AT THE TABLE: FINE WINE
New Jersey wineries have been on a winning streak.
It started in May 2012, when a new law finally allowed New Jersey winemakers to ship directly to out-of-state customers. Then, in June 2012, New Jersey vintages held their own against France’s best in a wine-tasting contest dubbed “The Judgment of Princeton.” And finally, in early 2013, two different articles in The New York Times sang the praises of New Jersey wines, though each suggested rebranding the wines from the southern part of the state as being from “the Outer Coastal Plain,” rather than, well, New Jersey.
In this, our annual beverage issue, you’ll find a triplicate of stories about the New Jersey wine industry—from a winery train to a winemaking club to an electrical engineer turned winemaker). There’s also a story about a completely new industry for New Jersey—growing hops for the brewing of craft beer—and another about a sophisticated coffee culture growing up around Asbury Park.
Plus, don’t miss a profile of Terhune Orchard’s Gary Mount, our portrait of New Jersey fishermen, and an article about the comeback of the storied Ryland Inn.
Autumn is the time of year when many people reflect a little more than usual on the content of their dinner plates (and drinking vessels). When the heat of the summer breaks, it’s time to visit pumpkin patches and agricultural fairs, and start thinking about recipes for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thankfully, celebrating the harvest is one tradition that modernity hasn’t rendered obsolete.
However you commemorate the end of summer, I hope you’re able to do so with your favorite beverage close at hand. Perhaps a new tradition to try, if you haven’t already, is toasting away the long days with a bottle of fine New Jersey wine.
-Jared Flesher, Editor
