We love it when people try our wines, and can't believe that they are from grapes grown on our vineyard.  They'll insist that serious wine cannot be made in NJ.  Then they try our gold medal Cabernet Franc, and their thoughts run to great St. Emilion, Pomerol, and Napa.  As a consumer, I'm confused . . .  this can't be from NJ . . .  ripe, round, spicy, with a hint of bing cherry in the mid-palate.  This is exciting, and its growing in our own backyard.

Wine grapes can be grown in a great variety of locations; although not all grapes can be grown in all locations.  France is cool, California is hot, Italy is somewhere in between.  In the end, the most import thing besides sun, heat, and hang-time is an unrelenting drive for perfectly ripened grapes.  Its not always the sugar, its not always the acid, its the combination of the two that we look to achieve at Silver Decoy.

There are challenges to the winemaker in any climate.  In a hot climate, the fruit can ripen at a break-neck pace.  And if it reaches the desired sugar levels (brix) too quickly, the pits could be green and bitter, which could result in off (vegetal) flavors in the wine.  Allowing the grapes to hang longer would allow the pits to soften, but that could cause a loss of acidity, resulting in a flabby wine. 

In climates like ours, where our summers are long but not overly hot, and our autumns have warm days with cool nights, waiting for the grapes to reach the desired brix levels is the name of the game.  We rely on exacting vineyard management practices to help us get the desired balance of ripeness and acidity.   Beginning in February, we prune the vines, hand selecting the buds that will be allowed to develop and produce fruit.  All summer, we prune back excess growth to direct the plant's energy to the developing fruit.  We hand-trim leaves to expose the grapes to sun, while maintaining enough foliage to allow the plant to photosynthesize.  And we limit the amount of fruit that a vine can produce, to ensure that the remaining fruit will have the full concentrated flavors that we look for in our wines.  Then there's the white-knuckle times in autumn when we let the grapes hang to achieve the perfect ripeness, even as autumn rains and early frost threaten the crop.

NJ has been producing wines since the colonial days.  Legislation introduced post-prohibition restricted the wine industry in the state, but recent changes have allowed for greater growth in our industry.  The Garden State is currently ranked 5th in the nation in terms of wine production, and our gallonage continues to grow.  The past few years have seen many new wineries open their doors in NJ.  With more wineries, we've got more experience within the state, and more resources helping the industry.  These are big factors in making NJ wines better than ever.

Silver Decoy, for its part, is dedicated to forever eradicating the question, "Wine from NJ?".

 © 2007 Parker Consulting LLC.  All Rights Reserved.