Last month, I attended an American Wine Society Dinner, where the theme was, “I RED that NJ Has Good Wine.” We tasted 10 red wines produced in New Jersey, with the caveat that the fruit also had to be grown in New Jersey (some wineries make wine from fruit grown outside of New Jersey). Missing from the lineup were well-known favorites such as Alba, Amalthea, and Heritage. The following three were my favorites from the lineup we had.

My third highest rated wine was the 2019 Autumn Lake Blaufrankisch. As you may remember, I’m a big fan of this grape grown widely in Austria and Germany, which I’ve described as a spicier version of Pinot Noir. Autumn Lake’s version had white pepper notes with red cherry, and nice acidity.

In January, this wine took home a silver medal from the 2022 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, the largest competition of American wines in the world. Unfortunately, I have not found this wine for sale in a wine store. Fortunately, Autumn Lake Winery is only a half-hour away, in Williamstown, NJ. They have a lovely tasting room, often with live music and a food truck. A bottle of this award-winner is $30.

My second highest rated wine was the 2017 Plagido Coeur d’Est. Coeur d’Est is a red blend produced by several New Jersey Wineries in the Outer Coastal Plain, our local AVA (American Viticultural Area). Plagido Winery is located in Hammonton, NJ. Several South Jersey wineries make a version of this wine, using only Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Chambourcin, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon grown in the Outer Coastal Plain AVA.

Plagido’s version is composed of 40% Cabernet Franc, 40% Chambourcin, and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. Their 2015 Coeur d’Est drew a gold medal at various international wine competitions. Dark ruby in color, with aromas of cherry, raspberry, black tea, and leather, leading into cherry, leather and black tea on the palate, with chocolate and mineral on the finish. This wine would pair well with steak. $29 at the winery.

My highest rated wine of the evening was the 2016 Beneduce Cabernet Franc. Beneduce Winery is located in Hunterdon County, NJ. Cabernet Franc is usually used in a Bordeaux blend, rather than straight up. The Loire Valley is well known for its single varietal cabernet franc wines. This Jersey version was very impressive. It didn’t have the earthy aftertaste that is often a dead giveaway for East Coast cabernet franc for me, which was a plus.           

Beneduce’s cabernet franc had bright cherries on the nose, with a complex palate of cherry, spices, and smokey black pepper. The wine is well-balanced, with fresh acidity, making it pair well with duck or roasted meat. This wine garnered several gold medals in various tastings, but I don’t see that they have any current vintages available. Hopefully, they will be releasing more soon. 

I was pleasantly surprised with the red wines that New Jersey wineries are putting out, and I’m impressed that they are winning medals, both nationally and internationally. I think a couple road trips to these wineries are in order!