From Italy to New Jersey: The Unique Journey of the San Marco Grape at Bellview Winery

Welcome to an exciting edition of Winephabet Street! We are exploring the story of the San Marco grape, a unique variety cultivated in the United States by Bellview Winery in New Jersey.

**Meet the Winemakers**

Jim Quarella, the 4th generation owner of Bellview Winery, and his partner Larry Coia, an experienced grape grower, join us to share their journey. Their partnership began in 2000 when they turned Bellview Farms, initially a vegetable farm, into a commercial winery.

**Discovering San Marco**

The San Marco grape has an extraordinary back story. Larry speaks passionately about their trip to Italy, where they met Marco Stefanini, a researcher known for developing grape varieties. They discovered the San Marco variety, an experimental grape resistant to botrytis and suitable for the climate of New Jersey. After rigorous processes, they began cultivating this grape in the U.S., leading to Bellview Winery becoming the first to produce San Marco wine.

**From Italy to New Jersey: Cultivation and Characteristics**

San Marco's journey from Italy to New Jersey involved overcoming quarantine regulations and propagation challenges. Jim shares the delight of growing this grape, describing its oblong berries and resistance to common vine diseases. It's cultivated in sandy loam soils similar to those in Northern Italy's Trentino Alto Adige region.

**The Wine Profile**

San Marco wine showcases an intriguing profile with dark fruit notes, particularly black cherry, and a structure reminiscent of Syrah. It's characterized by its bright acidity and balanced tannins, making it a versatile option for various food pairings. The wine's aging potential is promising, with Larry and Jim optimistic about its development over the next decade.

**Tasting San Marco**

We tasted San Marco's different vintages during the webinar, noting distinct flavor profiles and aromatic differences. The 2021 vintage displays black cherry notes and a deep purple hue, intense and fuller, while the 2022 vintage, which had 10% Merlot, is noted for its herbal and spicy undertones with brighter acidity. Both agree that San Marco is an exceptional wine, suitable for pairing with a wide range of dishes, from pasta and meatloaf to roasted pork and even bean dishes.

**Future of San Marco**

Jim and Larry envision San Marco becoming one of Bellview Winery's signature varietals. They plan to cultivate this variety further to enhance its production and promote its unique qualities. Their dedication to experimenting with new grape varieties ensures they stay at the forefront of viticulture innovation.

**Visit Bellview Winery**

If you're interested in tasting San Marco and exploring more about Bellview Winery, you can visit their website at https://belleviewinery.com or plan a trip to Landisville, New Jersey, located between Philadelphia and Atlantic City. There, you can experience their variety of wines and enjoy the scenic vineyards that Jim and Larry have passionately cultivated.

Cheers to new grape varieties and the innovative winemakers who bring them to our tables!

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Out at the Wineries March 2021

 

This past weekend I ventured out to some area wineries and took advantage of the nice weather.

Wine tasting is a lot different today. Appointments are needed and you need to think out your route and stops. Gone are the tastings where you belly up to the bar and tasted 5-8 1 ounce pours and dump or spit in the dump bucket. But you know what, I like it this way. It is actually more enjoyable. What I did miss is the interaction with the employees over the wine. You know, where they talk to you about the wine, answer your questions and you can see their face light up with enthusiasm when talking about one of their favorite wines.

I know the wineries are doing their best and they have had to adapt and change many times. This is in no way meant to criticize but to show you how tastings have changed and every winery is different. Know the rules set forth at each of your stops. One winery we went to had no time limit, while the other winery had a time limit of an hour and a half. An hour and a half is plenty of time to taste. If you want to camp and picnic make sure the winery allows that.

When making reservations, it’s like making reservations to go to dinner. Make sure you show up or cancel with plenty of notice so the winery can sell that reservation time to someone else. Don’t be surprised if there is a cancellation fee closer to the time of your reservation. Trust me, coming from owning a restaurant, decisions are made based on reservations. If you cancel an hour before your reservation, that time slot could have gone to someone else who was disappointed they couldn’t get in, and they can’t rely on walk-in business. OK - I’ll get off my high horse on that subject.

White Horse Winery

Located in Hammonton, New Jersey our reservation was for 1pm. This winery handles reservations by phone and we reserved a fire pit and there was no time limit.

When we arrived we were greeted by their friendly staff who showed us the tasting menu by the glass. I ordered a glass of the Chambourcin and Jenn ordered a glass of Cabernet Franc. While we ordered another staff member went out and lit our firepit #2 and brought a pitcher of water to the area. All tables and firepits are labeled with a wine bottle with a number on it. I could have sat out there all day, it was so delightful.

A second round was ordered, another Cab Franc for Jenn and a 2017 Merlot Reserve for me. At the end of our time here, I went in to purchase a bottle of the Merlot and noticed people ordering flights. I so wish we were told they had flights because we would have ordered them. All good, we enjoyed our time here.

Bellview Winery

This winery was a 20-minute drive from White Horse and located in Landisville, New Jersey. We made our reservations right off their sight on OpenTable. Beautiful spacious grounds and when making our reservation we had the choice of inside or out. When we got there we notice there were fire pits. Upon checking in there was no check from a reservation system or list. The person behind the counter showed us a menu and said we can do wine by the glass, bottle or get a red or white flight and she would bring it out to us. I did ask some questions about the grapes that were in the rose and the blends, but unfortunately, she didn’t know the answer.

We got to pick any picnic table outside and we chose a picnic table just outside the tasting room. After 15 minutes I went back inside looking for our flights. I got the deer in headlights look. They found our flights sitting on the back bar, the server forgot to take it out to us. I get it, things happen.

This is the first time I’ve been out tasting since Covid. The biggest thing I missed was the conversation about the wines, learning about the blends, the grapes, the process and who is behind the winery. I know every experience is different at every winery. I feel Covid has limited that personal information transfer between employee and customer, perhaps for fear of catching the illness.

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Southpaw Red and White Port Style Wine

On a cold winters day, what a better way to warm up than a glass of port. Southpaw Port to boot, which describes me totally.

Yes I'm a Southpaw.  I'm left handed. I always have to strategically place myself on the proper end of a table when dining so I don't bump arms with the person next to me.  Did you know that 10-13% of the people are left handed. I now have something in common with the winemaker Scott Gares at Old York Cellars as he is left handed too and respectably named the wine accordingly.

The first Port style wine 2012 Southpaw White which was made with 100% Riesling grapes. I have to say, I really love the bottle and the label on this wine.

The wine was picked at 21.5 brix and had an residual sugar of 7%.  I will say, it didn't taste as sweet as you would think.

I paired this with baked Brie with apricot jam and peppadew peppers.  Since I was home alone this was my dinner. Peppadew peppers are sweet and spicy and are products of South Africa.  This paired very well with the white port.

There was some mineral notes on the nose with a hint of apricot.  There was even a subtle hint of petrol. On the palate you can taste some honey with some apple and apricot.   I also tried this wine with a lemon cookie. What I found was it made the port taste brighter.

The red Port style wine is made with 100% Marechal Foch grapes, or Foch as I call it. This is a Ruby style a bit fruit forward.  

It was picked at 22 brix and has 5% residual sugar.  It spent three days on the skins and a short time in oak.

Smokey cherry notes on the nose with some prune. Flavors of cherry, prune and subtle hint of raisin on palate with some candied apricot. 

I pulled out the cookie platter for this tasting. The best pairing on the plate was the dark chocolate peanut butter covered pretzel.  And just so you know, I did not eat everything on that plate.

**Disclaimer- I received the wines as a media sample from the Old York Cellars

Food Trucks and Fire Pits

On our way back from New York on the Saturday after Thanksgiving we stopped at Laurita Winery in New Egypt, New Jersey for Food Trucks & Fire Pits.  This was my first time at this winery and I had no expectations on what to expect.

The grounds were very impressive and huge.  It is clear this winery can accommodate a huge crowd on it's grounds for events.  The picture above is the food truck area that lead to a stage and the tasting room.

The tasting room area was beautiful and huge.  Two levels to taste and enjoy a bottle of wine and be warm.  They do make a variety of wine ranging from dry to sweet and chocolate and strawberry.  The winery is fairly new as they planted in 1998 and they had their first harvest of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in 2003.  Today they produce between 14,000 and 16,000 cases.

After our tasting we purchased a bottle of Cabernet Franc and headed to find a fire pit to hang out at and some food.

Cab Franc & Fried Cheese Curds

There were fire pits all around the property and they supplied the firewood.  We found a nice fire pit to hang out at and met some new friends. Now it was time to make trips to the food trucks.

Chicken Tacos

Chicken Braciole Sandwich

What I didn't like about the event:

• $8 to get into the event and free glass, $7 to do a tasting.  Why not just charge $15 or even $20 for admission, keep the glass and get a free tasting.
• Being served Naked Chardonnay that was flawed with Ethyl Acetate (nail polish remover smell) and not having another bottle opened.

What I liked about the event:

• Part of the admission went to charity. 
• The grounds!  Very impressive and able to hold lots of people and not feel crowded
• Very well organized
• The shuttles to/from parking area ran very frequently
• Great variety of food trucks!
• Overall it was a great event!

The evening ended with fireworks, but unfortunately we didn't stay for them.  We were a bit chilly even though we were sitting by the fire.

Willow Creek Winery Opens in Cape May, NJ

It's not summer, so what am I doing in Cape May, NJ in the middle of winter...looking for a summer house.  Yes, it's going to be my new wine destination soon.  We actually pulled into this winery last Memorial Day weekend to find it closed.  When we were down there a few weeks ago on a house scouting trip we checked it out and it was open.   They opened December 15, 2011 with a soft opening and will have a Grand Opening in May.(You have to have some fun, while house hunting.)

When you first pull up to Willow Creek Winery, you see the picture above.  It's a beautiful house, but it isn't the winery.  You have to drive around to the left and follow the signs.  At some point you think you are really in the wrong place but then it opens up to more vines and a beautiful large winery.

They spared no expense! They have a 50 acre farm in Cape May, NJ.  Their first vines were planted in 2004 and in the past eight years they have planted over 5000 vines and 10 varietals. The varietals planted are Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Corot Noir, Malvasia Bianca, Sangiovese, Alberino, Sauvignon Blanc, Seyval Blanc, Chambourcin and they are planting Malbec this year.

The winery holds two labels Willow Creek and Wilde Cock.  The Willow Creek label is for estate wines and Wilde Cock uses grapes from their farm as well as grapes that are sourced from other places.  Not necessarily New Jersey which I found strange.  Some of their blends for their Wilde Cock label are sourced from Washington State.

Paul and I did a full tasting which was $10 per person.  We began with Malvasia Bianca 2011 and 2010.  The 2011 was aged in 3 year old French oak for 3 months and finished in stainless steel.  It showed flavors of pear, honeysuckle and honey.  The 2010 was aged in 100% stainless steel and it expressed the grapes acidic, mineral and citrus attributes.

The 2011 Sauvignon Blanc was aged in French oak for 7 months.  Personally I don't like my Sauvignon Blanc oaked as I feel it takes away the grapes personality and expression.

There were two Pinot Noirs, 2010 and 2011.  The 2011 spent one year in French Oak.  Flavors of raspberry, tobacco and smoke.  I didn't like the nose on this wine.  The 2010 was much nicer on my palate. This spent 1 1/2 years in French oak, with flavors of raspberry and a hint of black pepper.

We can't forget the 2010 Merlot.  This had a nice nose with dark berry aromas.  The palate bursted with black cherry and plum flavors.

The Bacchus Red is a medium bodied wine and a blend of Merlot, Chambourcin and Cabernet Sauvignon.  I tasted a lot of cherry in this blend.

There was a Rose in the mix.  The Meditrina Rose which was estate blended with 49% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Chambourcin and 1% Merlot.  It had 1.5% residual sugar.  It reminded me of a candied cherry jolly rancher.

On to the Wilde Cock label which the name comes from the owner who is Barbara Wilde, but not sure where the Cock comes into play. Hopefully in the future I will get to have a one on one interview with Barbara.  Onto the Wilde Cock...

We began the flight of Wilde Cock with the Wilde Cock Red.  This was a blend of Merlot from the estate and Shiraz from Washington State. It was thin with notes of black cherry and a tad of black pepper from the Shiraz on the finish.

We then moved onto the Wilde Cock Sweet White.  It's a blend of Riesling and Moscato.  The Moscato is sourced from Washington State.  A bit to sweet for me, but it did have a little fiz going on.  Not sure if it was suppose to be that way or going through a second fermentation in the bottle.

Last selection tasted was their Wilde Cock Southern Sangria. Made with pomegranate and cherry nectar it was actually very nice and had a great nose.

The winery offers an "Adopt a Vine" program where you can adopt a vine for 12 months.  Each month you will receive a private news letter discussing the stage of growth your vine is in and will have the opportunity to  come out each month and care for it.

Looking forward to many more tasting when I am down in that area.

WBW #61 - Hudson Valley Wine Goddess in New Jersey?

As Wine Blogging Wednesday is announced, Lenn Thompson, founder and creator of WBW asked all of us to visit a winery in your neighborhood. Special points with a winemaker or vineyard manager.

Well, I thought, I frequent the wineries in the Hudson Valley and have tasted wines in all the tasting rooms, chatted with winemakers, vineyard managers and owners. Some of my conversations can be found on Hudson Valley Wine TV. How can I make this different and in 3 weeks of which are very busy. A trip to the shore, Labor Day BBQ's, then I worked the Hudson Valley Wine Fest. No time for vineyard hopping.

However, there are two wineries & vineyards located just around the corner from our house in Cape May, New Jersey. Cape May Winery which I have visited in the past and Turdo Vineyards which I always want to stop at, however, when we come back from the beach they are closed. So although my WBW #61 isn't going to take you to a winery in my hometown backyard of the Hudson Valley, it is going to take you to my vacation home backyard, Cape May, New Jersey.
On August 27 I met with Sal Turdo, owner and winemaker of Turdo Vineyards in Cape May, New Jersey. Sal purchased the 5 acres of land in 1998 and planted vines in 1999. It was his retirement plan and dream. Retirement is 3 years away for Sal who during the week is an electrical inspector in North Jersey, but on the weekends you will find him as winemaker in South Jersey. His 5 acres of land is home to 6000 vines which produces 1000 cases annually. Turdo Vineyards is a family affair. Sal, his wife Sarah and son Luca all work in the vineyard and winery.

Sal, born in Sicily, his passion for Italian wines is what you will find planted in his vineyard. Varietals he grows are Nero D'Avola, Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Nebiolo, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Dolcetto, Moscato and Rosato. The Nero D'Acola is one of Italy's most indigenous grapes and he brought the vines from Sicily to plant in his vineyard.
When Sal planted his vineyard back in 1999, he did so by grafting. When you graft, you only lose one growing season as the vines will produce fruit the following year to be used in the production of wine, Sal explained to me. This is much easier than waiting 4 years after planting young vines. Sal told me he had produced Cabernet Franc. It wasn't a big seller in the tasting room, so he pulled those vines, grafted new vines onto the root stock and 1 year later was making wine from those grapes. Sal has an 86% success rate in grafting. Harvesting of the grapes is not done by brix explains Sal. "It's in the seeds. When the seeds are brown, that's when the grapes have the best flavor and are harvested."

Turdo releases their wines in May, by late summer they are sold out of most wines. He does take orders for futures, from the looks of it, it's the way most of his wine is sold.In the tasting room I made some friends; Karen & Matthew Loing and Lynda. I had a wonderful time tasting wines with them and their beautiful baby, who I might add, slept through the entire tasting to wake at the conclusion. Perfect timing!

What we tasted. I should say, what they weren't sold out of. We began with a 2006 and then a 2007 Sauvignon Blanc. I prefered the 2007 Sauvignon Blanc. It had a nice nose of melons and citrus fruit and was nice and crisp. He had two Chardonnays that we tasted. The 2006 Chardonnay was stainless steel fermented, no oak. It was crisp and dry. The 2007 Chardonnay was fermented and aged in French oak for 6 months. This wine had hints of soft oak on nose. It had a very long finish that stayed with you for a while. It was a finish of vanilla and soft spice.

I am not a big Rose fan, but I must say, Sal's 2008 Rosato is quite good. Made from Merlot grapes this wine was dry with a wonderful nose of red berries. Fruity flavors of raspberry, strawberry and hint of watermelon on the taste.

As we wind down the tasting, none of the Italian Reds were available. I did taste the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon which had a wonderful nose of black cherry. This wine was nicely balanced. We ended the tasting with the 2008 Moscato. I must confess, as Sal took me through the vineyard he allowed me to taste the Moscato grape. Not one, but a cluster. I can't begin to describe to you the sweetness of these grapes, and the burst of flavor you get with each of them. Yes, I ate the cluster one at a time. Yum! The Moscato Dessert Wine had a wonderful aromatic nose of peaches and almonds. Yes it was sweet, well balanced, silky and sexy. Sarah brought us over some Lady Fingers to eat with the Moscato and WOW, did the combination really bring out the flavor of the wine.

I would like to thank Sal and Sarah for sharing their time with me. They have a wonderful vineyard and winery! If you find yourself in the Cape May, New Jersey area, do stop by the tasting room. It's not to be missed!