Mount Salem Vineyards
Location54 Mount Salem Road, Pittstown, NJ, USA
Coordinates40.592454 N, 74.988501 W
First vines planted2005
Opened to the public2010
Key peoplePeter Leitner (owner)[1]
Acres cultivated7
Cases/yr1,000 (2014)
DistributionOn-site, subscription
TastingTastings on weekends and by appointment
Websitehttp://www.mountsalemvineyards.com/

Mount Salem Vineyards is a boutique winery in the Pittstown section of Alexandria Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States.[2] Formerly a produce, grain, and dairy farm, the vineyard was first planted in 2005, and opened to the public in 2010.[3][4] Peter Leiter, the proprietor of Mount Salem, founded the Appalachian Highlands Vinifera Society, whose mission is to enhance the quality of wine grape growing and winemaking in Northern New Jersey. Mount Salem has 7 acres of grapes under cultivation, and produces 1,000 cases of wine per year.[4][5] The winery is located at over 600 feet above sea level on Mount Salem, the mountain for which the farm is named.[1][6]

Wines

Mount Salem Vineyards specializes in the use of Austrian and Northern Italian grapes.[4][7] Wine is produced from Albariño, Barbera, Blaufränkisch (Lemberger), Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Grüner Veltliner, Merlot, Riesling, St. Laurent, Traminette, Viognier, and Zweigelt grapes. It is the only winery in New Jersey that produces wine from St. Laurent, which is a vinifera grape indigenous to Austria.[5] Mount Salem is not located in one of New Jersey's three viticultural areas.[8]

A red barn displaying the flags of Austria, Hungary, New Jersey, and the United States, with snow on the ground and a car in front.
Mount Salem's tasting room is in 200-year-old structure that once served as a barn.

Advocacy, licensing and associations

Mount Salem advocates Burgundian winemaking practices, including a strong emphasis on terroir, and the use of high-quality fruit and labor-intensive farming practices to produce premium wines.[9] Mount Salem has a farm winery license from the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, which allows it to produce up to 50,000 gallons of wine per year, operate up to 15 off-premises sales rooms, and ship up to 12 cases per year to consumers in-state or out-of-state.[10][11] The winery is not a member of the Garden State Wine Growers Association, but is a member of the Outer Coastal Plain Vineyard Association.[12][13]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Pigott, Stuart and Justin Christoph. "New York Riesling Diary: Day 25 – New Jersey, the Ultimate Wrong Wine Region" on Stuart Pigott Riesling Global (blog) (21 December 2012). Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  2. ^ Westrich, Sal. New Jersey Wine: A Remarkable History. (Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2012). ISBN 9781609491833.
  3. ^ Cooper, Warren. "Restored barn in Alexandria Township is rededicated; awarded pewter plaque" in The Hunterdon County Democrat (11 December 2010). Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  4. ^ a b c Warr, Al. "Hunterdon is wine country: Grow it, make it, drink it" in The Hunterdon County Democrat (19 February 2012). Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  5. ^ a b Toms, Charlie. "Mount Salem Vineyards Review" in American Winery Guide (11 February 2014). Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  6. ^ Mount Salem Vineyards. "Mount Salem Vineyards: About" (commercial website). Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  7. ^ Teague, Lettie. "Garden State of Wine" Archived 2013-03-14 at the Wayback Machine in The Wall Street Journal (archived website) (7 February 2013). Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  8. ^ Jackson, Bart. Garden State Wineries Guide. (South San Francisco, CA: Wine Appreciation Guild, 2011). ISBN 9781934259573. Geographic descriptions of the Central Delaware Valley, Outer Coastal Plain, and Warren Hills AVAs exclude Mount Salem Vineyards.
  9. ^ Leitner, Peter. "Business Assessment of the Emerging NJ Wine Market" (presentation) at The Outer Coastal Plain Vineyard Association Symposium. Snyder Research Farm, Pittstown, NJ. 9 April 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  10. ^ New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. "New Jersey ABC list of wineries, breweries, and distilleries" (5 February 2013). Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  11. ^ New Jersey General Assembly. "N.J.S.A. 33:1-10". Statutes of New Jersey. New Jersey.
  12. ^ Garden State Wine Growers Association. "GSWGA Wineries." Archived 2013-06-21 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  13. ^ Outer Coastal Plain Vineyard Association. "Outer Coastal Plain Vineyards." Retrieved 8 September 2013.

External links

40°35′33″N 74°59′19″W / 40.592454°N 74.988501°W / 40.592454; -74.988501

New Jersey Wineries, Breweries, and Distilleries
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