A Unionville Vineyards Revisit was long overdue. Located in Ringoes, it is one of the excellent Central Jersey wineries in that area of the state. Unionville Vineyards is actually a collection of four farms that provide their grapes: Hopewell Estate (making the Pheasant Hill Label); Amwell Ridge (across the street from the tasting room); Mountain Road; and Unionville Home Vineyard (site of the tasting room in Ringoes). The tasting room is in the upstairs of a restored barn, with real charm and a great view of their barrel room through their floor-to-ceiling window (making the room seem a little larger than it is). Unionville’s Old World-style emphasizes the subtleties and complexities of the varietals, uses French oak for aging and utilizes some grapes that are better known in France. This winery may be best-known for their Chardonnays, but their reds are terrific, too.
Unionville offers four different Chardonnays with a wide range in price ($16.95 to $42.95): Chardonnay (made from grapes from all of their estate vineyards); Mountain Road Vineyard Chardonnay; Pheasant Hill Chardonnay; and Unionville Home Vineyard Chardonnay. Other whites include Hunterdon Mistral Blanc (a wonderful blend of Marsanne, Roussane and Viognier); Amwell Ridge Viognier; Cool Foxy Lady (a Late Harvest Vidal dessert wine); Dry Riesling; and Eureka White Montage (a blend of Riesling, Pinot Grigio and Gewurztraminer). Fields of Fire (mostly Cayuga, but blended with Chambourcin) is a recent addition to the menu. They also make a terrific dry Rose they call Hunterdon Mistral Rose.
Their dry red wines include Revolutionary Red (a blend of Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cab Franc); Pinot Noir Reserve; Pheasant Hill Vineyard Syrah; and The Big-O (a Bordeaux-style blend).
Unionville also makes great Port-style wines, which are crafted in a manner similar to the way the Spanish make Sherries (the Solera System of blending a fraction of a younger wine each year with the base of older wine). They offer three: Vat 19 (a blend of their ports from 2001–2012); Vat 20 (a blend dating from 2001–2013); and Vat 21 (a blend from 2001–2014). While they were a bit pricey, they are all great, though the Vat 19 is a personal favorite and one of the best New Jersey Port-style wines I have ever tasted. It is rich and sweet, but not cloyingly so.
Most recently, Unionville won a Gold Medal at the 2017 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition for their 2014 Mountain Road Vineyard Chardonnay and a Silver Medal for their Single Vineyard Series, Pheasant Hill Vineyard Syrah. They also took a Bronze Medal here for their 2014 Pinot Noir. At the 2017 New Jersey Wine Competition, Unionville won Silver Medals for their 2015 Fox Chardonnay, 2013 Pheasant Hill Syrah and their NV Vat 22 (Port-style wine). They also took home Bronze Medals for their 2014 Cab Franc, 2016 Hunterdon Mistral Rose, 2014 Mountain Road Chardonnay and 2014 The Big O at the same competition.
While their cornucopia of Chardonnays are the stars here, my personal favorites during this re-visit were the Mistral Blanc, the Syrah, the Pinot Noir and the Big O. However, I did enjoy all of the Chardonnays and would rate the 2015 Chardonnay (the blend from all of their vineyards) as the best bargain here (at $16.95 per bottle). The biggest surprise was the Mistral Rose. Truth be known, I was going to pass on this one, but our knowledgeable server suggested I give it a try. He was right. We came home with a new-found respect for Roses and a bottle to prove it.
The tasting room is open daily from 12 p.m.–5 p.m. The menu of the wines currently offered for tasting consists of eight wines for $10.
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