On a recent Sunday, I visited the White Horse Winery in Hammonton, NJ. I’ve had their wine twice before, but it had been a couple of years, and I wanted to see how the wines were coming along. The tasting room has a front porch and a back deck, which would be lovely on a warm, sunny day, but given the cool, rainy weather, everyone was inside. There is a giant bar in the center of the room, with tables surrounding it, and food available from their kitchen. A man with a long gray beard was playing guitar and singing soft rock songs. People were eating food (I saw French fries and cheese).

Their wine tasting flight is five 2-ounce pours for $14, which is a good deal. All of their wines are from the Outer Coastal Plain AVA; no grapes imported from the West Coast here.

I started with their 2025 Albariño. The wine is pale yellow in color, with notes of lemon and white flowers on the nose, with the citrus continuing on the palate. The wine had bright acidity and was well-balanced and refreshing. The label on the back recommends pairing it with seafood, poultry, salads, and happy hours. 13.5% ABV; $26.30 a bottle. I ended up buying a bottle of Albariño.

Next, I tried their 2024 Chardonnay (regular, not Barrel Fermented). Light gold in color, with tropical notes (coconut and pineapple) and some green apple, their version of Chardonnay was lacking in acidity and seemed a little flabby to me. 13.5% ABV. This wine came with a screw top, and is their cheapest, at $19.50. Next time, I’ll try the barrel fermented version.

On to the reds. I next tasted their 2021 Chambourcin. Chambourcin is a French-America hybrid grape bred for cold-hardiness and disease resistance, that grows well in NJ. Ruby in color, with blueberry, pomegranate, and cranberry notes on the nose, continuing on the palate, and joined by baking spices. This is a great Thanksgiving Day wine. This is bottled in a pinot noir/Burgundy bottle, perhaps due to the medium body and lighter tannins. 12.2% ABV; $20.50 a bottle. I took a bottle of Chambourcin home also.  

Next up was the Estate Reserve Cabernet Franc. This wine is made from 100% estate-grown grapes (not bought from other growers in the Outer Coastal Plain AVA). Garnet in color, with dark red fruit aromas, plum, sour cherry, white pepper, and oak on the nose, and dark red fruit and sour cherry continuing on the palate. Only 12.5% ABV; $42.50 a bottle.

Finally, I tasted their version of Coeur d’Est (several wineries in the Outer Coastal Plain make a Coeur d’Est to showcase NJ grapes). Their version contained a blend of Chambourcin, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc, and was aged in French and American Oak. The bottle was newly opened, and could have used a few hours of decanting to smooth out the tight tannins, but it developed well in the glass. 12.3% ABV; $38.50 a bottle.

I definitely recommend a trip to White Horse Winery. Their winemaking team, comprised of viticulturist Edward Sparks, from Bordeaux, France and winemaker Seferino Cotzojay, of Guatemala, is doing great things with NJ grapes. Their label art, featuring a white horse against a starry sky, was created by Jamie Wyeth, the third generation of Wyeth family painters, from Chadds Ford.