Garden State winemakers are making the most of the month of May with two statewide promotions this May 2015!
Garden State Wine
Growers Association to Hold “Mother’s Day Wine Trail” May 9th &
10th
With
another long, cold winter firmly in the rear-view mirror, Spring has arrived
and the vineyards of the Garden State are bursting back to life! The tradition
continues as New Jersey wineries host the annual Mother’s Day Wine Trail
Weekend May 9th & 10th at winery tasting rooms across
the state. Spread from Sussex to Cape
May Counties, there is a winery in the back yard of every NJ resident, and there
are many ways to celebrate the special women in your lives through NJ wine
country. Travelers along the trail can expect special wine tastings, live
music, food pairings, and plenty of fragrant fresh flowers (both cut and
grapevine) heralding the season.
There
are over 50 wineries open now in the Garden State, and they will all be open to
visitors during the special weekend. Some wineries, like Terhune Orchards &
Vineyard in Lawrence, Old York Cellars in Ringoes, and DiBella Winery in
Woolwich will offer complimentary tastings for mothers. Others such as Sharrott
Winery in Winslow, Natali Vineyards in Cape May, and Salem Oak Vineyards in
Pedricktown will have fresh flowers to send home with Mom. Some wineries, like
Valenzano Winery in Shamong and Hopewell Valley Vineyards in Pennington will
have vendors on site for mothers to pick out a little something special for
herself after doing a wine tasting. Cava Winery in Wantage will offer a special
luncheon for the holiday, and Tomasello Winery in Hammonton invites guests to a
traditional Mother’s Day brunch.
Wine
Festival Season Arrives with “Blues, Wine & BBQ Festival” at Schooley’s
Mountain Park May 23 & 24
Twenty
of New Jersey’s premier wine producers will come together Memorial Day weekend
for the Garden State Wine Growers Association’s newly unveiled “Blues, Wine
& BBQ Festival,” to be held at idyllic Schooley’s Mountain Park in western
Morris County. The new theme and new location for the GSWGA represents efforts
to reinvigorate wine festivals throughout New Jersey, and promises to bring a
better festival than ever before. The event will feature hundreds of locally
produced wines, rockin’ blues bands, succulent BBQ from authentic pit masters,
kids’ activities, and plenty of family fun over Memorial Day Weekend.
The
two-day event highlights some of New Jersey’s finest wineries, which have tripled
in number across the state in the last ten years. Festival attendees will have
the opportunity to taste hundreds of wines made from New Jersey grown grapes,
meet the winemaking teams, and enjoy the latest vintages and releases. New
Jersey wines continue to be regularly recognized as high quality in national
and international wine competitions, most recently garnering several medals at
the TEXSOM and Finger Lakes International wine contests.
The
Blues, Wine & BBQ festival is the latest iteration of the GSWGA’s Memorial
Day weekend wine festival. In the past this event has drawn several thousands
of happy attendees. “The wine is fantastic, the music is great, and you can’t
beat the beautiful new setting” said John Cifelli, Association Executive
Director. “You can’t not have an incredible time. There’s an infectious, fun
atmosphere about the whole day, and we’re excited to share the new aspects and
features this year.”
A VIP ticket will gain attendees entry into a
special tented area with spacious seating and a catered lunch buffet. Only 100
VIP tickets will be sold for each day, and the Association expects to sell out
the enhanced experience.
On
Saturday, Slim Chance and the Gamblers will roll the dice on the music stage.
They will be followed on Sunday by New Jersey Blues band The Fins. Besides the Blues
rock, there are a couple of other events on the stage that set this festival
apart from the other four produced by the GSWGA. Guests will have the chance to
cheer on their favorite winery as the winners of the New Jersey Wine are
announced at 1:30pm at the music tent. The contest, organized annually by Dr.
Gary Pavlis of Rutgers University, has been awarding three “Governor’s Cup”
trophies for almost thirty years. In addition to the Winery of the Year award, Cups
are given in the best overall, best dessert, and best fruit wine categories.
Judges this year include sommeliers, fine wine distributors, boutique liquor
store owners, and restaurateurs from across the state. Over 300 wines were
entered in hopes of earning the coveted trophies.
At
4:00pm on Sunday, one lucky person will win an international wine trip! The
GSWGA operates a passport program, with all association members included in the
book. Those who travel the entire New Jersey wine trail and collect stamps from
the wineries are entered into an annual drawing for the vacation. This year the
winner will book their real passport to Spain for a wine & food excursion
from Madrid to the Spanish old country. The GSWGA also has created an app
version of the passport program, which includes maps of NJ wine country, a
calendar of events, and the ability to collect stamps by checking in to NJ
winery tasting rooms.
Tickets
to the event are $25 at the gate, but advanced reduced rate and group rate
ticket sales are online now. Ticket information, a festival guide, and the full
list of winery participants can be found visit www.newjerseywines.com.