Garden State Wine Grower’s Jersey Fresh Food and Wine Festival 2007 Review

Last Saturday, we headed down to Pennington to the Garden State Wine Growers Association’s Jersey Fresh Food and Wine Festival 2007. It was a beautifully warm and sunny day at the Hopewell Valley Vineyards and the wine was flowing. We headed in and went right to Alba. I love their wines and so do many Jerseans; their booth was packed! Soon, after indulging in sweet reds and whites, fruit and dessert wines from two more wineries, Lauren and I met John and Megan for more sampling under the southwest Jersey sun.

We walked around, stopping at every single winery, trying and sampling, learning a few things on the way about wine and grapes. Halfway through the wineries, we stopped to grab some food. There were many choices of food vendors, but not for me. I purchased a grilled veggie sandwich for me and a red pepper, mozz, pesto sandwich for Lauren. John and Meg got organic cheeseburgers. One interesting food vendor was Nomad Pizza. Nomad Pizza is a self contained, all in one, catering truck perfect for pizza parties. Based in Hopewell, the Nomad Truck will come to you, and cook pizzas and other dishes for your party. They source from local and organic farmers as much as possible. They do not use petroleum for cooking, instead, they use wood. Nomad also uses recycled napkins and bioplastic tableware. The best part is the REO Speedwagon! After lunch, Lauren had ice cream from The Bent Spoon, a local artisan ice cream shop and bakery. I was lucky enough to get a sample of the sorbet before it ran out. The Bent Spoon uses organic and local ingredients also.

The festival also had other great vendors like Eddie Fearon from Grandpa Eddie Sauce, a Jamaican Jerk Sauce from Somerset, Shona from Wicks & Wishes, creator of soy candles and body care products from Sussex County, James from Bistro Blends NJ, from Highstown, distributors of fine balsamic vinegars and olive oils, and Harold, from All Natural, distributors of salad dressings, marinades, hot and BBQ sauces. I also got to meet Nancy, from Edible Jersey, a fairly new New Jersey magazine. Edible Jersey was the media sponsor of the event.

I can?t wait to try out their products and let you guys know how they are. Look for reviews on some of the great products I picked up at the festival coming soon.

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