The first thing to do is be sure to go when all the schools are back in session so you will not be bothered by brats behaving worse than you ever let your kids behave (they are all worse than your kids...).
Also avoid the places damaged by hurricane Sandy. Head south!
Take a few back roads and go on a winery tour. That's how you can find real diners in places like Clayton (the Liberty Diner, where the waitresses still say "youse").
We stumbled upon a fine little vineyard/winery called Coda Rossa in Franklinville, well off the beaten trail of the Cape May County wine whatever they call their organization. The young lady there did not say "youse" so I can confirm wineries have, in general, more class than diners. Pretty decent vinos.
Southerly from there as one closes in on the bottom of the state there are a bunch of places, some of which have been in business for quite awhile but got good press only fairly recently (thank you Phila Inky). We stopped at all of them except Turdo, which sells out all their wine early in the summer and closes. And has a cool name that none of the winery folks we talked to smirk at.
Closing in on Cape May we stopped first at Natali Vineyards which had a nice selection and even a banana wine which I thought would be horrible but it wasn't. Then on to Jesse Creek Winery, followed by Hawk Haven, Cape May and Willow Creek wineries. These guys all grow their own grapes and get some from local farmers who I assume find fruit of the vine more fruitful than lima beans. (We just missed the Lima Bean Festival in West Cape May, for real, no lie).
Were I a more practiced wino I would recall more specifics about each one. At the end of our tour we had bought wines from every place we visited. They all sell almost all their production from their tasting rooms and the proprietors have lots of tasting notes about flavors I usually can't discern at all. We were told that they had a bumper crop this year and business was very good. I know we did our part in that regard.
Sounds delicious... but how did you miss RENAULT?? Remember the big champagne bottle on the water to LBI? They have beautiful grounds and horrible wine.
ReplyDeleteDave must be on to something. Hot on the heels of Dave's tour comes the Wall Street Journal with an article about an NYU professor who edits the Journal of Wine Economics. His favorite wines are from...New Jersey! To quote from the article:
ReplyDelete"Mr. Storchmann is a big fan of New Jersey wines. Actually, that's an understatement: He is passionate on the subject of Garden State wines, which he believes are better than the wines of New York and even Napa Valley. "The wines of New Jersey are awesome," he said. OK, but can he really believe New Jersey wines are better than Napa's? Was it possible this wine economist was pulling my leg?
He was not. "I totally love the wines of New Jersey," he said, rattling off the names of half a dozen state producers. There was Amalthea Cellars, Unionville and the wines of Peter Leitner of Mount Salem Vineyards. (He sent me a follow-up email with several more names.)"
Can't wait to tour myself