Who Said New Jersey Can’t Be Classy?

Who said New Jersey can't be classy? In a recent "Judgement of Princeton" wine competition, wines from our own backyard placed extremely well coming very close to some of the best wines from France. A panel of nine judges that consisted of vineyard owners and international wine critiques voted the New Jersey wines 2nd through 4th in this competition.

This took place at the recent American Association of Wine Economists (AAWE) conference at Princeton University. Orley C. Ashenfelter is the president of the AAWE and his opinion of this competition was that "the results hardly tell the whole story. The judging was so close that, statistically, there were virtually no significant differences in the rankings. Therefore, if the competition were held again, there is a high probability the rankings would change due to how close the wines were judged."

Below is a list of the wines in the competition:

WHITES
1. Joesph Drouhin Beaune Clos Mouches 2009 FRA
2. Unionville Chardonnay 2010 NJ
3. Heritage Chardonnay 2010 NJ
4. Silver Decoy "Black Feather" Chardonnay NJ
5. Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet FRA
6. tied Bellveiw Chardonnay 2010 NJ
6. tied Domaine Macr-Antonin Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2009 FRA
8. Amalthea Cellars Chardonnay 2008 NJ
9. Ventimiglia Chardonnay 2010 NJ
10. Jean Latour-Labille Meursault-Charmes Premier Cru 2008 FRA

RED
1. Chateau Mouton-Rothschild 2004 FRA
2. Chateau Haut-Brion 2004 FRA
3. Heritage Estate Reserve BDX 2010 NJ
4. Chateau Montrose 2004 FRA
5. Tomasello Cabernet Sauvignon "Oak Reserve" 2007 NJ
6. Chateau Leoville Las Cases 2004 FRA
7. Bellview Lumiere 2010 NJ
8. Silver Decoy Cabernet Franc 2008 NJ
9. Amalthea Cellars Europa VI 2008 NJ
10. Four JG's Cabernet Franc 2008 NJ

ARTICLE