A January reception at Drumthwacket, the governor’s mansion in Princeton, brought together notable participants and supporters of the Garden State wine industry. As Governor Phil Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy led a celebration of the state’s best at the Governor’s Cup Awards, the winners poured their top-rated wines.
One of the winning winemakers on hand was Conor Quilty. Having originally gained renown for producing highly regarded wines for Unionville Vineyards in Ringoes, the wine-maker fell out of sight of many in the industry after leaving the winery a few years back. Several attendees asked him where he had been; some welcomed him back to New Jersey.
The thing is, Quilty never left. He’s been here all along, quietly developing his next role: general manager and winemaker at Meadowbrook Winery.
The comments were understandable, as Quilty has been largely out of the public eye at start-up Meadowbrook. Even many of the wine folks in the know were not familiar with the project until the Governor’s Cup Awards ceremony.
“I get that often, the ‘you’re back’ comments, and in some ways, it feels like a return, releasing our first wines finally—and winning the award for one of them,” says Quilty.
The winning wine was Meadowbrook’s 2022 Cabernet Franc Reserve, recognized as the Best Vinifera Red Wine in the state, which led to the next big question he got that night at the Governor’s mansion: Where exactly is the winery?
Meadowbrook is in Tewksbury in northern Hunterdon County. One of its more distinguishing features is that, excluding urban wineries in Manhattan and Brooklyn, there is no winery geographically closer to New York City. At just a couple of short turns off Route 78, it is a convenient destination for a large swath of New Jersey—or it will be, as a newly constructed tasting room is slated to open this summer.
Another distinguishing characteristic is the land itself. The vineyards, winery, and tasting room sit on 170 acres of protected farmland that runs along the Cold Brook Preserve. Despite proximity to the highway and town, the property still has an expansive and bucolic feel. The terrain of rolling hills is a geographic benefit, with steady winds providing consistent airflow beneficial to keeping the vineyards clean of mold and mildew. Across the street is Melick’s Oldwick Cider Mill and Farm, a historic family farm dating back to colonial times, adding a special country road feel soon after one exits the highway.
“I GET THAT OFTEN, THE ‘YOU’RE BACK’ COMMENTS, AND IN SOME WAYS, IT FEELS LIKE A RETURN.”
Quilty, Past and Present
As was alluded to, Quilty is not new to the Garden State wine community. Prior to Meadowbrook, he spent almost five years at Unionville Vineyards in Ringoes, moving up the ranks from winery associate to head winemaker. A magna cum laude graduate in 2015 of Connecticut College with a degree in botany and plant biology, he wanted to specifically focus on a career in wine. His first opportunity came in 2012 when he was introduced to Cam Stark, then-head winemaker at Unionville, whom Quilty spent a summer shadowing.
After graduation and stints in California and New Zealand, he wanted to move back to the East Coast. Reaching out to Stark once again, Quilty learned he was soon leaving Unionville to take the helm at Ironbound Cider Farm in As-bury. Quilty came in as an associate, overlapping a bit with Stark, but he soon worked his way up to the lead winemaker role and created his own reputation as one of the faces of winemaking’s future in New Jersey.
Then, he seemingly disappeared. It would not have been surprising. New Jersey’s emerging wine market is gaining broader respect and notoriety, and local talent being recruited to larger, more established markets isn’t unusual. Quilty, though, only moved 30 miles away to work with Frank and Elena Schwab, founders and owners of Meadowbrook.
Frank Schwab, a surgeon, methodically went from winery to winery in New Jersey, trying many wines. His goal was to determine which winemaker’s style resonated most with him and to find what might work at Meadowbrook’s earliest incarnation. His research eventually led him to Quilty and, the next year, Schwab brought Quilty in as a consultant for the 2020 harvest to make some wine from the initial plantings. Quilty’s consultations further left the impression on the Schwabs that he was the person to move their vision forward; they brought him on to run the operation in March of the following year. “I loved the area and their vision,” says Quilty. “It was a really good opportunity for me professionally and personally.
“WE WANTED THE TASTING ROOM IN THE
CENTER OF THINGS, SO GUESTS COULD FEEL
IMMERSED IN THE HILLS OF HUNTERDON
COUNTY, CONNECTING HIGH-QUALITY WINE
WITH THE LAND IT’S GROWN ON.”
A Sparkling Future
Part of that vision, and yet something else that distinguishes Meadowbrook from most of the wineries in the state, is the emphasis on its sparkling wine program. A number of wineries throughout New Jersey make different styles of sparkling wine, but none have it as their lead focus. “Frank is a Champagne guy,” as Quilty describes Schwab, and it is a style of wine that is conducive to New Jersey’s grape-growing season. Because sparkling wine grapes get picked early in the ripening cycle to maintain acidity, the length of the growing season is not as critical as it is for still wines. It fits well into Meadowbrook’s sustainable approach, crafting the type of wines the season gives them.
The grapes for the sparkling wine—Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and rarely seen in the Northeast Pinot Meunier, which are the three principal grapes in the Champagne region—all do well in Northern Hunterdon. In addition to the award-winning Cab Franc Reserve, there are other styles of Cabernet Franc, a grape increasing in popularity and one that has shown great promise throughout the state. Quilty produces wine from Albariño, too—a grape native to Spain but gaining a foothold in the Northeast. New Jersey weather is changeable from year to year, but with the Cab Franc and Albariño, Quilty can adapt the wine-making styles to the ripeness levels in any harvest. While the styles may change, their versatility creates a buffer for consistency in quality year to year.
Ready for Their Close-Up
After a couple of quiet years initially in his tenure, the past two have been a whirlwind for Quilty, as he has donned numerous hats in taking full creative control at the winery. Without a tasting room at the start, Meadow-brook headed out to the wholesale market out of necessity. Being carried on wine lists at restaurants like Ninety Acres and the Tewksbury Inn, on the shelves at quality wine shops, and featured in wine dinners with the likes of David Burke and Marilyn Schlossbach, not only provided revenue flow but also created the types of community partners critical to emerging-market wine regions and new wineries. On the personal front (and, likely, creating even more incentive to stay in New Jersey), somehow in the middle of this launch he also married Amanda Yacos.
While 2025 is shaping up to be a challenging year for the wine world, the glass is more than half full at Meadowbrook. The vineyard and winery closest to New York City now has the closest vineyard tasting room. The structure sits not adjacent to the winemaking operations but in the middle of the property, with floor-to-ceiling windows giving visitors a view of the vineyards and the vistas beyond. While many tasting rooms have a farmhouse feel, the goal here was to emulate high-end hospitality. As a craft producer, the demands of the new tasting room may limit expansion of the wholesale program, yet Quilty does not plan to leave behind those community partners who early on beat their drums in support of this new venture.
“We wanted the tasting room in the center of things, so guests could feel immersed in the hills of Hunterdon County, connecting high-quality wine with the land it’s grown on,” Quilty says. That it will become a buzz-worthy destination seems more certain than the overall industry landscape.
Not only is Conor Quilty still here, he’s not going anywhere anytime soon. “I’ve got something to see through here,” he says. Now, you’ll be able to see him at Meadow-brook, too.
MEADOWBROOK WINERY
18 King Street, Oldwick
meadowbrookwinery.com
Tasting room opening Summer 2025
