When March rolls around, I start watching for signs of spring.
I keep my eye on No Frills Farm on Seashore Road to see when the new plantings will be available to buy. I run by Rea’s Farm at Stevens and Bayshore roads to see if they’re plowing up the fields yet. And I keep a close eye on our local vineyards. I pass the Isaac Smith Vineyard, also on Seashore Rd., Turdo Vineyards on Jonathon Hoffman Rd. and Cape May Winery, on Townbank Rd. just about everyday. I watch to see if the green buds have come out on the vines yet or if the owners and their workers are out in the fields pruning.

 Before I know it, it’s summer and the vines are lush and green. Then, I start wondering what will be the banner crop this year? Will it be a white or a red, a Riesling or a Merlot? It could be a Pinot Grigio or a Syrah. Here’s what I do know, I’d better not waste too much time once the wines have been bottled and put on the shelves because the quantities are limited – that’s the beauty and drawback of starting a vineyard and winery from scratch.

 And now, I can add a new vineyard to my watch. On Stevens Rd. just off Bayshore Rd, Willow Creek Winery has started a new vineyard. Actually, the first plantings began three years ago but they are not visible from the road. Last spring’s row of grape plants, however, are very much visible. The owner, Barbara Bray Wilde has 50 acres of land and that’s a lot of grapes.

 All four vineyards and wineries started from scratch. As anyone has ever baked a cake knows, starting from scratch is not for everybody and starting a vineyard and winery from scratch takes a special person – and a very patient person. How do we know this? We asked, of course.

 Toby Craig owns both Cape Winery on Townbank Road and the Isaac Smith Vineyard on Seashore Road. He started the Isaac Smith Vineyard in 2002 but purchased Cape Winery from owner Bill Hayes a couple of years ago. Hayes started the vineyard trend back in the 1990s when he first began planting a variety of grapes on his 10-acre property. He opened as a commercial winery in 1995. Hayes was ready to retire by 2003 and Craig was ready to purchase a more mature vineyard. It was right at that time he brought winemaker Darren Hesington into the mix. (Ha ha all puns intended)

 This agricultural trend in Cape May is being replicated throughout the state. In 1987, there were 12 wineries in the state. Now there are 30 active wineries with about 10 more up and coming.

 Hesignton said Cape May’s climate can be ideal (when it’s not too rainy and wet) for grape growing. He came down from Unionville, NJ in Hunterdon County in the middle of the state. “I gained eights weeks of growing time moving down here,” he said of Cape May’s climate. This is a huge difference when it comes to harvesting certain grapes, particularly reds which need a longer growing season.

 Toby Craig is also the owner of the Washington Inn which established itself early on as having one of the finest wine cellars in the state. Once his two sons, David and Michael, began assuming much of the responsibility for the restaurants (they also owned the Pelican Club on Beach Ave. and are about to open Lucky Bones at the base of the Schellenger Landing Bridge, across from the Lobster House), it was a natural transition for this wine connoisseur to think about growing his own grapes. At first, he said, “It was more of a hobby. Then I realized I don’t need hobbies.” And he began thinking about winemaking as a business.

 Grapes from the Isaac Smith Vineyard are harvested and bottled at Cape May Winery. The grounds on the Seashore Rd. property are used for outdoor weddings as wells as for the vineyards.

 Hesington says anyone wanting to commercially produce wine must realize that the operation is requires a “10-12 year plan.” Buying Cape Winery, then, cut that time in half. “But,” said Hesington, “we’re still in the growing stages. We’re still buying equipment. We still have 2-3 years more before we have what we think we need” to produce the finest wine possible. Owning a vineyard and winery, he said, “is not a cheap operation. And it’s not for the impatient.”

 Or as Toby Craig puts it, “It’s tough if you’re A.D.D. (Attention Deficit Disorder).”

 As Barbara Bray Wilde is already finding out. Barbara, who also owns the Southern Mansion Hotel on Washington Street, purchased Willow Creek in 1998. Willow Creek has been a farm since its inception in the 1800s when it was referred to as The Plantation. The owner J. Elias Rutherford grew vegetables at The Plantation and used them in the kitchen to feed guests of his hotel. Since the price of one’s meals was included in the stay at the hotel, farmer Rutherford saved a great deal of money by raising his own vegetables. In fact, when a wedding party was booked at the hotel, Rutherford would rustle the guests into a horse and carriage and take them over to the farm where they could have their fill of melons, thus saving a substantial amount of money on the food bill at the hotel. ‘Cause as we all know, melons are a whole lot cheaper than meat.

 Barbara bought Willow Creek with the idea of making it a vineyard thus, “keeping it green yet paying the bills. The land is so valuable, you have to figure out how best to pay the bills” and stave off developers.

 Design and quality of vines has been foremost in her conception. “We live in a tourist town. You want (the property) to be beautiful for your neighbors as well as for the tourists,” she said. Everything, including the choice of wooden posts instead of concrete is done with the idea of a visual experience and one duplicating that of vineyards of old. A large villa-style wine tasting facility is planned. The design of this 9,500 square-foot villa also takes into consideration the large estate and the importance of aesthetics in making the winery a beautiful experience and one which you want to tell your friends about.

 And yes, Barbara agrees it is all “very time consuming. Everything has to be laid out, surveyed and staked.” She personally helps landscape designer Lance Williams of Link Enterprises position the stakes into the ground to determine the distance between rows – again insuring healthy growth of the plants and aesthetic appeal of the grounds.

 Choice of grapes is another consideration. Before anything is planted the soil must be tested to determine the best use of the land. Once the grapes are planted, their roots need to be carefully nurtured for at least the first three years. Much of the winemaker’s time and resources goes into research and development – in other words the best way to turn a good grape into a great wine.

 “After a while,” Barbara said, “You take everything with a grain of salt and know that you must be flexible.”

 The Isaac Smith Vineyard is finally looking forward to its first year of full production – thus far, their Merlot has yielded the best wine from that vineyard. The Pinot Grigio and Syrah are also coming along well.

 “Every year,” winemaker Darren Hesignton said, “we get better and better and are producing more varieties of wine. But we’re still small.” Wine barrels are currently full and remain so for at least 12 months. Next year, when the new grapes are being harvested, the current barrels will be ready to be bottled. It’s a slow process but a necessary one in order to yield the best wine – the next problem, of the 14 wines Cape Winery bottled for last year, only five varieties are left in stock.  “As our vineyards mature,” said Hesington, “we’ll be able to produce more wine and keep up with the demand.”

 Just around the corner on Jonathon Hoffman Road, Turdo Vineyards, owned and operated by Sara and Salvatore Turdo, cleared 4.5 acres of land in 1999 and harvested their first crop in 2002. Their wines have already won awards at the New Jersey Wine Competition and they added a tasting room a couple of years ago. Many of their wines are served in Cape May restaurants. Sal’s father grew grapes and made wine back in his native Italy. Sale remembers those days and wanted to bring the same tradition to America.

 So as you drive along our highways and byways this spring and throughout the summer and fall, remember that Cape May has not lost its long tradition of farming. It has, to the contrary, evolved into a business both true to our agricultural heritage and our tourist roots as well. Anyone standing out on the deck of Cape Winery’s reception area and looking over the lush green rows of vineyards can see that Cape May has a lot more to offer than just beaches and ocean although
beaches and ocean are nothing to sneeze at – the climate makes for a mighty fine wine.