5/15/02 By JANE PRIMERANO
In 1982, no one had grown wine grapes in Warren County.
Italian grandfathers and college-aged alchemists made wine here and there, but large-scale cultivation wasn’t considered by serious-minded vintners.
Until Rudi Marchese came back from California, that is.
A New Jersey native, Marchese had been working in the California wine industry for four years. He kept thinking the climate in the northern part of New Jersey more closely resembled that of the wine growing regions of Europe than did the Mediterranean climate of the California wine country.
The farm that is now Alba Vineyards went through what has become a normal progression in New Jersey. Originally a dairyman, as the farmer grew older he brought in beef cattle. Instead of stopping there, or being sold out to a developer, the farm achieved new life as a winery. The Pohatcong Township property is 80 acres. Marchese cultivated 25 at first
“Some worked, some didn’t,” he said after a stroll halfway up the vineyard slopes. “We tried what we thought would work. Rutgers had no program at the time” he explained, although in recent years the Cooperative Extension has had a fruit specialist.
Even though that position may not be filled in light of the state budget crunch, Marchese is happy with the continued cooperation of the Extension: “They’re still 100 percent behind the wineries,” he said. “They’re making it work within the budget constraints.” Marchese’s business partner, Tom Shanko is the president of the Garden State Wine Growers Association this year and has met with the new Agriculture Secretary Charles Kuperus. The partners are optimistic about his commitment, Marchese said.
But without that support, trial and error prevailed. His hunch about the climate proved true, as is illustrated by the constant southwest breeze that strikes the vines as it passes over the Delaware River from Pennsylvania. “The breeze is the critical aspect of this site,” he explained as the wind picked up and ruffled his graying hair. The vines follow a slope that is the southern terminus of the Upland Valley. Across the nearby Musconetcong River lie Hunterdon County and the Piedmont.
“We’re right at a bend in the valley,” Marchese said. “It’s always breezy. The fruit doesn’t get too hot,” even in the Bermuda High of this April. Even the drought hasn’t taken a toll yet. The area expects four inches of rain a month, but “grapes are tough,” Marchese said, and can get by with two and one-half to three. When it’s dry, there is less risk from fungal disease. Marchese and his crew planted about 5,000 vines this year. They planted on 12 acres and cleared another 12. Around 50 acres is fenced.
Alba’s biggest problem is not unique to vineyards: the insatiable appetites of the area’s huge deer population. The deer fence has worked so far. “We got a couple trapped inside,” he admitted, noting they will know this summer how effective their deer deterrent is.
Grapes that appear to be successful at Alba include pinot noir, the pinto blanc “Cayuga” developed by Cornell University, vidal blanc chardonney, cabernet franc, marechel foch and chambourcin, Marchese recently planted cabernet sauvignon on a nearby field.
This southern tip of Warren County, which is actually south of Clinton in Hunterdon County, contains the southernmost limestone soil. Across the river, the soil becomes more sandy.
Down the hill from the vines is a 200-year-old stone building that serves as the bottling, storage, retail store, office and much more of this small operation. “This was a wreck in 1982,” Marchese commented as he led a tour.
Now the retail shop is lined with bottles and includes a tasting bar designed and built by Sharko. One wall holds honey, spreads and some clever t-shirts to augment the wine business. A large central room serves as a gallery with a local artist featured every other month. Wine tastings are also held there and corporations like the space for receptions and meetings best held away from the office.
The barrel room, bottling room and storage facilities are cramped, but a new pole barn will ease the space crunch. The bottling room features an automated bottling machine enabling the winery to bottle 400 to 500 cases a day and freeing up a lot of labor, critical in a business with only seven employees. Alba bottles 10,000 cases a year, or about 24,000 gallons — tiny compared to many wineries.
A new office above the tasting room will alleviate paperwork at the tables in the gallery, Marchese said with a laugh.
An early 20th Century post and beam barn will be reassembled on the farm as well, he added. The downstairs space can be used for barrel storage and the upstairs used as a meeting room and for concerts or other events.
Marchese was the winemaker at the start of the operation. Now John Altmaier has taken over those duties since Marchese is spending eight to 15 days a month in Oregon overseeing a winery there. He is enjoying the contrasts and sharing information between the two operations.
When Alba started, there were seven wineries in the state, limited to one per one million in population. After the passage of the farm winery act, 11 new wineries could open and more are coming. “All of a sudden, we got critical mass,” Marchese said. “We’re not an oddity anymore.”
People enjoy New Jersey wine, he noted. The temperate climate creates a certain flavor that has appeal. Its local nature is emphasized in a number of ways, including labels that feature the red mill in Clinton, a mill at Waterloo and Barnegat sneakboxes, unique Jersey shore boats.
Flavored wines are also a New Jersey phenomenon. “Before Prohibition, people drank more apples than they ate,” Marchese said.
He makes an apple wine as well as raspberry and New Jersey blueberry.
“We’re not like Europe, but there is a heritage here,” he said, noting a hybrid grape was developed in Flemington. Alba sells retail and has five outlets around the state.
The wine is also served in restaurants.
Its popularity has moved far beyond its little corner at the southern tip of Warren County.