Auburn Road Vineyards is located in Pilesgrove, New Jersey. Thursday was a beautiful day for a country drive. The sun and warm weather made me think of less crazy times with lots of hope for the spring and summer to come. With COVID-19 on everyone’s mind, the sprawling countryside looked evermore attractive. As retirees, my wife and I have the ability to visit wineries on weekdays during their least crowded hours. This is a tremendous thing even without a major health crisis. We get to enjoy interactions with our servers (and often the winemakers or owners) in our state. No lines and social distance-check. Fewer than 250 people crowded in a room-check. Meanwhile we got to taste some wonderful wines. My only disappointment was the number of dry white wines available to taste.*
I must say, Auburn Road’s White Bottle and reds more than made up for the absence of other whites available. My eight choices for this tasting:
- The White Bottle 2018-A very good chardonnay with notes of lemon and vanilla. It is lightly oaked and well balanced.
- Good Karma-Light dry red blend of Merlot and Pinot Noir. I found it to be fruit-forward and super smooth.
- Peaceful Warrior-Another delicious fruit forward red blend; a new offering.
- Classico 2016-A perennial favorite blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
- Gaia 2016-A fantastic dry blend of Cab Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot; silky smooth ,but age-worthy (yet under $20).
- Eidolon 2015-an excellent dark red blend, highlighting their Merlot; named after a poem by Walt Whitman.
- Vintage Ruby-Port-style wine, made with Chambourcin grapes and fortified with Brandy distilled from their Cabernet Sauvignon; ABV=19%. This is also a new offering since my last visit
- Give Peach a Chance 2018-A delicious sweet fruit wine (not overly sweet) made with Jersey Fresh peaches.
*Their Pinot Grigio and Sole (Vidal Blanc) were sold out. Another new offering, Blanc Nu 2018 was also sold out. This was an unoaked version of their Chardonnay. I look forward to their next vintage. An additional dry red wine, Petit Verdot, is only available via bottle purchases.
We decided to take advantage of the quiet and beauty during our time there, opening one of the White Bottles and enjoying it with a cheese plate.
You gotta love a winery that names its wines after poems and Beatles albums and lyrics!
My take-aways…
Cheers!
Interested in getting a book about New Jersey wineries and wines? You can still download the e-book version of New Jersey Uncorked: A Snob-Free Taste of NJ Wine. Just go to Apple’s iBook app and use the Coupon Code March20. Just $10.99 with the coupon.
Coming Attractions
- Cedar Rose Vineyards Winter 2020
- Unionville Vineyards Winter 2020
- What’s on Tap at Bellview Winery?
I was planning on doing additional posts featuring dinners at local restaurants and pairing my meals with some great New Jersey wines. With the present concerns about COVID19 I am putting these on hold for now. We are preparing most of our own meals. However, I am blessed with a well-stocked cellar that features a lot of great New Jersey wines.
Speaking of COVID19, I continue to support our wineries. As mentioned above, we are able to go when and where we can follow the social distance guidelines. According to Garden State Wine Growers Association’s website (newjerseywines.com) all of our state’s wineries remain open. However, check with the winery before visiting, as this is a fast-changing landscape. For those who can’t visit or feel they shouldn’t, don’t forget that most (if not all) NJ wineries will ship their wines to your home. These are tough times for them so if you are able to support these folks, please do so. We want to continue enjoying the fruits of their labor!
