Villa Milagro Vineyards ~ Finesville, New Jersey

October 15, 2009 by MTB

Villa Milagro Vineyards / Photo: Marguerite Barrett Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

This week we’re heading back to New Jersey and the second of the three wineries that Maree and I visited one Saturday in late July. After lunch at the Riegelsville Inn, we headed back across the Delaware River to Finesville and the Villa Milagro Vineyards.

One of my favorite memories from the winery is the approach in from the main road. Turning into a small driveway surrounded by trees and thickets, you proceed up a winding gravel road until suddenly the trees clear and the vineyards open up in front of you. The effect is one of finding a hidden world up on the bluffs, and you forget that the main road is just a 1/4 mile back down the drive. The drive curves along the cliffs and through the fields and vineyards, making its way back towards a lovely farmhouse and the barn which serves as the winery.

Villa Milagro is New Jersey’s only organic winery and one of only two organic wineries on the East Coast. Owners and proprietors Steve and Audrey Gambino planted their first grapes in 2003. They follow a two-year aging cycle, releasing their first vintage in 2005, and are currently serving their second vintage, 2006. The 2007 wines will be available around Thanksgiving.

Audrey, who has a Ph.D. in Nutrition, was a professor at Columbia University School of Public Health for many years and is a published author and “one of the most quoted nutritionists in the country,” is the principal winemaker. She retired from Columbia in December and now focuses her time and expertise on Villa Milagro’s wines.

Originally from California, Audrey is the daughter of farmers who lived and worked near California wine country. Despite moving east many years ago, she retained strong memories of and ties to her California roots, and as she and her husband thought about retiring she found herself a trifle homesick. They both prefer being outside and knew that whatever the “next thing was,” they wanted it to provide them with the opportunity to work outdoors. Add to that both Steve’s and Audrey’s love for good food and wine as well as their enjoyment of meeting and talking with wide variety of people, and a winery seemed the obvious step. They spent some time looking around for the right property before finally settling on their current location in Finesville.

Joining them is the winery’s official greeter, Commander Cody, a beautiful German Shepherd who enjoys the people who stop by the winery as much as Steve and Audrey do. On Saturdays and Sundays you’ll find Commander Cody on duty near the winery’s front entrance ready to greet visitors and lead them inside for a tasting and conversation.

Villa Milagro Vineyards
33 Warren Glen Road
Finesville, NJ 08865
+1-908-995-2072

Villa Milagro is open Saturdays and Sundays 12:00 – 6:00 for tastings.