American winery located in New Jersey
Unionville Vineyards Location 9 Rocktown Road, Ringoes , NJ , USA Coordinates 40.422590 N, 74.829264 W Appellation Hunterdon County First vines planted 1988 First vintage 1992 Opened to the public 1993 Key people Kris Nielsen & Patricia Galloway (Founders) Lindy Eiref, Robert Wilson (Owners) Cameron Stark (Consulting Winemaker) John Cifelli (General Manager) Conor Quilty (Winemaker)[ 1] [ 2] Acres cultivated 41 Cases/yr 4,500 (2016) Known for Chardonnay wine Varietal Pinot Noir Other attractions Picnicking permitted, pet-friendlyDistribution On-site, wine festivals , NJ farmers' markets NJ liquor stores, NJ restaurants, home shipment Tasting Daily tastings, tours on weekends Website http://www.unionvillevineyards.com/
Unionville Vineyard is a winery in the Unionville section of East Amwell in Hunterdon County , New Jersey .[ 3] [ 4] Originally part of the largest peach orchard in the United States, the vineyard was first planted in 1988, and opened to the public in 1993.[ 5] [ 6] Unionville has 41 acres of grapes under cultivation, and produces 4,500 cases of wine per year.[ 7] The winery is named for a former village near where the farm is located.[ 1] [ 8]
Unionville Vineyards specializes in the use of Burgundy , Rhône , and Alsatian grapes. Wine is produced from Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc , Cabernet Sauvignon , Chambourcin , Counoise , Gewürztraminer , Marsanne , Mourvèdre , Pinot Gris , Pinot Noir , Riesling , Roussanne , Syrah , and Viognier grapes.[ 7] [ 9] It is the only winery in New Jersey that grows and produces wine from Counoise, Marsanne, and Roussanne – vinifera grapes indigenous to the Rhone river valley of France .[ 10] [ 11]
Unionville is best known for its single vineyard Chardonnay wines. At the 2010 International Wine and Spirit Competition , which included both blind tasting and laboratory analysis , Unionville's Chardonnay was the only wine from the United States to win a gold (best in class) medal.[ 12] [ 13] Likewise, their Chardonnay was the highest-scoring wine from New Jersey at the Judgment of Princeton , a wine tasting organized by the American Association of Wine Economists that compared in-state wines to premium French vintages .[ 14] [ 15] The winery is not located in one of New Jersey's three viticultural areas .[ 16]
Licensing and associations [ edit ]
Unionville has a plenary winery license from the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control , which allows it to produce an unrestricted amount of wine, operate up to 15 off-premises sales rooms, and ship up to 12 cases per year to consumers in-state or out-of-state.[ 17] [ 18] The winery is a member of The Winemakers Co-Op , a collection of wineries advocating and promoting fine wines from New Jersey-grown vinifera grapes. Unionville Vineyards is also a member of the Garden State Wine Growers Association and Vintage North Jersey.[ 19] [ 20]
^ a b Colimore, Edward. "Couple Take Root Through The Grapevine Husband And Wife Find Growth, Fulfillment At New Winery" in The Philadelphia Inquirer (28 June 1993). Retrieved 20 September 2013
^ Berger, Debby. "Grape growers save winery: Divine strategy" in The Star-Ledger (07 September 2009). Retrieved 24 May 2013.
^ Corcoran, David. "So Crisp, So Complex, So Unexpected" in The New York Times (17 July 2005). Retrieved 16 April 2013.
^ Westrich, Sal. New Jersey Wine: A Remarkable History. (Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2012). ISBN 9781609491833 .
^ DeVito, Carlo. "Unionville Vineyards Just Keeps Getting Better and Better" on East Coast Wineries (blog) (12 February 2012). Retrieved 2 April 2013.
^ Schmidt, R. Marilyn. Wines and Wineries of New Jersey. (Chatsworth, NJ: Pine Barrens Press, 1999). ISBN 9780937996386 .
^ a b Toms, Charlie. "Unionville Vineyards Review" in American Winery Guide (29 March 2014). Retrieved 11 April 2014.
^ "Unionville Vineyards full of rich history (and wine!)" in The Hunterdon County Democrat (25 July 2010). Retrieved 27 May 2013.
^ Unionville Vineyards. "Unionville Vineyards - Classic & Premium Wine List" Archived January 17, 2013, at the Wayback Machine (commercial website). Retrieved 11 April 2013.
^ Reisch, B.I., et al. "Horizon Grape." New York Food Life Number 96 (1982).
^ Guild of Sommeliers. "Rhone Valley" (4 October 2012). Retrieved 13 August 2013. A review of the wines made by New Jersey's 46 wineries found no other establishment using Counoise, Horizon, Marsanne, or Roussanne grapes.
^ Heyman, Lois. "Unionville captures gold" in The Food Chain (published by The Courier News ) (18 July 2010). Retrieved 23 September 2013.
^ International Wine and Spirit Competition. "Results 2010" and "IWSC History." Archived October 14, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 9 July 2013. Among more than 150 wines from the United States that were tasted, Unionville Vineyards' 2008 Pheasant Hill Chardonnay was the only one to win a "gold (best in class)" medal, the top award possible at the competition.
^ Storchmann, Karl. "The Judgment of Princeton" on The American Association of Wine Economists (academic website) (11 June 2012). Retrieved 9 April 2013.
^ Tanner, Pat. "Jersey Wines Rise to the Occasion" in New Jersey Monthly (16 July 2012). Retrieved 9 July 2013. Unionville Vineyards' 2010 Pheasant Hill Chardonnay placed second among ten white wines, notably outscoring three French wines that were substantially more expensive.
^ Jackson, Bart. Garden State Wineries Guide. (South San Francisco, CA: Wine Appreciation Guild, 2011). ISBN 9781934259573 .
^ New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. "New Jersey ABC list of wineries, breweries, and distilleries " (5 February 2013). Retrieved 24 August 2013.
^ New Jersey General Assembly . "N.J.S.A. 33:1-10" . Statutes of New Jersey . New Jersey.
^ Garden State Wine Growers Association. "GSWGA Wineries." Archived June 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 28 March 2013.
^ Vintage North Jersey. "Participating Wineries on the Vintage North Jersey Wine Trail." Retrieved 28 March 2013.
40°25′21″N 74°49′45″W / 40.422590°N 74.829264°W / 40.422590; -74.829264