Ventimiglia Vineyards Keeps It in the Family in Sussex County
Ventimiglia Vineyard (101 Layton Rd, Wantage, NJ), a small family owned and operated winery. The winery is named after the family that owns it who started their own vineyard after retirement. Gene and Anne Ventimiglia are the owners of the vineyard and their son Anthony is their full-time winemaker. The vineyard was first planted in 2002, and opened to the public in 2008.
The winery advocates artisanal winemaking techniques, and produces its wines in small batches and then ages them in oak barrels. Ventimiglia has 5 acres of grapes under cultivation, and produces 1,000 cases of wine per year.
The vineyard is very secluded and there’s a good chance you will lose your cell phone service! When you arrive you will see their tasting room as well as a beautiful exterior set out by the vines.
They have about 15 wines for purchase, and most of them are available for tastings. They do not sell wine by the glass, so if you like what you taste me sure to purchase one of their bottles that start at $13. Tastings are run only on the weekends from 12pm to 5pm.
Wines you can find at Ventimiglia Vineyards include classic whites, reds, and a rose. All of their wines are on the dryer side, with the exception of their High Point White, a sweet wine.
I did their basic tasting which included five tastings. I was a big fan of their Wantage White, a subtle spicy wine with hints of apricot. I was such a fan that I ended up taking a bottle home.
I also tried their Rose, a tart wine with notes of cherry and violet.
I finished my tasting with three of their red wines; the Rocky Ridge Red which is a fruity wine perfect for sangria, the Marquette a medium bodied wine with spice and dark fruit, and lastly the Fratelli Ventimiglia a medfium bodied wine with hints of smoky raspberries.
Despite the rainy weather outside, our trip to the vineyard really brightened up my day!
Find out more about Ventimiglia Vineyards on their Facebook page.
For more information on New Jersey Vineyards, click HERE.
