Cedarvale Winery, Logan Township, New Jersey

 

“Wine cheers the sad, revives the old, inspires the young, and makes weariness forget his toll.”

Lord Byron

Driving near Joe’s hometown, Paulsboro, New Jersey, we drove through the small town of Repaupo, a short ten minute drive from his home. If you blink, you may miss this town entirely. While driving that day, we noticed a sign saying Cedarvale Winery and pulled into the parking lot. What a find we had that day. We hit the jackpot.

We parked in front of the white sided building with red shutters and decided to give this place a try. Behind the building were grape vines and gorgeous farm fields. As we walked into the winery, we were greeted by a very nice and handsome young man named Andrew Gaventa. He warmly greeted us. He introduced us to his beautiful three legged dog that he recently adopted from a shelter.  What a sweet pup. 

This charming winery charming with painted with warm tones and adorned with loads of fun and amusing decorations. On one side there is a display where you can buy many wine related gifts. There are tables in the front room and a larger room to the rear where you can sit and relax with friends. The winery has a cozy, and comfortable feel to it that is very welcoming.  We sat down at a table in the front room near the tasting bar. Andrew asked if we wanted to do a tasting. Yes, absolutely.

We were very pleased with the taste of the wines. I loved the Chardonnays and the Concord Wine was delightful. Joe was a huge fan of their red blend wine called Flight of Fancy. They also make wonderful wine slushes. We had great conversations with Andrew and found out his is a fifth generation farmer and the son of Ed and Marsha Gaventa. More about them in a little bit.

Andrew asked if we wanted a tour and was nice enough to take us around showing us the production room where they make the wine. This room was impressive and full of oak barrels and stainless steel tanks for making the wine. Then he showed us the grape vines. The grape vines were bursting with grapes not yet ripe. There is a nice outside seating area with a great view of the grape vines.  He said when the weather is good they sometimes have outside entertainment. What a great area to sit, relax, and listen to a little music.   

He explained they sell many varieties of red wines like Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin, Concord, and a red blend. They have a nice selection of white wines such as Pino Grigio, and three varieties of chardonnay wines. They also sell fruity wines like Blueberry, cherry table wine, strawberry, apple, and nectarine wine. All are very good we found from our tasting.

Well, we had such a nice time, we ended up coming back a few days later. That time we walked in and we were greeted by Marsha Gaventa, who works as the event manager and works in the tasting room. She is a lovely lady with a wonderful personality, contagious laugh, and gorgeous smile. She made us feel right at home. We told her we met her other son and his new pet. Then in walks her other son, Chris who happened to stop by that day. A little later on, her husband Ed came in. He is a fourth generation farmer and is a enologist, and a viticulturist. His family has owned this farm for over 200 years. We enjoyed speaking with him as well and come to find out, he and Joe went to the same school and were in the band together. They both played the trombone. Joe was first chair in his band till he graduated, and then Ed rook his place as first chair. He is a great guy with a super friendly and easy going personality.

What a small world. He spoke about the winery and told us his parents didn’t even know that he was going to open a winery until the big equipment came in to plant the fields. He also told us the wine they make here comes from the grapes they grow on the eight acres they have allotted for grapes. Ed and Marsha opened the winery on October 8, 2008. They still grow farm produce such as peaches, nectarines, strawberries, watermelons, sweet corn, cantaloupe, pumpkins, and now grapes.

This winery offers many special events through the year from exercise classes, yoga, meditation, crafts, and many music events. They are open to hosting parties up to 50 guest and if you have a group of eight or more, they would be pleased if you make a reservation. They are open Thursday and Friday from 12 – 7, Saturday from 11 – 7. Sunday from 11 – 5, and Monday from 12 – 7.

They are located at 205 Repaupo Station Road, Logan Township, New Jersey. You can reach them at 856-467-3088 or check them out at www.cedarvalewinery.com.  Stop by and visit with them. I’m sure you will have found a new favorite place to visit. We highly recommend this winery. Please put it on you list of must see places.

Till next time. Bye for now.