New Jersey has no shortage of wineries worth visiting. But 3,400 miles away, on the Isle of Jersey, sits a six-acre winery. Scott Donnini of Auburn Road Vineyards set out to explore
Wine is fascinating—from its 8000 years of history to the regional nuances in a present day sip. If you have a little curiosity and a taste for adventure, it can lead you almost anywhere. And as a winemaker, I tend to have a healthy glass full of both.
I sipped from that curiosity glass after seeing “Jersey” milk as a secret ingredient on an episode of “Iron Chef.” Clearly, this milk wasn’t from New Jersey. Where was it from? And as our country approaches its 250th anniversary next year, how did we get our share of that Jersey name?
My next thought: Do they make wine there? A little research revealed a single vineyard and winery—La Mare Wine Estate. Suddenly, I was down a rabbit hole. I had to learn more about Jersey.
While people are generally familiar with places like York (England) and Orleans (France), which gave their names to their “New” namesakes here in the States, Jersey is a bit of a mystery. “New” Jersey has an outsized pop-culture personality and tends to draw inordinate amounts of attention to itself, and, unlike my prior examples, has essentially commandeered the original name, “Jersey,” frequently disregarding the “New” part altogether.
“I DECIDED TO REACH OUT TO LA MARE WINE ESTATE. I SAID THAT I WAS WRITING FROM A LITTLE WINERY CALLED AUBURN ROAD VINEYARDS IN NEW JERSEY … AS IT TURNS OUT, THEY WERE EVERY BIT AS CURIOUS ABOUT US AS WE WERE ABOUT THEM.”
Jersey, though, is an island. It sits in the English Channel and is a British Crown Dependency—a self-governing part of the British Isles but not actually part of the United Kingdom. It is nine miles long and five miles wide, and its citizens have a British passport. It calls itself a “Curiously Brit (…ish) Island.” But, in actuality, it sits just off the coast of France—14 miles from the French mainland and 85 miles from England. And they speak mostly English but also French.
New Jersey earned its name because, on June 24, 1664, James, the Duke of York, granted Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret land in the colonies of the New World that lay between the Hudson and Delaware Rivers. The land was initially divided between two regions, East Jersey and West Jersey, both named to pay homage to the Isle of Jersey, of which Carteret was once lieutenant governor. In 1702, both sides came together to form New Jersey.
From One Jersey to Another
I decided to reach out to La Mare Wine Estate. I said that I was writing from a little winery called Auburn Road Vineyards in New Jersey and added that I didn’t have any purpose in writing other than to connect with a fellow Jersey winery and say hello.
Jordi Sanvicens Moreno, La Mare’s head winemaker, responded almost immediately. He introduced me to their digital marketing manager, Carla Martini, who was gracious and kind and, as it turns out, they were every bit as curious about us as we were about them. She took me on a sweeping virtual Facetime tour of La Mare’s beautiful property. We talked, told stories, and as she walked me around the estate she introduced me to each La Mare team member we passed, and we smiled and waved at each other through the screen. We compared our two Jerseys—delighting in the differences but marveling at the similarities. I knew it was time to take a big gulp from the adventure glass. We made a plan for my wife (and winemaker) Jules and I to visit.
We arrived in Jersey in early July—the best time of year to visit, from what Carla told us. There are several ways to get to Jersey; the flight from London is only 45 minutes, but we chose to fly to Paris, take a train to the port city of Saint-Malo, and hop on a ferry to Jersey.
After spending a brief 24 hours in Paris, we caught the train at Montparnasse Station for Saint-Malo, a beautiful old-walled port city on the Brittany coast in northern France with a not-so-subtle pride in its legacy of piracy. Ferries running from Saint-Malo direct to Jersey usually take less than an hour, but traveling mid-week, we were forced to take the four-hour local, stopping first at the nearby Channel Island of Guernsey. But it was nothing that a few mimosas and a pain au chocolat on board couldn’t cure.
Our ferry arrived at the port of Jersey’s biggest city and capitol, St. Helier. Fun fact: St. Helier has one sister city—an official designation that both cities give to one another—which is Trenton, New Jersey; the relationship was established in 2020. The St. Helier weather was sunny, warm, and breezy. After a quick taxi ride to the village of St. Aubin, we arrived at our hotel, La Haule Manor, grandly facing St. Aubin’s Bay.
We didn’t intentionally seek out tortured comparisons and exaggerated commonalities between this Jersey we were discovering and our own, but as we began to explore, we soon found such comparisons inevitable.
Jersey is known for its beaches, its lighthouses, and its seafood. Jersey also has a pretty vibrant surfing community and is locally famous for its tomatoes.
And we both have a Jersey Devil. Jersey’s resides in Devil’s Hole, a cave at the bottom of the majestic red granite cliffs, which are particularly spectacular on the northwest side of the island. The cave—or the mythical devil inside—howls when the high tide’s waves crash in. As you walk the path to reach Devil’s Hole, his fearsome statue greets you, seeming to rise out of the swampy marshes and overhanging branches.
But the differences between our Jerseys were equally as pronounced. The beaches are beautiful for swimming, though they reminded us more of Northern California, sitting in bays or at the foot of cliff sides.
Jersey is, of course, world famous for its cows, which look like—and supposedly have the relaxed temperament of—yellow Labrador Retriever dogs. Every Jersey cow has a name, and all descend from an original cow and bull named Daisy and Dandy. The milk is rich, creamy, sweet, and high in fat. All manner of dairy products on the island—from ice cream and yogurt to the “Iron Chef” ingredient that brought me here—are made from it.
“WE DIDN’T INTENTIONALLY SEEK OUT TORTURED COMPARISONS AND EXAGGERATED COMMONALITIES BETWEEN THIS JERSEY WE WERE DISCOVERING AND OUR OWN, BUT AS WE BEGAN TO EXPLORE, WE SOON FOUND SUCH COMPARISONS INEVITABLE. “
The island’s own Jersey Devil
Talking and Tasting
Early the next afternoon, we made our way to La Mare, which is in the northwest of the island. We were welcomed with a big hug from Carla and shared a little bit of New Jersey that we had brought with us: salt water taffy (which they had never heard of) and a scarf emblazoned with cowboys from Cowtown.
After a lovely chat with Tim Crowley, La Mare’s long-time managing director, vineyard manager Andrew Smith took us on a tour of the vines and the beautiful property complete with a breathtaking view of the other nearby Channel Islands. We discussed their focus on sustainable farming and winemaking and exchanged ideas, stories and practices. Several of the grapes they were growing—Pinot Noir, Regent, and Seyval Blanc—were familiar to us and are grown also here in New Jersey. Regent, a red variety, and Seyval Blanc, a white variety, are both hybrid grapes, meaning they are more weather- and disease-resistant and thus can be grown more sustainably. Others, like grapes named Orion and Rondo—also hybrids—were new to us and fascinating to learn about.
Jules and Andrew exchanged ideas about sustainable weed control using cultivation under the rows and cover crops rather than chemicals. Andrew introduced Jules to interesting new ideas for controlling molds and fungi, using sprays of yeasts to eat them. It was especially fascinating to learn about the challenges of being the only winery on an island. We talked about how much the New Jersey grape growers lean on each other for ideas and support, and even share resources—and how difficult it is to face the variabilities of the seasons and issues in the vineyard virtually alone. Grape growing being an international language, Jules and Andrew exchanged emails.
Then, head winemaker Jordi joined us for a Taste of Two Jerseys! We started with a delicious Pet Nat sparkling wine from La Mare, bottled before fermentation is complete to form its bubbles, followed by Auburn Road’s Dry Rosé. This was followed by La Mare’s Sainte Marie, a bright and fruity white blend of Seyval Blanc and Orion, and Auburn Road’s Barrel Reserve Chardonnay. Turning to the reds, we tasted La Mare’s Bailiwick, a vibrant and floral red blend of Pinot Noir, Rondo, and Regent together with Auburn Road’s Eidólon, a velvety red blend of Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Chambourcin, a hybrid that is finding a home here in New Jersey. We finished with a pre-release tasting of their fortified apple cider and our Lavender Vermouth.
Everything was excellent and showed the care and craft of the makers and their dedication to their sense of place. As we tasted and celebrated, we talked about the challenges of trying to stand out and take your place in the wine world, especially when you are sandwiched between two established wine regions—in their case, France and England (which is making world-class sparkling), and for us, New York and Virginia. We agreed that tastings like this one, and partnering to exchange ideas and tell each other’s stories, is a great way to open the world’s eyes.
As we said our goodbyes, we promised to explore ways to continue to work together. A chocolate and wine tasting featuring La Mare artisan chocolate (they have their own gourmet chocolate kitchen!) and Auburn Road wine as a new menu item at our Enoteca, perhaps?
A DAY IN JERSEY
Our friends from La Mare gave us great suggestions on how to spend a day in Jersey:
10:30am – Visit Portelet Bay
Red granite cliffs turn into polished pink and red speckled stones, which soften into pale-pink sandy beaches. Take a swim in the clear blue water and, if the tide is right, scale the granite island at the middle of the bay for a glorious 360-degree view.
Noon – Lunch at Portelet Bay Café
Make your way up the wooden stairs hugging the cliff overlooking the beach for respectable thin and crispy mushroom pizza and a glass of dry rosé.
2pm – Take a self-guided bike tour
Take an e-bike ride (e-bikes are a must on the frequently steep inclines) up manicured gravel bike and walking path number 6, from St. Aubin’s Bay towards Corbiere Lighthouse.
3pm – Tea at Jersey Lavender
Halfway up the path—it being prime afternoon tea time—follow the signs for a quick detour to Jersey Lavender for some lavender tea and a piece of lightly sweet lavender soda bread.
4pm – La Corbière Lighthouse
Get back on the path, and finish the ride to La Corbière Lighthouse, a 150-year-old lighthouse that’s a symbol of the island. If the tide is out, you can walk all the way up to it.
6pm – Drinks at Watersplash
Ride to St. Ouen’s Bay on the west side of the island and visit Watersplash, a youthful and energetic surfer bar that also offers the island’s most Key West-y sunsets.
8pm – Dinner at Muddy Duck
A seafood lover’s dream in St. Aubin. Jules had lobster and prawns pulled earlier that day from the water that surrounded us.
9:30pm – Nightcap at The Salty Dog
Up the street from Muddy Duck, this relaxed bar offers laid back music and a chill vibe.
