Amalthea: Drinking up a Legends’ Story
Historically, the French have been credited with the idea that a finished wine is the work of nature and not the vigneron or “grape grower.” Moreover, for centuries, haughty wine drinkers have asserted that nature’s influence of the sun, wind, rain, and soil permit only specific places of origin to produce the best expressions of the world’s most beloved wines, among them, Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux blends. But while professional sommeliers, certified wine educators, and wine buyers outwardly praise the more expensive expressions of Cabernet produced by famed wineries, the reality is that when faced with the opportunity to rate wines from the Medoc against wines from New Jersey’s Outer Coastal Plain AVA, these same wine professionals will almost unanimously award top honors to a Cabernet from none other than Atco, New Jersey. As the story goes, in nine blind tastings hosted by George Taber, famed wine expert and former reporter and editor with Time, again and again, the best wines of France and Napa were either bested or tied, by a legendary winery known as Amalthea Cellars.
…in nine blind tastings hosted by George Taber, famed wine expert and former reporter and editor with Time, again and again, the best wines of France and Napa were either bested or tied, by a legendary winery known as Amalthea Cellars.
If this surprises you, it shouldn’t. As far back as our nation’s founding, it’s been documented that There are wines adapted to every country, to every region, from 50 degrees both North and South latitude
down to Equator… Plus, as historian Sal Westrich has written, Bordeaux and parts of New Jersey share not only similar geological, meteorological, and climactic conditions, they are also similar in length, having the same gradual expression to the ocean and oblique orientation. (The only exception: The Delaware Bay takes a southeasterly direction, while the Gironde points Northwest.) Seemingly, New Jerseyans have the raw materials needed to produce premiere wines.
At least one New Jerseyan does. A trained chef and former consultant at prominent wineries in Napa and France, including the famed Chateau Margaux, the founder of Amalthea Cellars, Louis Caracciolo, considers winemaking a high art. With the right tools (grapes and oak barrels) and time commitment, he’s proven that place of origin is no barrier to placing in competitions ahead of wines from world-renowned areas. Amalthea wines consistently sweep blind tastings and winning Governor’s Cups.
Vintage after vintage, Caracciolo’s easy partnership with nature has paid off, attracting attention from those who care deeply about wine promotion and viability in the Garden State, especially, including New Jersey State Senator, Jim Beach. Referring to Caracciolo’s extensive wine catalog, Senator Beach avers, “Most wineries have a signature wine that’s good, but all of his wines are good.”
In the 1980s, while others in the region fell into the sweet wine craze or adapted unnecessary, high-tech mechanizations, Caracciolo selected grapes that could rival any in the world, creating his own brand of first-growth worthy wines. Since the beginning, Caracciolo had the audacity to believe that his and other wineries in the Garden State could produce serious and sophisticated wines, with minimal intervention. This philosophy earned him the praise of Howard Goldberg, the former reporter for The New York Times, who said, “His 1986 Cabernet Sauvignon still in the barrel is superb.”
If you haven’t tasted his Cabernets recently, you can, by visiting Caracciolo’s ten-acre property in the Pinelands, with the charming, old-world tasting room, hiding in plain view. To this day, customers comment that they didn’t know the winery was there, but the who’s who in the wine drinking world, George Taber included, only needed to taste Caracciolo’s wines once to invest in a collection of bottles that pair simply yet expertly with most any foods.
More concerned with artfulness than spectacle, Caracciolo runs Amalthea Cellars more like a wine museum than a winery, displaying his own books and trinkets from his travels during his wine consulting days in the winery’s tasting room. What’s more, several times a year, Caracciolo opens the winery’s private event space, known as The Tavern, selling out tickets for visitors to taste library wines going back decades and hear from the winemaker himself about his adventures, alongside such names as Paul Pontallier, former world-renowned director and winemaker of Chateau Margaux.
All that’s to say, from the tasting room to the vines, there’s plenty for novices and collectors alike to observe at this family-run farm winery. Experience artistry with every sip. Experience Amalthea.
Celebrate Mom at Amalthea
It has become a tradition for families to honor mom by celebrating her at Amalthea Cellars Mother’s Day Wine Trail Weekend on Saturday, May 10 and Sunday, May 11 from 11 am to 5 pm. There will be an array of tasting events both in the winery and in the beautiful Green Dragon Tavern. Your tasting experience will include up to 18 different wines!
Click Here & Celebrate Mom!
209 Vineyard Road, Atco
856-768-8585
amaltheacellars.com
@amaltheacellars
