My New Jersey Wine Potpourri includes some highlights from another super Rootstock Concert at Hawk Haven Vineyards (pictured above); sampling some awesome Tomasello Palmaris wines; and some great upcoming events. Note: Despite the sparse crowd initially near the main stage, there was a large crowd seeking refuge from the sun-on the crush pad and other sheltered spaces nearby.
What’s better than great wine and great music? Not much! My wife and I try to get to at least one or two Rootstock concerts every year. Friday evening we braved the oppressive heat and were rewarded with great refreshing wine, cheese and charcuterie and live music. The music is nonstop from 4:00-9:00. On the crush pad the music was provided by Troy Kaiser. He played a nice mix of original and cover acoustic songs. While my favorite was Don McClean’s classic, American Pie, his sets were very enjoyable and an enjoyable prelude to Ben Arnold’s Band.
I should add that Hawk Haven always offers a wide range of super food trucks to provide an eclectic mix of foods to enjoy with your wine. On this extremely warm evening my wife and I agreed that we could not handle a warm dinner or anything heavy. Luckily, the deli charcuterie option hit the spot for the evening.
On the main stage the Ben Arnold Band entertained folks with their unique brand that defies genre partitioning. The only cover song they sang was a Van Morrison tune (Tupelo Honey). While I am a recent fan, this made sense to me as his voice and styling remind me of Morrison and Randy Newman. Arnold’s Band played most of the cuts off their most recent CD, Sunday Morning Meltdown, as well as their Lost Keys CD. Their music provided a great soundtrack to augment our evening of chilling and “swilling” some excellent wine (including Hawk Haven’s Chardonnay, Signature Series Pinot Grigio, and their Flying Press Red). The latter is a unsung, bargain-priced barbecue red. This was a very enjoyable evening, despite the heat.
***********************************************************************************************************
I recently revisited Tomasello Winery for a tasting and to purchase a few of their wines. The three Tomasello Palmaris wines pictured below are excellent wines. But don’t take my word for it. The Beverage Tasting Institute awarded the 2015 OCP Cabernet Sauvignon 93 Points and it won a World Wine Championship. The 2015 Palmaris Outer Coastal Plain Merlot Reserve was rated 91 points and a Gold Medal by Tastings.com. The Palmaris 2017 Outer Coastal Plain Chardonnay Reserve won a Silver Medal from the the American Wine Society and a Bronze Medal at the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition. The Palmaris label has lifted Tomasello to a new level. It’s also nice to see critics taking notice and agreeing that these are some seriously good wines. My recent tasting at Tomasello underlined this observation. While I was only planning to take home the three bottles pictured here, I wound up adding a bottle of their Outer Coastal Plains Pinot Grigio, which was also quite good.
Cheers!
I haven’t forgotten about my personal quest to try as many new wine varietals as possible. Two of my most recent findings:
- Godello (Telmo Rodrigues Gaba do Xii Godello 2016) – This is a wonderful light Spanish white wine from the Galicia Region
- Arneis (Vietti Roero Arneis 2017) – The name Arneis comes from the Italian word for rascal (due to the difficulty in growing this grape, according to Wine Folly). Another great Italian summer white.
Coming Attractions
- Hawk Haven’s Wine Cruise on August 17
- Winemakers Co-Op Fall Portfolio Tasting at Beneduce Vineyards is on September 22. If you have not been to one of these events, you really need to check this one out. I try not to miss any of the Winemakers Co-Op events. If you haven’t visited Beneduce Vineyards, you’re in for a treat. The facilities are beautiful and the wines are amazing. Much more about this event in future posts.
You can order your paperback version of New Jersey Uncorked at store.bookbaby.com/book/New-Jersey-Uncorked. Use this code to save $5: Summer2019.
You can order your e-book version using the Apple iBook App (and read on your Mac, iPad or iPhone).
Tried a New Jersey wine lately? Visited a NJ winery recently? Why not share your experience here? Like what you read and see here? Consider subscribing and getting your weekly pour of NJ wine right in your inbox. No spills, no mess.
