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One recent weekend in July we took a little drive and enjoyed the best wineries that New Jersey had to offer!
We visited 19 of NJ's 27 Wineries.
Yes, NJ has wineries.
Some of the
wines have won awards 
Several are even offered at expensive restaurants. The state publishes a brochure describing 12 wine trails.
What a perfect way to view the majesty, history, and tradition of the 'Garden State'. We whisked ourselves away in one fun filled weekend with friends: and we delighted our senses with a magical 
driving tour to the participating wineries.
The glasses were
polished, the award- winning vintages were bottled, and the wine flowed freely.
Wine is an experience unto itself! Wine touring in NJ ensures you sample what you like, experience hard to find wines, and interact with winery principles who are more than happy to share their passion for wine making. The only thing missing was you!
We took our passports to each of the participating wineries and after our 
tour and / or tasting, we asked a winery staff member to place a sticker or stamp on the appropriate square of our passports. The time period for collecting stamps is January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007. 1, 2007 at the end of the year, we will return our full passports to be eligible to receive this year's prize.A set of Riedel Crystal Glasses
What a great weekend! The tours were fabulous. We had such great personal service, and truly enjoyed ourselves, the blind tasting and education we received was top notch. 
Almathea was a little crowded,
but the owner actually spent time with us.
Silver Decoy was less
crowded, but again we had very personal service and actually got to see some work in the vineyard.
We came home with 2 cases of wine, so I would highly recommend this tour to our friends & colleagues. It just seemed to go by too quickly!
A little history of NJ Wineries (Taken from the Garden State Wine Growers Web Site)
"New Jersey has been producing wine since 1864.
While perhaps not as well-known as other wine-producing states, New Jersey is home to many premiere varieties. Award-winning Chardonnay, Syrah, Marechal Foch, Viognier, Traminette, Merlot, Cabernet and dozens of others are produced right here. And, particularly unique to New Jersey wineries are an array of fruit wines such as raspberry, cherry and blueberry" Visiting New Jersey's wineries was not only a fun way to learn more about the wine making process, but it was also a fun way to earn great prizes and create great memories. 
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Comments: 29
It's very small, not sophisticated at all, and warm and friendly. Several of their wines are very good and quite unique. They have one called Niagara (white, not at all dry, tastes exactly like a fresh, ripe concord grape. Quite light and a fun wine!) It's a little family owned business, and they even have a B&B. They have murder mystery dinners (I keep meaning to go), and about once a month, they have a grape stomping festival. In other words, this little gem has character. If you're ever in the area, it's worth stopping by.
I will do it again tomorrow evening- with a bottle and glass handy!!
WwW.SparkleTags.Com
and now live in Utah and never imagined wineries in NJ. Wonderful article!
Carl.......moronian.com