PRINCETON, NJ Restaurant Dining Guide Announcement

Alba Vineyards Named New Jersey Winery 2009

HAMILTON SQUARE, NJ—The Garden State Wine Growers Association today announced the winners of the 2009 annual wine competition for wines made in New Jersey, the fifth largest producer of wine in the nation. New Jerseyans statistically drink more wine than any other state in the Union.

The Winery of the Year Award went to Alba Vineyards of Finesville, New Jersey, the first time a winery has won the title in two consecutive years. Alba also received a gold rating for six of the 17 wines it submitted for awards, another first for the competition.

The wines are rated by wine industry experts using the 20-point University of California/ Davis system using clarity, color, bouquet, acidity, sweetness, body, flavor, bitterness, astringency and overall quality as criteria. The judging was led by Dr. Gary Pavlis, PhD of Rutgers University, a wine and small fruit expert who has been supervising the judging for 19 years.

Along with silver ratings for six wines and bronze ratings for two, Alba also received an award for Best Vinifera for its 2007 Barrel Reserve Chardonnay and Best Fruit Wine for its non-vintage raspberry wine, both of which received gold ratings.

Several other wineries also took awards in the annual competition. They include:

Plagido’s Winery won a gold rating and the Governor’s Cup for fruit wine with a Cranberry Wine produced at its Hammonton winery. Plagido’s also won a gold rating for its Cabernet Franc (Oak), continuing a tradition of winning gold and silver medals in previous competitions with this varietal which can be fruitier than a Cabernet Sauvignon and lighter in both color and tannins.

Hopewell Valley Vineyards of Pennington won the Governor’s Cup as well as awards for Best Hybrid and Best Estate wines for its 2006 chambourcin. a deep-colored red wine with a full aromatic flavour, that has become a favorite of wine growers in the mid-Atlantic region. Hopewell also won the award for best sparkling wine with its 2007 Spumante Secco, made from prosecco, a crisp white wine.

Bellview Winery of Landisville won the Governor’s Cup and the Best Dessert wine awards for its 2007 Cristallina, an after dinner wine with aromas of pineapple and honeysuckle.

Renault Winery of Egg Harbor won the award for Best American Wine, winning for its 2006 Cynthiana, also known as Norton, a rich, full bodied wine and the oldest native North American varietal in commercial cultivation today.

Several other vineyards also received gold ratings for their wines. They include Westfall Winery for its Rhone Blend and its Vino Rossa, Auburn Road Vineyard’s 2007 Classico, a rich, full bodied red wine, Coda Rossa Winery’s 2006 Sangiovese, Cream Ridge Winery’s black current wine, DiMatteo Vineyards' strawberry wine, Heritage Vineyards of Mullica Hill's 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Turdo Vineyards' 2007 Barbera, an Italian wine grape variety known for deep color, low tannins and high levels of acid.

Other wineries awarded gold ratings include Unionville Winery for its “Big O,” a cab franc, cab sauvignon blend, dense and chewy with great balance between acid and fruit flavors, Ventimiglia Vineyards for its 2007 chambourcin and Westfall Wineries for its 2007 Rhone Blend and its 2007 Vino Rossa.

Otther Alba wines that earned other gold ratings include a 2008 Gewurtraminer, a 2006 Chambourcin, a 2007 dry Riesling which also won best of best of class at the prestigious San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition this year, and Alba’s Mainsyl White, a non-vintage, vidal-cayuga blend and Alba’s Dolcina, an ice wine style dessert wine made from fruit hand-harvested at the very end of the growing season.