Hopewell Valley Vineyards

Hopewell Valley Vineyards is a winery in Hopewell Township (mailing address is Pennington) in Mercer County, New Jersey.[2][3] The vineyard was first planted in 2001, and opened to the public in 2003.[4] Hopewell Valley has 25 acres of grapes under cultivation, and produces 6,000 cases of wine per year.[1][5] The winery is named for the region where it is located.[6]

This article is about a winery in Mercer County, New Jersey. For the region where winery is located, see Hopewell Valley.
Hopewell Valley Vineyards
Location46 Yard Road, Pennington, New Jersey, USA
Coordinates40.337598 N, 74.810516 W
First vines planted2001
Opened to the public2003
Key peopleSergio & Violetta Neri (owners)[1]
Acres cultivated25
Cases/yr6,000 (2011)
Other productsolive oil, pizza
Other attractionspicnicking permitted
Distributionon-site, wine festivals, NJ farmers' markets, NJ liquor stores, NJ restaurants, home shipment
Tastingtastings daily
Websitehttp://hopewellvalleyvineyards.com/

Wines and other products

Hopewell Valley Vineyards produces wine from Barbera, Brachetto, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chambourcin, Chardonnay, Merlot, Muscat blanc, Pinot gris, Sangiovese, and Vidal blanc grapes.[5][6] Hopewell Valley also sells brick oven pizzas, and makes olive oil from olives grown in Tuscany.[7][8] It is the only winery in New Jersey that produces wine from Brachetto, which is a red vinifera grape indigenous to the Piedmont region of Italy that is often used to make sparkling wines.[9] Hopewell Valley is not located within one of New Jersey's three viticultural areas.[5]

Licensing and associations

Hopewell Valley 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.[10][11] The winery is a member of the Garden State Wine Growers Association.[12]

Controversy and advocacy

Hopewell Valley has had conflicts with municipal authorities regarding the sale of food, and the hosting of events at the winery. The Hopewell Township council expressed concerns that the winery created excessive noise and traffic, and was functioning as an unlicensed restaurant.[13][14] In 2011, the Mercer County Agriculture Development Board and the New Jersey Agriculture Development Committee decided that the winery could sell snack foods (e.g., cheese, pizza) and hold wine festivals, but could not serve meals or host weddings or other catered events without the town's permission.[14][15] Although Hopewell Valley Vineyards is not on preserved farmland, it has advocated changing state law to allow more events to be held by preserved farms.[16]

See also

References
  1. Osenlund, R. Kurt (2010-01-11). "'Happy' times abound at Hopewell Valley Vineyards". The Pennington Post. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
  2. Zernike, Kate (2013-05-02). "From Garden State to Vineyard State". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  3. Westrich, Sal (2012). New Jersey Wine: A Remarkable History. Charleston, SC: The History Press. ISBN 9781609491833. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
  4. Sullivan, Kathy (2007-09-07). "Hopewell Valley Vineyards". Wine Trail Traveler (blog). Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  5. Jackson, Bart (2011). Garden State Wineries Guide. South San Francisco, CA: Wine Appreciation Guild. ISBN 9781934259573.
  6. Hopewell Valley Vineyards (commercial website). "Buy Hopewell Valley Vineyards Wine". Retrieved 2013-06-20.
  7. Tanner, Pat (2010-01-20). "Pizza, Pinot Grigio, and Piano". U.S. 1 Newspaper. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
  8. Genovese, Peter (2008). Food Lovers' Guide to New Jersey. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot. ISBN 9780762747757. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
  9. Kohoutek, Frank (April 2012). "Brachetto". Duluth Superior Magazine. Archived from the original on June 24, 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-20. A review of the wines made by New Jersey's 46 wineries found no other establishment using Brachetto grapes.
  10. New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. "New Jersey ABC list of wineries, breweries, and distilleries" (2013-02-05). Retrieved 2013-08-20.
  11. "New Jersey Statutes — Title 33 Intoxicating Liquors — 33:1–10 Class A licenses; subdivisions; fees". onecle.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-22. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
  12. "GSWGA Wineries". Garden State Wine Growers Association. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
  13. Greene, Abby (2010-08-17). "Hopewell residents complain about vineyard use". The Times of Trenton. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  14. New Jersey Agriculture Development Committee (February 2011). "In the Matter of Hopewell Valley Vineyards, Hopewell Township, Mercer County: Hearing Officer's Findings" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-09-06.
  15. Coryell, Lisa (2011-05-12). "Mercer farm board rules against Hopewell vineyard's quest to host weddings, special events". The Times of Trenton. Retrieved 2013-05-15.
  16. Scully, Tamara (2012-03-15). "Assembly bill criticized by NJFB, other ag industries". American Farm Publications. Retrieved 2013-05-17.

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