New Jersey Rose

Spring has definitely sprung. Whether your “go-to” wine is a bold, full-bodied red or a light and crisp Pinot Grigio, Rose is a great way to toast the spring. Its color is the epitome of transition from the dark and heavy days of winter to the brighter and lighter days of summer. The grapes that can be used are so numerous, though obviously all red. Most Rose wines are made by simply minimizing the amount of time that the skins are exposed to the juice. There are actually four ways to make a Rose. I encourage the interested reader to check out an article with the same title (“The 4 Ways To Make Rose”) at vinepair.com by Courtney Schiessl.

The style of a Rose may also vary, producing wines with varying degrees of color and sweetness. My personal preference is a pale, dry version-most famously referred to as Provence-style (after the region in France that produces this great style of Rose).

Fortunately for Rose fans who live in New Jersey, there are a number of wineries in our state that produce some excellent Rose wines. I would like to share a few of my favorites. These are all wines that I have tasted recently and that I can recommend to you enthusiastically. The picture above contains the only two New Jersey Rose wines currently in my cellar. Fortunately, despite my organizational shortcomings, I have collected countless tasting notes from around the state.

My favorites from around the state are listed below (in no particular order). I feel they are all noteworthy. While there are some fine sweet and off-dry versions available, none were included in my short list:

• Beneduce Vineyards 2017 Row’s End Dry Rose-voted best NJ Rose and scored 92 points at the 2018 NJ Wine Competition. Need I say more…?
• White Horse Winery 2017 Rose (pictured above)-one of the best Roses I’ve tried in the past few years. It won a Gold Medal, got 91 Points and Best Buy (at $19) at the 2018 NJ Wine Competition.
• Alba Vineyards 2017 Chelsea Dry Rose (pictured above)-a beautiful Rose, presented in an aptly beautiful bottle with a beautiful label. Made from Chambourcin, with lots of fruit flavor and well-balanced acidity.
• Unionville Vineyards 2016 Mistral Rose-A classic Province-style Dry Rose with a gorgeous color and finely balanced. Mark Squires from the Wine Advocate gave it 89 Points.
• William Heritage Winery makes quite a few Roses. I have not had a chance to try their 2018 Estate Rose or their 2015 Brut Rose (which garnered 90 Points from the Wine Advocate), but recently tasted their 2017 Pet-Nat Rose (which received 89 Points from the Wine Enthusiast). It was wonderful.
• Old York Cellars Rose-I loved their last vintage and can’t wait to try their Rose Reserve being released this weekend!
• Cedar Rose Vineyards 2017 Chambourcin Rose – Darker and fruitier than their Cab Franc Rose; scent of strawberries with more body than the typical Rose
• Cedar Rose Vineyards 2017 Cabernet Franc Rose-Another take on a Dry Rose that is pale in color and has great acidity.

Would a Rose by any other name still smell as sweet? Perhaps, but make mine a Dry Rose and make it a New Jersey Rose, please!

Cheers!

I recently had the honor of being interviewed at length for New Jersey Stage (a monthly online magazine) for a story about New Jersey wine. It was a great experience and I wanted to share links for you to read the article. I also encourage you to check out the whole magazine and visit their daily edition, as well. They do a great job of highlighting what’s going on around our state in the arts (stage, cinema, concerts, books, art and other areas of related interest). The link to the magazine article about NJ wine is here: https://joom.ag/McGa/p6 

The web-only version for Issue #58 is at: https://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/2019/04/26/new-jersey-uncorked/

I was recently asked to post links to a couple of previous interviews so…

• Marilyn Russell, the great DJ, radio hostess, and all-around Media Diva is a great supporter of NJ wine. She was gracious and supportive of me in our interview on Eat, Drink and Be Marilyn podcast-Episode 2: Uncorked NJ Wines with David K Mullen. It can be found here: wogl.radio.com.
• Tom Cosentino, Executive Director of the Garden State Wine Growers Association (GSWGA) interviewed me twice on Tom’s NJ Winedown Show. You can listen to those podcasts on the GSWGA website: https://newjerseywines.com
• You can find my interview with Robin Shreeves at the Courier-Post archives, published in August, 2018. I will post it when I have a viable link.
• The Williamstown Sun – My interview with Anthony Mazziotti III August 29, 2008 –www.thesunpapers.com Click on Gloucester County. Type in “Perfect Pairing” in Search

Still want a copy of New Jersey Uncorked: A Snob-Free Taste of NJ Wine? Don’t buy it today, BUY IT ON MAY 1 and SAVE BIG ($5 off the paperback) at store.bookbaby.com/book/new-jersey-uncorked or $2 off your e-book at the Apple iBook app. Use the same coupon for both: MAY2019. Offer Not available at Amazon or other outlets-only BookBaby and Apple (good on any iOS system).

You can also come to the Autumn Lake Blossom Festival at Autumn Lake Winery on Saturday, May 18 12:00-5:00. You can purchase my book and I’ll be signing copies for a couple of hours-more information coming soon. Check back here and Autumn Lake’s Web Site as well as social media. The festival will continue on Sunday, May 19. I have other commitments on Sunday, but I strongly encourage you to check out this great annual event on either or both of these days.

Tried a New Jersey wine lately? Visited a NJ winery recently? Share your experience here. Like what you read and see here? Why not subscribe and get your weekly pour of NJ wine right in your inbox? No spills, no mess.