Southern exposure

A fruitful partnership between Camden County, a college, and a nearby vineyard will fill production and personnel needs for the wine industry as it grows in South Jersey.

Lakeland Vineyard in Blackwood conducted its inaugural harvest this month after grapevines went in the ground a couple years ago on a 1-acre Camden County property. The project, managed by the Office of Sustainability and spearheaded by Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr., yielded 1,100 pounds of Chambourcin grapes, and in coming years is expected to yield 7,000 pounds.

The county put the grapes up for bid to local wineries and they were picked up by Amalthea Cellars in Atco, where staff will begin the process of turning grapes into wine it will sell in two years.

“The local wine industry is growing by leaps and bounds and one of the only things holding production back is the access to grapes,” Cappelli said. “This new vineyard will pave the way for more opportunities, allowing our award-winning wineries here in Camden County to continue to shine and grow. Furthermore, these wineries have become a destination for thousands of people that support our local economy and are now economic generators for towns.”

The local wine industry is growing by leaps and bounds and one of the only things holding production back is the access to grapes.

— Louis Cappelli Jr.

Once fallow farmland, Lakeland Vineyard is expected to become a teaching vineyard used by students in Camden County College’s new viticulture program, launching in the spring. The program, which will start as a certificate program and likely grow into a degree program, will prepare students for a career in viticulture with courses on marketing and sales, hospitality, winemaking, wine analysis and the science of growing grapes.

“When the county was thinking of growing grapes, the logical progression is ‘how do you find people to turn those grapes into something we appreciate more than grapes?’” said Camden County College President Don Borden.

The college is partnership-driven and works with business and industry sectors to determine where a labor need isn’t being met, and then works to create programs to feed those sectors, Borden explained. The need existed in viticulture and the industry is growing. Camden County currently has four vineyards, and a fifth was approved by the agricultural board Oct. 5.

“I like anything that creates pipelines for people, particularly that meet your interests, so you can have a career inside those interests,” Borden said.

A nonprofit organization is being established to create and support a scholarship fund for students who enroll in the program.

Camden County spokesman Dan Keashen said that the county looked at the once fallow land as an opportunity for economic development, warranting a $30,000 investment from the Office of Sustainability. “We thought, this is the perfect place to continue to support [the wine] industry in Camden County. Not only do we see these wineries coming to the county but we also see expansion and reinvestment into the existing ones,” he said.

“[Wineries] are, number one, a destination for people in and out of the county, and they also generate revenue for small business owners nearby.”

Camden County wines have gained regional and national recognition. Two of the county’s four wineries walked away as winners from the Governor’s Cup on Oct. 1. Sharrott Winery in Hammonton was recognized for its Tango Red Blend as the state’s best hybrid red, and White Horse Winery just down the road was recognized for its B2020 Estate Reserve Rosé as the state’s best rosé.

In 2018, Amalthea Cellars’ 2015 Legend’s Edition Europa I, a Bordeaux-style blend, was one of only nine wines to earn 97 points by the Beverage Tasting Institute in its yearly wine competition.

“There is no secret that our wines are competing at a high-level and gaining a national reputation … the wine produced right here in our county is appreciated statewide and throughout the nation,” Cappelli said.