Working Dog Winery is located in Robbinsville. It had been about a year since our last visit here. This winery has consistently been one of the best in the state. They are members of the Winemakers Co-Op and have received a number of awards for their wines. Since our last visit there are new owners and a new winemaker. The new owners-Carly Ludwig and the Kyle Family, have recently taken over, as has their new winemaker, Ryan Sherman. They have a great property and business and I look forward to seeing their ideas put into action, as they fulfill their dreams here. Almost all of the wines produced here are sourced with estate grown grapes.
My wife and I decided to do a white flight and a red flight. Here are the wines we tasted:
White Flight
- 2022 Riesling-A good Dry Riesling, with subtle citrus notes on the palate.
- 2022 Pinot Gris-A good medium bodied version with subtle lemon notes.
- 2021 Stainless Steel Chardonnay-Not creamy and a little less body than the two oaked versions, but good.
- 2021 New Jersey Chardonnay-An excellent Chard with a creamy mouthfeel.
- 2021 Black Feather Chardonnay-Also an excellent Chard, with a hint of apple, and a lovely creamy taste and texture.
Red Flight
- 2022 Chambourcin-Smooth berry notes in a very good version of this NJ classic.
- 2021 Sangiovese-One of the few NJ producers of Sangiovese and a pretty good one, with tasty black cherry notes.
- 2021 Syrah-a good medium bodied fruit forward red.
- 2022 Cab Franc-Consistently one of the state’s best, with smooth fruit forward cherry and raspberry notes.
- 2021 Merlot-Excellent version with medium plus body and smooth tannins.
Our Take Aways
From left to right below: 2021 New Jersey Chardonnay, 2021 Merlot, and 2021 Black Feather Chardonnay.
We ordered some crackers and Asiago cheese to go with our wine. They hit the spot and there was enough to bring some home. We really enjoyed our visit and look forward to a return visit. I’ll be curious to try some of their wines, as they begin to reflect the work of their new winemaker, Ryan Sherman.
New Jersey Ready to Drink Cocktails
Last week I briefly discussed the hottest trend in the liquor business-Ready to Drink Cocktails. I purchased a couple of four packs at a local liquor store and was pleasantly surprised that they were as good as they were; a Long Island Ice Tea and an Espresso Martini.
This week, my wife and I did a little research at one of our favorite distilleries in the South Jersey area-Wildfether Distilling in Haddonfield. We decided to stop in for a relaxing cocktail, while debating which cocktails-to-go we would choose to take home with us. The photo below shows the two cocktails we enjoyed on site: Walk Sloe-Bourbon, Sloe Gin, Absinthe, orange, and lemon. Wow! talk about potent potables! Potent, but also delicious. The other cocktail pictured on the right is their Risky Short. It is made with Persimmon Bourbon, Chili Honey, and smoke. (you can see the remnants of the smoke and the chili pepper in this one). Another winner!
After enjoying our cocktails on site, we brought home three of their bottled offerings to go; pictured below from left to right: Flower Power, Return on Investment, and Bonfire of the Vani-tea. So far we have tried only the Return on Investment. It is made with Bourbon Reveni*, Sassafras, and House Bitters. It is very good. The bourbon shines while the sassafras (think Root Beer) adds that classic sweetness, while the Reveni cuts some of the excess sweetness and adds a dry, complex finish. I’ll be sharing more about these and others in coming weeks.
*Reveni îs their version of the Italian liqueur, called Amaro (which means “bitter” in Italian).
Coming Attractions
- Auburn Road Vineyards
- Terra Nonno March 2025
- Cape May Winery March 2025
- Recent Allotment Highlights
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