Willow Creek Winery is a winery in West Cape May in Cape May County, New Jersey. Formerly a produce farm, the vineyard was first planted in 2005, and opened to the public in 2012. Willow Creek has 40 acres of grapes under cultivation, and produces 6,000 cases of wine per year. The winery is named for a large willow tree near the owner's residence, and the Pond Creek, a stream that borders the farm. Willow Creek is the largest of the wineries in the Cape May region.
Barbara Bray Wilde is the owner of Willow Creek Winery. Willow Creek is the only winery in New Jersey that produces wine from Malvasia bianca, which is a white vinifera grape indigenous to the northwest coast of Italy. Kevin Celli is the Director, farm manager and viticulturalist. He joined Willow Creek in 2012, after having been at nearby Natali Vineyards.
The Willow Creek Pinot Noir Outer Coastal Plain was a lovely estate-grown wine. The wine was fermented on oak staves, then oak-aged for 24 months. The last barrels from the harvest were blended into stainless steel with oak staves then aged for an additional 6 months. Double filtered during the bottling process. The wine led off with hints of cherry and whiffs of strawberry, and spice. A lovely middle, and balancing acids at the end let the flavor linger a nice long time.
This was my first taste of Willow Creek Winery, and I must say it was very impressive.