New Jersey, the fifth-largest wine-producing state in the country, has been making wine since 1864. While perhaps not as well known as other wine-producing states, New Jersey is home to many premier varieties. Award-winning chardonnay, syrah, marechal foch, viognier, traminette, merlot, cabernet, and dozens of others are produced in the state. Particularly unique to New Jersey wineries is an array of fruit wines, such as raspberry, cherry, and blueberry, which are exported all over the world. Because of the climate and conditions of the state, New Jersey wines are most often compared by viticulturists and enologists to the wines of France and Italy. From Cape May County up to the northernmost tip of Sussex County, New Jersey wineries offer more than 200 varieties of wine.
Jennifer Papale Rignani worked with the Garden State Wine Growers for a season and quickly learned that beneath the vines were many untold stories. She is a magazine writer and news reporter who has written for many publications.