Merry Christmas!

Today I want to share with you my top NJ wines of the year. Here is my criteria:

1. These are wines that I tasted during the past year (regardless of the vintage), but all are made in NJ.
2. They are listed in alphabetical order of the winery by category (White, Rose, and Red).
3. They are all dry wines (I may post my favorite sweet wines, like Port-style wines, creams, etc.) in a future post.
4. I limited the number of wines from any of the wineries to four selections giving me time and space to share the light on a greater number of deserving wineries.

You will notice that there are significantly more reds than whites on my list. This is not due to just a preference for red. If you look at the menus on many (if not most) of our wineries, you will see the reds outnumber the whites by a large measure. You will also notice that I only have a couple of photos of the white wines. I obviously consumed them (with a lot of help from my wife) and I’m working on addressing that issue this week!

My Top NJ White Wines for 2025

The Whites

• Auburn Road 2022 Barrel Reserve Chardonnay-An excellent lightly oaked Chardonnay. Dry, but creamy, with citrus and tropical notes.
• Auburn Road 2022 Featherbed Vineyards Chardonnay-Very similar to the above and sourced from the same vineyard. It received 91 points from Wine Enthusiast.
• Autumn Lake Winery 2024 Albarino-My favorite NJ Albarino this year. Dry and refreshing with notes of orange and lime.
• Unionville Vineyards 2023 Pheasant Hill Chardonnay-My favorite NJ Chardonnay this year, with full-bodied notes of lemon and pineapple. 92 Points from Wine Enthusiast.
• Unionville Vineyards 2023 Hunterdon Mistral Blanc-A great white blend of Viognier, Marsanne, and Rosanne. A tasty walk in the French countryside-but grown and made in Ringoes, NJ. 92 Points from Wine Enthusiast.
• William Heritage 2024 BDX Blanc-a beautiful white Bordeaux blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Petit Manning. It offers a creamy mouthfeel and notes of apricot, lemon, and vanilla.
• Willow Creek Malvasia Blanc (Dry)- This unique white wine is definitely one of my favorite white wines in New Jersey and beyond. It is fermented in stainless steel. I love the fruity fragrance and lemon and grapefruit notes on the palate. The finish is crisp and refreshing. I believe this is the only place this grape is grown.

The Roses

• Unionville Vineyards 2024 Hunterdon Mistral Rose-One of the best Roses in the state, this one recently garnered 90 points from the Cork Report. It is a blend of Syrah and Counoisse and offers strawberry and lime notes, with zesty acidity.
• White Horse Winery 20222 Painted Rose-Estate blend of Cab Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon-Dry and refreshing with tropical fruit notes.

The Reds

• Amalthea Cellars Reserve 2022 Cabernet Franc-Awesome Cab Franc-perhaps their best to date!
• Autumn Lake Winery 2022 Squankum- Excellent version aged in bourbon barrels. Very tasty!
• Beneduce Vineyards 2021 Blaufrankisch-My favorite Blaufrankisch from a very good vintage.
• Cape May Winery 2021 CM3-Their 3rd edition of this wonderful red blend of Syrah, Merlot, and Cab Franc.
• Cedar Rose Vineyard 2016 Norton-One or two other wineries produce this American grape and make pretty good wine with it. Cedar Rose does the best job with it and this vintage displays that nicely-full-bodied and robust, but very smooth after decanting.
• Hawk Haven Vineyard 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon-Note all four of these wines from Hawk Haven are their 2022 vintage. This Cab was awarded 91 points from Wine Enthusiast.
• Hawk Haven 2022 OA Cabernet Franc-Sourced from Orley Ashenfelter‘s vineyard in Vineland, this Cab Franc was awarded 93 points from Wine Enthusiast.
• Hawk Haven Vineyard 2022 Q-Awarded 93 points from Wine Enthusiast! Great vintage. Their best to date for this wine!
• Hawk Haven Vineyard 2022 Syrah-Awarded 90 points from Wine Enthusiast.
• Saddlehill Vineyard 2022 Vintner’s Reserve-The wine is wonderful-full-bodied, Bordeaux-style red blend that is dry, but fruit forward, with robust notes of red and black fruits.
• Turdo Vineyard Turis 2022 Sangiovese-My favorite Sangiovese made in this country (and better than many from Italy).
• Turdo Vineyard Turis Etichetta d’Oro 2018 Nebbiolo-Amazing version of this classic. If you like Barola you would love this.
• Turdo Vineyard 2021 Rosso-A great “Super Tuscan” blend of Cab, Sangiovese, and Merlot. Made by Luca, Sal’s son.
• Turdo Vineyard 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon-Consistently one of the best Cabs in the state. Same here-full-bodied flavors of plum and vanilla. Delicious!
• Unionville Vineyards 2022 Hunterdon Rouge-A wonderful Rhone-style red blend of Counoise and Syrah, with cherry and plum notes. It received 92 points from Wine Enthusiast.
• William Heritage 2022 Malbec Reserve-My favorite Malbec from our Garden State. Smooth, medium-bodied, with notes of dark cherry and blackberry.
• William Heritage Reserve 2022 Norman’s Vineyard Cabernet Franc-Terrific version in a state with so many very good ones.
• William Heritage 2022 Pond Vineyard Chambourcin-A fantastic single vineyard Chambourcin that is medium+ bodied and rich with ripe dark cherry notes.

Coming Attractions

• What I am looking forward to in 2026
• My Top NJ  Sweet Wines of 2025
• Amalthea Cellars Winter 2025
• Cedar Rose Vineyards Winter 2025
• Bellview Winery Winter 2026
• Autumn Lake Winery Winter 2026

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