Choosing a good bottle of wine can be a challenging job but making a decent bottle of wine is even more hard and needs a good set of skills. It is a different science itself and requires knowledge in agricultural and chemistry industry. For this paper I chose a vinery that is located in Outer Coastal Plain Vineyard Association in New Jersey State. It is named Fox Hollow Vineyards and the exact address is 939 Holmdel Rd, Holmdel, NJ 07733 and its open from Thursday to Sunday from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. When I asked an employee why it is called Fox Hollow they told me that when an owner was purchasing this land he saw a fox running through the area and thought it was a good sing.
Fox Hollow Vineyard has a total of 94 acres of land. This area has moderate climate that is followed by Atlantic Ocean and Delaware River. Soil type that Fox Hollow Vineyard has its a mix of sand, silt and clay. New Jersey has hot summers and cold winters. This area grows a large varieties of grapes in 2010 there were more than fifty varieties grown including vinifera and hybrid grapes. The top five grapes grown in Outer Coastal Plain Vineyard area are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Chambourcin.
It was a Sunday afternoon when I reached this place. They had a big parking lot right next to little farm. On that farm owners kept some animals like goats, sheep and horses. Outside of the vinery there are few fireplaces with seats to taste wines and enjoy a view from the hill. Also, this place offers cheese plates of different sizes and has a selection of sandwiches and paninis.
They offer tasting menu for as low as 12$ for five wines that you can select from their list. There is also a list of wines that can be reserved for 18$ for five different wines. After tasting this wines I purchased two bottle. First one was, 2015 Riesling which cost $20 for one bottle, and second one was 2015 Cabernet Franc for 30$ for one bottle. Person that was serving wine was not very knowledgable about wine that this place was making. I asked few questions about their wine production and could not get an answer until I talked to the manager. I was disappointed with the service this place had but their wines tasted good.
For my choice of five wines I had :
Whites:
2015 Riesling – “Crisp & Clean with notes of honeysuckle & citrus, aged in stainless steel & finished dry.
2015 Barrel Aged Chardonnay– “ Smooth with notes of caramel, vanilla and cloves, aged 14 month in Russian Oak barrels.”
Semi-Sweet Whites:
2016 Petite Belle– “Semi-Sweet, aromatic white wine.
Red:
2015 Cabernet Franc– “Smooth with notes of leather, tobacco & black Cherry, aged 18 month in French $ American oak barrels.”
2015 Cabernet Sauvignon – “ Full red wine with hints of black pepper and blackberries, aged 18 month in French oak barrel.”
Resources:
2018 Certified Specialist of Wine Study Guide by Jane Nickles
Soil Types of New Jersey by Michael Rosenfield July 2017
careertrend.com/list-6824071-soil-types-new-jersey.html
Veronika, you went to the vineyard in NJ?!!! The vineyard is only 45 mins away from my home. I would love to visit there. The Riesling sounds so good. I will definitely try it.
Yes, there are a lot of vineyards in NJ.
The Riesling is very good I went back to buy it again.
Great tasting notes. I am happy that you introduced the class to a new wine region.