A few years back, restaurateur Chef David Burke hosted what he called “Dinner in the Dark,” a blindfolded five-course sensory experience dinner complete with wine and cocktail pairings. At the dinner, held at Red Horse by David Burke in Rumson—one of Chef Burke’s New Jersey establishments—wines from Old York Cellars in Ringoes were among the wines served.

When asked to guess where the wines were from, guests rang out many locations, none of which were nearby.

“No,” Burke told them when they guessed incorrectly about the local wine. “You’re drinking wine from 20 miles away.”

Those at a dinner led by a celebrated chef might not expect to be served New Jersey wines, but if more restaurants added local wine to their menus, it wouldn’t be such a surprise. As Burke says, some New Jersey wines “are pretty damn good.”

“As a chef and hospitality person, I believe the chefs in New Jersey should give [New Jersey] wines a try,” he says. “We like to support the bison, mushroom, chicken, and cheese farmers. We should support the grape farmers.”

A self-described “Jersey guy,” Chef Burke now owns seven restaurants and a bakery in the state, and at both of his Red Horse by David Burke locations in Rumson and Bernardsville, New Jersey wines from Meadowbrook Winery in Oldwick and Alba Vineyard & Winery in Milford are on the list.

It’s becoming more common to see well-made Jersey wines on local wine lists, but Burke believes it should happen more often.

“That’s kind of what the hospitality biz is about,” he says. “We help each other. When we support the neighbors and support the local farmers, it makes Jersey stronger.” And he encourages other restaurateurs to visit New Jersey wineries and discover what they can put on their menus.

Embracing New Jersey Wine

This past summer, those who sat at the bar of the now-closed Trio North Wildwood would have noticed Bellview Winery’s Solavita alongside bottles of Chianti from Tuscany, Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma, Gamay from Beaujolais, and Tannat from Uruguay. The Solavita, hailing from New Jersey’s Outer Coastal Plain AVA, is a food-friendly blend of Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin, and Blaufränkisch. And when you see a New Jersey selection on a well-curated menu of global wines, you can be sure of one thing: the person who put it there did so with intention.

At Trio, Debbie Gioquindo was that person. Before she was a restaurateur, Gioquindo worked with New York’s Hudson Valley wine industry as the executive director of the Hudson Valley Wine Region and a consultant for the region’s Shawangunk Wine Trail, but she wasn’t sold on the wines of the Garden State until she did what Chef Burke suggests others do: visit New Jersey wineries.

Gioquindo attended a media trip sponsored by the Garden State Wine Growers Association, where she experienced a variety of quality wines from New Jersey.

The media tour was an eye-opening moment. Gioquindo discovered impressive wines and wineries, visiting Beneduce Vineyards, Alba Vineyard, Cedar Rose Vineyards, White Horse Winery, and Bellview Winery, as well as a handful of other establishments that produce fine Garden State wines.

“I realized there are some great New Jersey wines out there,” she says.

When it came time to choose Trio’s wine list, Gioquindo relied heavily on quality wines from producers she’s familiar with.

“The wine has to be good,” she says. “It has to be food-friendly and go with the dishes on our menu that change seasonally. And it has to pass my palate.” Affordability is a consideration, too.

Thanks to her previous visits to Garden State wineries, she was open to adding local bottles to the menu. Bellview’s wines landed on Trio’s menu because Gioquindo knew of their quality from her visit, and because Bellview’s owner, Jim Quarella, reached out to the restaurant.

Getting New Jersey Wine on the Menu

Many New Jersey wineries don’t have wine distributors. If wine is sold outside the tasting room or online store, it’s often because a winery representative knocks on doors, letting stores and restaurants sample their bottles. If a bottle does get on a restaurant menu, it introduces the winery to a new audience.

“The importance of having our wines on a restaurant’s wine list is that it shows the quality of New Jersey wines,” says Quarella. “It also shows the wines have what it takes for the restaurant to be proud to serve them. It gives us great exposure to people who appreciate exceptional food and wine.”

Annata Wine Bar in Hammonton has intentionally served New Jersey wine since it opened in 2008. There is a concentration of wineries in the Hammonton region, and Annata’s owner Phil Brunozzi says that adding local wines to the menu was “the neighborly thing to do.”

Plus, he says, “It’s always good to carry great stuff.”

“Some of the wineries have been around since we’ve been around, and when we were getting started, we reached out to them and said we want to showcase their wines,” says Brunozzi. Now that the restaurant is well-established, wineries come to them.

“Our wine list is based on the menu, not the other way around,” he adds. “We want to pair everything with wine that goes well. The local wines are not an exception to that.”

Supporting Local Businesses

Annata’s current wine list offers selections from a number of New Jersey wineries. Many are in close proximity to the restaurant, which gives Brunozzi and his team an additional opportunity to support them.

“We have people coming in from all over South Jersey, and they are always looking for new things to do,” he says. “We recommend that people go to the wineries, telling them, ‘You know this is right up the street, less than 15 minutes.’” Annata also shares information about nearby winery events.

At Trio, Gioquindo saw putting New Jersey wines on the menu as supporting other local businesses, too.

“It’s important to promote the region you’re doing business in,” she says. “Not many people experience New Jersey wines, and they don’t know enough about them. I wanted to bring that experience to them.”

Gioquindo found that customers responded positively to the addition of wines made just an hour north of where they were dining. “They didn’t just order a glass; they ordered a bottle,” she says.

As for why more restaurants aren’t offering their guests quality New Jersey wines, Gioquindo thinks many of those who make wine list decisions might be less informed about the local wine industry. For now, a lot of the onus is on the local wineries.

“The wineries need to hand sell wines to where they go and eat,” she says. “They need to talk to those restaurants about carrying their wines. Give them a tasting. It’s a personal relationship.”

“Go out and see what wineries are around you,” Gioquindo suggests. “Go tasting and see if the winery has something you can bring in that would go with your menu.”

Chef Burke says, “There’s more to talk about with a local wine than there is about some chateau you’ve never been to in Burgundy.”

NEW JERSEY RESTAURANTS SUPPORTING LOCAL WINERIES 

A selection of restaurants carrying one or more New Jersey wines on their menu at the time of publication.

• ANNATA WINE BAR, Hammonton
• AVENUE, Long Branch
• CAROLINA BLUE, Pitman
• GLASS BRICK FARM TAVERN, Hopewell
• THE GREENVIEW INN, Vineland
• RED HORSE BY DAVID BURKE – BERNARDS INN, Bernardsville
• RED HORSE STEAKHOUSE BY DAVID BURKE, Rumson
• RESTAURANT LATOUR, CRYSTAL SPRINGS RESORT, Hamburg
• NASSAU CLUB, Princeton
• NINETY ACRES, Peapack
• THE TEWKSBURY INN, Oldwick

EDITOR’S NOTE: As we headed to press, Trio North Wildwood announced it had new ownership and was closing its doors as of September 1. Visit ediblejersey.com for updates and additional restaurant locations.