Richwood Winery

Cassie Hoffman
Linda Bateman
College Composition I
February 8, 2011

As incoming Freshman to Rowan University, most students immediately begin to immerse themselves into the community of Glassboro upon move-in at school. Whether it means they begin to dine out at all the great local restaurants and pizzerias or they take advantage of the local shopping and recreational venues, life in Glassboro becomes a very large part of life at Rowan University. Between places like The Landmark right next to campus, Brunswick Bowling right on Delsea Drive, or the Amish Farmer’s Market a little way up Route 322 in Mullica Hill, there are plenty of different things to do in the area without having to travel too far. One of the great attractions to the Glassboro area, which unfortunately is not able to be enjoyed by Rowan students until (for the most part) their junior year, is the Heritage Vineyards.
Heritage Vineyards is located just a short way up Mullica Hill Road on 28 acres of “rocky, well-drained soil on the north side of busy Route 322 in what was once a gravel pit”. They have four different growing areas on the estate that grow Cabernet, Chardonnay, Merlot, and Sauvignon grapes. About half of the property slopes towards the southern end from Harrisonville Road, which is meant to capture the most summer sunlight in order to best grow the grapes. Along this slope, Heritage Vineyards also grows Syrah, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Grenache, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sauvignon Blanc.
Towards the end of the property is a two acre block of land that is near a spot where American Indian painted horses usually graze. This block of the vineyard is called the “Painted Horse Vineyard” and grows Chambourcin grapes, which is a “dark-colored, richly-textured French-American hybrid grape that we often refer to as the East Coast Zinfandel”. In the spring of 2010, Heritage also planted six more acres of grapes to expand the winery even further. The reason this area is so prime to grow grapes in is because it is actually “one of the warmest locales in the Mid-Atlantic region” and has “weather patterns [that] are similar to those in Bordeaux, France”.
The vineyard is currently run by Bill and Penni Heritage, who are the fifth generation of farmers to maintain the property and produce fine wine. Their son, Richard, is the General Manager of the vineyard (along with Penni) and is also in charge of the marketing end of the business. An interesting fact about the previous Heritage farmers that took care of the property is that they only used to grow peaches and apples. This could possibly be why one type of wine produced by the vineyard is fruit wines. They make Sugarplum flavored wine, Blueberry flavored wine, and of course, true to their roots, Peach and Apple flavored wines. They also produce non-alcoholic Peach and Apple flavored sparkling wines.
Their more traditional wines are award-winning, receiving honors from various different wine tasting competitions that they have participated in. In 2010 alone, their 2007 Merlot won the silver medal in the World Wine Championships, as did their 2008 Syrah. Even better than that, their 2008 Cabernet Franc won the “Gold Harvest Award Gold Medal” and the gold medal in the World Wine Championships. Their Painted Horse Cuve’e also won the gold medal in the World Wine Championships, as did their most award-winning wine, their 2008 Chambourcin; the Chambourcin also won the gold medal at the New Jersey Wine Competition, the silver medal in the International Eastern Wine Competition, and the “Gold Harvest Award Silver Medal”.
For those who are old enough to drink the wine at the vineyard, wine tastings are held every day of the week between nine in the morning until six at night. For those who aren’t old enough, however, tours are also held every Saturday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., with the possibility of a 4 p.m. tour as well if the other two are full. The great part about the tours is that they’re pretty cheap – only ten dollars per person – and it includes a tour of the vineyards in their tour van, as well as a wine tasting for those of age. The tours are about an hour long and allow for visitors to see the entire vineyard in all its vastness. Guests also get the chance to learn about the winemaking process. So head on out to the Heritage Vineyards of Richwood, just two minutes down the road from campus!