Immigrants, locals delight in Europa Delights
 Inside the winery at Natali Vineyards visitors can taste samples of a variety of the wines made on location. Ray Pensari, one of the owners of the vineyard, pours a sample of one of the red wines.  Natali Vineyards produces a large variety of wines from white to red and even creates unique wines like their beach plum wine and blueberry wine.  Guests can enjoy a relaxing outdoor setting with a view of the vineyard as they sample some of the spirits.  Ray Pensari, and Kevin Celli, a junior partner, stand in the vineyard that fills up a little more than six acres with nearly 5,000 vines and about 13 different varieties of European wine grapes. |
November 12, 2008
CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE—The city of Cape May is known for its wine tastings
and tours, as well as for the Cape May Winery. But Natali Vineyard is
now making a name for itself among wine fans a little farther north—in
Cape May Court House along the Delaware Bay.
Al Natali, who first planted vines in 2000, is entering his second year
of hosting events with partners Ray Pensari and Tony Antonelli on their
six-acre site on the west side of Route 47. This Saturday is the harvest
festival. The growing season is over and, as Pensari put it, all the
2008 wines have “been put to bed.” The harvest celebration will include
a classical music duo (guitarist and flautist) and the chance to pair 13
of Natali’s red, white and dessert wines with gourmet cheeses and
artisan breads.
Several Natali varieties have won medals from Cape May and Governor’s
Cup competitions, including the Sauvignon Blanc; Cabernet Sauvignon,
Viognier and Cedar Hammocks (which, by the way, is the old name for
Goshen).
“We’ll also have our holiday blends, including a beach plum wine and a
blueberry wine,” Pensari said.
Sound too sweet for your taste?
“They’re really not at all. We mix in the acidity to balance them out
and they turned out very nice,” Pensari said.
Helping guests pair the wines with the cheese will be Stephen White,
owner of Seaside Cheese.
“We will be offering a wide assortment of imported cheeses and gourmet
food items for tasting and sale,” White said, “including sample boxes
that will include hunter cheese, 3-year-old cheddar, brie with fig
spread, and nokkelost, a Norwegian cheese that is made in Washington
state. It’s made with cow’s milk and is spiced with caraway seed, cumin
and cloves. It’s a nice holiday cheese. It almost tastes like a baked
ham, it has an unusual, nice flavor.
“During the winter and for the holidays, we’ll sell a lot of cave-aged
gruyere, appenzeller (Swiss cheese) and emmentaler (another Swiss), and
those three are your basic fondue mix. As the air gets colder, people
start bringing out their fondue pots, especially during the holidays for
parties and get-togethers,” White said.
Bill Saracco, of Victory Baking on Route 9 in Burleigh, said they have
been providing baked items for wine tasting for years, but this is the
first time with the growing Natali Vineyard.
He said they’ll be providing samples but not selling items at the
festival. Expect to find biscotti, Viennese pastry and artisan breads
among the offerings.
“We’ll provide things to be in concert with the wine and cheese,” he
said. “I’m excited about these vineyards, I think it’s pretty cool we’re
making wine around here.”
The Cape May peninsula, according to the wine growers, is a very special
place for growing European wine grapes (Vitis Vinifera). In the
Mid-Atlantic region the weather is quite hostile: too cold, too humid,
and too rainy. But lower Cape May County has a moderating impact on
these weather conditions due to the influence of two large bodies of
water, the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware Bay.
“It is somewhat similar to the Bordeaux region of France which lies
between the Atlantic and the lower Gironde River, especially the area
known as the Medoc. As one might expect, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and
sauvignon blanc do very well in this climate,” according to Natali’s
website.
The large bodies of water help the climate for wine grapes in a number
of ways. First, the winters are not so cold. It is very rare to see
temperatures below zero Fahrenheit, which is the killing zone for these
grapes. Second, we have an extended growing season, usually 200
frost-free days, which allows many of the varieties to ripen into late
October. Third, we have water-borne breezes that help dry out the canopy
which helps reduce fungal disease pressure. Finally the loamy sand soil
provides excellent drainage so that vine roots are not standing in "wet
feet" after the frequent and often severe thunderstorms that occur, they
said.
The Natali Vineyards site was selected in the spring of 2000, and after
one year of bio-renovation, the first 2,000 vines were planted. Each
subsequent year more vines were planted and the total number is nearly
5,000. When they first started bottling four years ago, they finished
with 500 cases of wine. Now they make 2,000 cases.
There is a two-story house where the celebration will be held, and
Pensari said there are future plans to build a 2,500-square-foot
building for displays and samples, and a 10,000-square-foot building for
weddings, banquets and private parties.
The event runs Saturday, Nov. 15 from noon to 4 p.m. regardless of
weather.
“We have enough room under cover to keep everyone happy,” Pensari said,
“but hopefully it’s a nice enough day so people can walk around and
enjoy the vineyard.”
Rob Seitzinger can be e-mailed at seitz [at] catamaranmedia.com or you can comment on this story by calling 624-8900, ext. 250.
Check out his Cape Cuisine food blog | Cape Cuisine Blog | Cape Cuisine Archive | Return to Columns Home