Terra Nonno
Terra Nonno is located in Rosenhayn in a lovely setting. It has been slightly more than a year since the grand opening of Terra Nonno. Hard to believe, but my wife and I were the first customers that day. It was a great experience so we were determined to revisit soon. COVID set our timeline back several months, but a beautiful day, good wine, and live music brought us back. Since our last trip here, the owners have made many improvements, including vastly expanding the size of the patio and covering it, adding a pavilion with additional seating that offers some protection from the elements, and a stage for the entertainers.
The Wine
We chose two of our favorite wines here to enjoy with our charcuterie and pizza (Chardonnay and Blaufrankisch).
The 2020 French Oaked Chardonnay was every bit as good as the 2019 version we enjoyed a year ago. It is a delicious, lightly oaked, full-bodied Chard with lively acidity.
The 2019 Blaufrankisch (also oaked in French barrels) is a winner with its rich fruit, good structure, and long finish. I enjoyed the rest of the bottle the next day, as it fully opened up and went well with our impromptu barbecue.
It is great to see that the wine is still the star here, while making the ambient experience even more lovely than when we last visited.
The Food
We ordered a large charcuterie consisting of several kinds of cheese, almonds, olives, crackers, dried apricots and raisins. It was large enough to require a pause before ordering one of the 10″ Bruni pizzas. I ordered the White Pizza with broccoli. I took a picture of the pizza, but it didn’t do it justice. Besides, we still don’t have smellavision.
The Music
Music was provided by Jeff Twardzik, who does a lot of solo acoustic music at wineries and other venues around South Jersey. Jeff has a strong voice with a great range. While his wheelhouse is certainly in the country genre, he did great versions of Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer”; Bill Withers’s “Lean on Me”; and Ed Sheeran’s “17.” Jeff’s acoustic guitar is the only accompaniment he needs (though I suspect he could do acapella, as well). He actually has a very eclectic repertoire.
Death of the Fox Brewing Company
Death of the Fox is a fairly small, but unique Brewery and Coffee House. They are located in Clarksboro and have been open for about four years. They have a small, but homey space with a bar, a couple of large tables and a couple of sofas to enjoy your beverage of choice. Coffee is served from 8:00 AM, while beers aren’t poured until noon. They offer nearly 20 different brews.
My wife and I each did samplers of four for $11 each. IPA’s are very popular here, with five currently on the menu. I tried their Cinnamon Toast Crunch (5.9% ABV); Howling Joe Hard Coffee (6% ABV); Taurus Trappist Tripel (9.2% ABV); and Hazy Crazy Diamond IPA. My wife tried the Magical Butter Beer, Hazy Crazy Diamond IPA; Azacca Attacka; Hessian Session Kolsch. My wife and I shared enabling us to try more beers.
My favorites were the Taurus Trappist Tripel, the Howler Joe Hard Coffee, and the Kolsch. The Tripel was surprisingly smooth given the alcohol content. I’ve had coffee flavored porters and stouts, but never a “hard coffee.” It tasted like coffee, but a couple of these and you might get a different kind of coffee buzz (for you students, not recommended for studying for exams).
My only disappointment was they did not have any porters or stouts. They recently ran out of their stout, and it might not be back on the menu for awhile. They tend to be more seasonal offerings.
We decided to bring home a couple of dark roast coffees. They roast them on the premises. Can’t wait to try them. I definitely would like to do a return visit when they have a couple of stouts and/or porters. Perhaps the fall?
Cheers!
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