wines lately? Visited a New Jersey winery recently? Share your experience here.
Cheers!
