April & May 2019

opened on the site in 2010, and the winery
opened in 2012. They produce fruit wine,
including apple and blueberry, and whites
and reds in several varieties. “The winery is
definitely moving in the right direction,” said
Morrison. They offer a summer gris, which
he described as light with notes of raspberry,
and their Dias Creek is a best seller.
His recommendation? Their Stratus, half
Chambourcin, French-American hybrid that
seems to thrive on the Cape, and a quarter
each of Merlot and Cabernet. It’s listed at
$25 a bottle.
G&W Winery
1034 Route 47 South, Rio Grande
What to Drink: Merlot
The area’s newest winery is also its smallest.
“We don’t have a nice, big building. You can’t
come in and buy a glass,” said Jerry Hellman,
one of the three partners in the vineyard.
“We are a small farm winery.” He said
the winery is open on weekends, and people
who come by will probably find the owners
working among the vines. They can stop for
a tasting, and buy a bottle, and the winery
has a waiting list for its very limited release
each year, 1,000 bottles all told. They’re $20,
except for a blend, which is $23.
Hellman, Dennis Hasson and Travis
Thomas all work in the Haddonfield school
district. Two are teachers and have time off
in the summer. Hellman is the school psychologist,
and doesn’t, but he said he’s getting
close to retirement and asked to become
part of the business. Hellman said the cabernet
franc seems to thrive on the cape, and
they offer a chardonnay and a pinot.
He suggested trying the merlot. The
vines have been in for six or seven years, and
they’ve been making wine for three.
The winery gets its name from the initials
of Grace and Willow, daughters of Marie and
Dennis Hasson.
Breweries
Cape May Brewing Company
1288 Hornet Road, Cape May Airport
What to Drink: Always Ready
If Cape May Brewing Company’s tasting
room at the Cape May Airport is open, whatever
time of year, there’s almost always a
crowd. There’s a good chance some in that
crowd will be drinking the beloved Coastal
Evacuation IPA, a bright, citrusy beer that
goes down happy and hoppy. And owner
Ryan Krill is proud of the numerous fruit
beers on offer, including the 8 percent Apple
Bomb. But when the days start heating up,
the crew at Cape May Brewing Company
recommends a recent addition to the extensive
lineup, named in honor of the Coast
Guard’s motto. Always Ready is a northeast
pale ale with a relatively low alcohol by
volume, coming in at 4.8 ABV. Head brewer
Brian Hink said it took a few tries to zero in
on the Goldilocks zone, getting feedback on
the first couple batches to get the right balance
of hops, flavor, feel and bitterness.
MudHen Brewing Company
127 W. Rio Grande Ave., Wildwood
What to Drink: Pike Pole Pilsner
Once upon a time, the first train to carry visitors
to Wildwood was called the mud hen.
The West Jersey Railroad ran from Cape
May Court House to Anglesea through the
marsh and over a precarious bridge. Owner
Brendan Sciarra liked the sense of history
and decided to take that name for his latest
venture, MudHen Brewing Company, which
opened its doors this spring to much fanfare.
Unlike the many other breweries on this
list, MudHen is a brew pub — an unusual
designation in New Jersey and unique in
Cape May County. Among other things, that
means MudHen can offer a full menu. The
other breweries can sell their beers on site
but cannot by law have a kitchen. The project
was in the works for about two years,
according to Russ Simmons, the marketing
director. The business is set for crowds this
summer, with three bars, extensive seating
and an outdoor area just for hanging out with
friends around the firepits. The names of the
beers reflect local history. It’s early days, but
the 7.4 percent 1883 IPA has stood out as the
mainstay for the brew pub. Simmons recommended
the Captain Doug Porter, which he
described as a smooth ride. For a little added
history, brewmaster Tony Cunha is a descendant
of Captain Doug Wilson, who sailed out
of Cape May for about 20 years.
Ludlam Island Brewing
9 Stoney Court, Ocean View
What to Drink: Harry’s Coffee Pale Ale
Off the beaten track, in the same well-camexit
zero 120 april-may
Cold Spring Brewery
7233 Seashore Road, Cold Spring
What to Drink: Cold Spring Red
Cold Spring Brewery started with four beers:
an American wheat, a German wheat, a red
ale and a porter. The brewery and tasting
room is in a renovated 200-or-so-year-old
barn moved from the Palermo section of
Upper Township to the current site on Seashore
Road, a project that started with HCSV
board approval in 2014. The offerings include
a rotating series of limited edition brews,
along with the dark brown Dennisville Inn
Porter and Cold Spring Red, the brewery’s
most popular offering and our recommendation
for your first pint at the brewery.
7 Mile Brewery
3156 Route 9, Rio Grande
What to Drink: 7 Suns Double IPA
On Route 9 in Rio Grande, 7 Mile Brewery is
about the easiest craft brewery in the county
to find, which founders Pete Beyda and Chris
Collette say is not an accident. An off-season
Friday evening saw the place hopping, with
a thirsty and welcoming crowd and at least
one friendly mixed breed dog greeting those
heading to the bar. The owners say their 7
Sons Double IPA is their most popular of the
numerous beers on tap, and it’s easy to see
why. Brewing beer is a kind of alchemy, part
art, part science, part magic, and for 7 Sons,
what might have been a palate-blowing
hops blast comes in with a nice balance and
a great bitter finish. It’s 7.5 percent alcohol,
with a whopping 90 IBU, the International
Bittering Units scale. For comparison, a Bud,
Miller or Coors would come in about a 10.
Slack Tide
1072 Route 83, Clermont
What to Drink: Angry Osprey IPA
Slack Tide brewery was barely open when it
started reeling in the beer awards, including
honors at the Philadelphia Inquirer Brewvitational
and a best of Craft Beer award in
Bend, Oregon last year. On a brewery tour,
a group of friends dug into two loaded tasting
flights, the small glasses a spectrum from
deep black to light amber. Some showed real
love for the Knockdown Black IPA, but it was
the Angry Osprey that emptied first. At 6.8
percent alcohol, its goes down nicely, but the
well-balanced hops call out for seconds. Or
thirds, if you’ve got an Uber.