By R. Kurt Osenlund, Bucks Local News

Drawing thousands, award-winning local vineyard hosts second annual East Coast Food & Wine Festival

On Saturday, June 27, Hopewell Valley Vineyards at 46 Yard Road in Pennington hosted the second annual East Coast Food & Wine Festival, a summer celebration that brought together a handful of New Jersey's finest restaurants, wineries and farmers for an afternoon of tastings, tours and cooking tutorials.

Held on an expansive portion of the vineyards' 70-plus acres from noon to 5 p.m., the event drew over 2,000 guests, most of whom were given commemorative glasses for sampling the many wines being offered.

In addition to Hopewell Valley Vineyards, four other New Jersey wine purveyors were also present: the Cape May Winery, Unionville Vineyards, the Village of Finesville's Alba Vineyard and Laurita Winery of New Egypt.

Among the food vendors in attendance were Hopewell's The Brothers Moon restaurant and Nomad Pizza, New Brunswick-based restaurants Stage Left and Catherine Lombardi, Mt. Holly's High Street Grill and Tre Piani of Princeton. A farmers market was positioned at the center of the festivities, where patrons could browse the fresh produce of local farmers such as Naturally Grown Gardens of Pennington.

Featured throughout the day at the festival were multiple seminars and cooking demos, given by everyone from television chef Michael Colameco to “30-minute wine expert” Gary Pavlis. In a nearby tent, New York blues band Brad Vickers & His Vestapolitans provided the perfect soundtrack for the afternoon.

Sponsored in part by Wegman's, Edible Jersey magazine and a grant from the New Jersey Department of State, Saturday's event was organized by the participating vendors and by the Central Jersey chapter of Slow Food, a nonprofit formed in Italy in 1986 to promote and protect the virtues of traditional food and wine producers.

Last year's event was also held at Hopewell Valley Vineyards and, according to owner and winemaker Sergio Neri, attendance and sales at this year's festival increased by approximately 30 percent. (A portion of the day's proceeds was donated to Share Our Strength, a national organization devoted to helping children at risk of hunger.)

Neri, who on Saturday gave guided tours of his vineyards, certainly has much to celebrate. Hopewell Valley Vineyards' Chambourcin 2006 was recently awarded the prestigious Governor's Cup in the 2009 New Jersey Wine Competition. From that same competition, the same wine also won Best Estate Wine and Best Hybrid Variety, and, in California, it walked off with the gold medal for Best in Class.

“Our wines are unique,” Neri says, “as our terroir differs from most other vineyards. Our shale soils and micro-climate are very different from the sandy soils of the warmer south and the limestone soils of the colder north. Also, our wine-making techniques reflect a more central and northern Italian style, and we specialize in more Italian grape varieties like Barbera, Sangiovese and Pinot Grigio.”

On July 11 and 12 from noon to 5 p.m., Hopewell Valley Vineyards will be taking part in the Walk in the Vineyard Wine Trail, a multi-winery event organized by the Garden State Wine Grower's Association. Admission is $5 per person and includes an etched souvenir glass.

“During this event,” Neri says of the Walk in the Vineyard Wine Trail, “people travel from winery to winery to sip wine, enjoy a day at the vineyards, relax and appreciate the various qualities of wine offered in the state of New Jersey.”

For more on Hopewell Valley Vineyards, including additional information about upcoming events, visit www.hopewellvalleyvineyards.com.