It had been too long since our last visit to Plagido’s, located in Hammonton. So my wife and I had some business to take care of nearby (and a visit to Bagliani’s Market was also on the agenda). On Thursday, we managed to take care of our business, stock up on some culinary delights, and taste eight very good dry wines. We decided to do our tasting inside, as it was pretty nippy outside and we were the only patrons when we arrived. The owners, Ollie Tomasello and his wife were the only staff observed. Ollie (no relation to the other Tomasello winery owners in Hammonton) is the winemaker and his wife, Candice was our server. The two of them were busy moving equipment and transferring wine from one vessel to another. Candice helped Ollie with most of this work, when she was not serving our wine and sharing tasting notes of each of the wines poured. She apologized for the conditions, but we found the whole area spotless and it was helpful to be reminded of the hard work that goes on behind the glamor of the job.
Plagido’s Winery has been open to the public since 2007. They won the New Jersey Winery of the Year two years in a row, in 2016 and 2017. Not bad for such a young winery! Their strong suit at Plagido’s Winery has been their dry red wines. This trend has continued. There were only two dry whites, but six dry reds to taste. Most of the wines they make are oaked, with several oaked for as long as two years. Looking at the outward appearance of the barrels we could see, it would appear that most of the barrels used are new, or nearly new.
White Wines
- Vidal Blanc-A pretty good version of this popular hybrid.
- Reverence-A good oaked, dry wine made with a hybrid grape called Marquis. It is a seedless table grape that is sometimes utilized to make wine. While the grape itself tends to be sweet, the wine we tasted was dry, but flavorful. To my knowledge, Plagido’s is the only New Jersey winery utilizing this grape to make a stand-alone varietal.
Red Wines
- 2019 Chambourcin-A nice medium-bodied version.
- 2019 Coeur d”Est-One of the best examples of a Coeur d’Est I’ve had recently. The term Coeur d’Est means “Heart of the East”. It is a term and style used by a number of wineries in the Outer Coastal Plain AVA. It is their take on a “Meritage” wine, utilizing Chambourcin, Cab Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon, with cherry and blackberry on the palate.
- 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon-An excellent, full-bodied Cab, with raspberry notes and a hint of vanilla.
- 2019 Cab Franc-Very good Cab Franc, with a deeper hue and more body than in many I have had recently.
- 2019 Merlot/Cab Blend-A very good blend of Cab Franc (50%); Merlot (25%); and Cabernet Sauvignon (25%)
- Petit Verdot-Complex with cherry and chocolate notes.
I was very pleased to see the quality of the wines was still very good-perhaps even better than on previous visits. While I hadn’t planned on taking any wine home, I couldn’t resist bringing home three bottles: Chambourcin, Coeur d’Est, and Cabernet Sauvignon. This trio is pictured below. No, I was not trying to warm them up. I just wanted to showcase them in a different room with different lighting.
Coming Attractions
- Terra Nonno Winter 2024
- Flying Fish Brewing
- Whims Brewing
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