Amalthea Cellars

Amalthea Cellars
Location209 Vineyard Road, Atco, NJ, USA
Coordinates39.738343 N, 74.886403 W
AppellationOuter Coastal Plain AVA
First vines planted1976
Opened to the public1982
Key peopleLouis Caracciolo (owner)[1]
Acres cultivated6
Cases/yr5,000 (2013)
Other attractionsPicnicking permitted, pet-friendly
DistributionOn-site, wine festivals, NJ liquor stores, NJ restaurants, home shipment
TastingTastings Friday to Sunday
Websitehttp://amaltheacellars.com

Amalthea Cellars (/ˈæməlˈθiːə/ AM-əl-THEE-ə[2]) is a winery in the West Atco section of Winslow in Camden County, New Jersey, United States.[3][4] The vineyard was first planted in 1976, and opened to the public in 1981.[5][6] Amalthea has 10 acres of grapes under cultivation, and produces 5,000 cases of wine per year.[2][7] The winery is named after Amalthea, a moon of Jupiter, reflecting the owner's scientific background and love of mythology.[8][9]

Wines

Amalthea Cellars is in the Outer Coastal Plain AVA, and produces wine from Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chancellor, Chardonnay, Dolcetto, Merlot, Pinot gris, Rayon d'Or, Riesling, Rkatsiteli, Sauvignon blanc, Syrah, Traminette, Villard blanc, and Viognier grapes. Amalthea also makes fruit wines from blueberries and peaches.[10][11] It is the only winery in New Jersey that produces wine from Rayon d'Or, which is a white hybrid grape developed in France in the early twentieth century.[2][12] Amalthea was a participant at the Judgment of Princeton, a wine tasting organized by the American Association of Wine Economists that compared New Jersey wines to premium French vintages.[13][14]

A beige building surrounded by pine trees with a double-door entrance, and a wood sign with the name Green Dragon Tavern.
Amalthea's Green Dragon Tavern was named after a historic Boston bar, and is now used for special events.

Advocacy, licensing, and associations

The winery advocates traditional winemaking techniques, and uses egg whites, sulfur, and oak barrels to produce its wine.[1][15] Amalthea has a plenary winery license from the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, which allows it to produce an unrestricted amount of wine, operate up to 15 off-premises sales rooms, and ship up to 12 cases per year to consumers in-state or out-of-state.[16][17] Amalthea is a member of the Garden State Wine Growers Association and the Outer Coastal Plain Vineyard Association.[18][19]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Baker, Krista. "Winemaker Q&A: Louis Caracciolo of Amalthea Cellars" Archived 2013-03-12 at the Wayback Machine on VinoFoodie (blog) (June 2012). Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  2. ^ a b c Toms, Charles. "Amalthea Cellars Review" in American Winery Guide (16 November 2013). Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  3. ^ Goldberg, Howard G. "N.J. Vines: A Winning Merlot in The New York Times (21 November 1999). Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  4. ^ Weisberg, Susan. "Perfect Together: New Jersey's Red Wines are Ideal Mates for Food" in The Press of Atlantic City (10 May 1992). Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  5. ^ Schmidt, R. Marilyn. Wines and Wineries of New Jersey. (Chatsworth, NJ: Pine Barrens Press, 1999). ISBN 9780937996386.
  6. ^ Foderaro, T.J. "A Winery at the Top of its Game" in Inside Jersey (published by The Star-Ledger) (16 April 2009). Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  7. ^ Choukroun-Chicheportiche, Jonathan. "Amalthea Cellars" on Vert de Vin (blog) (27 August 2013). Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  8. ^ Reuter, Nancy. "Atco Italian Festival To Include Wine-tasting, Grape-stomping" in The Philadelphia Inquirer (18 September 1988). Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  9. ^ Goldberg, Howard G. "Peel Me a Grape" in The New York Times (2 July 1995). Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  10. ^ Jackson, Bart. Garden State Wineries Guide. (South San Francisco, CA: Wine Appreciation Guild, 2011). ISBN 9781934259573.
  11. ^ Amalthea Cellars. "Amalthea Cellars: Wine List" Archived 2007-11-30 at the Wayback Machine (commercial website). Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  12. ^ Robinson, Jancis, et al. Wine Grapes. (New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2013). ISBN 9780062325518.
  13. ^ Storchmann, Karl. "The Judgment of Princeton" on The American Association of Wine Economists (academic website) (11 June 2012). Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  14. ^ Davidson, Adam. "Bottle Bing: How New Jersey Could Make Itself the Next Napa" in The New York Times Magazine (12 March 2013). Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  15. ^ Westrich, Sal. New Jersey Wine: A Remarkable History. (Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2012).[permanent dead link‍] ISBN 9781609491833.
  16. ^ New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. "New Jersey ABC list of wineries, breweries, and distilleries" (5 February 2013). Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  17. ^ New Jersey General Assembly. "N.J.S.A. 33:1-10". Statutes of New Jersey. New Jersey.
  18. ^ Garden State Wine Growers Association. "GSWGA Wineries." Archived 2013-06-21 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  19. ^ Outer Coastal Plain Vineyard Association. "Outer Coastal Plain Wineries." Archived 2013-03-15 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 22 March 2013.

39°44′18″N 74°53′11″W / 39.738343°N 74.886403°W / 39.738343; -74.886403