South Jersey Wine Tour – 2011

wp_IMG_7933Sept 10, 2011

On September 10, 15 DVC members, 7 MG’s, 1 Volvo, and one dog, gathered at the Heritage Winery in Mullica Hill, NJ for a leisurely tour of a few SJ wineries.  Despite the weatherman’s threats of rain, the day was perfect top down weather.  Participating were Jaimee and Tom Rippert, Louise Story, Sandy and Dick Suffredini, Patti and Pat Cawthorne, Gudren, Wolfgang and Buddy Fisher, Jan and Mark Scherbekow,  Eva and Adam Llnicki, and Cyndi and Ben Nolan.

After an hour or so at the Heritage, a pattern seemed to be emerging – women spending more time at the wine bar and men spending more time near their cars.  Then it was off to the Bellview Winery  for its fall Harvest Party. A $5 fee gave us a glass and the ability to taste wine for as long as we were able. Oddly the men seemed to prefer a mystery beverage they kept in their cars.  We found a spot in the shade and listened to a classic rock band while we ate hot dogs, burgers, or sausage and pepper sandwiches.  Some of the more adventurous ( or crazy)  women participated in a wine stomping activity.  The barrels were much smaller than the one used by Lucy and Ethyl but big enough to accommodate 2 stompers.  Sandy and Jaime shared one barrel and Cyndi and Jan another.  Gudi had a barrel all to herself!  Needless to say one wine stomper’s enthusiasm out shined all the rest.  Guess who!  Jan not only stomped with wild abandon but tasted the grapes as well.

Being avid wine tasters, the women decided to add a 4th winery to the tour. We then followed Ben and Cyndi (who gave directions via a broken CB).  This was particularly difficult for Patty, whose map and directions flew out of the car before the 2nd winery. The route took us over some pleasant South Jersey back roads , thru the small Boro of Elmer, and to the charming Wagonhouse Winery. This was a perfect winery for the men because it had a hammock and patio chairs where they could relax and drink their mystery brew.  How much did they bring???  Inside the women were given tastes of at least 10 different wines!  Needless to say many of us had more than exceeded our limit and still had one winery to go.

The Auburn Road Winery was our last stop and by this time, we were exhausted and sampled only a very few wines. We found the men sitting on the patio under the pergola staring out at the vineyards, mystery drink in hand.  We joined them for a time of reminiscing about past MG trips and adventures. What a  perfect way to  end to a beautiful MG day.  How lucky we all are to have such wonderful  friends!  Safety fast!

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