Happy trails again

Wine lovers who are California dreaming can get a taste of the West Coast by visiting the region's newest vineyard, which at first blush appears to be a slice of the Napa Valley dropped down into New Jersey.

Upscale and beautiful, solar- powered Laurita Winery is located just outside of New Egypt, not far from Silver Decoy Winery in Rob binsville and Cream Ridge Winery in Cream Ridge. Laurita opened in September and officially becomes part of the Garden State Wine Growers Association's wine trail during this week's Holiday Wine Trail Weekend.

While most of us spent this week thinking about or planning Thanksgiving dinner, the folks at most of the state's wineries have been gearing up for the annual holiday wine trail. Each Thanksgiving weekend they throw open their doors and offer special tastings, tours and discounts to entice customers to buy local wines for the holiday season.

Laurita will be participating in its first Wine Trail Weekend and its name has been added to the latest version of the New Jersey Wine Country Passes available at wineries throughout the state. Visitors can see the new winery as well as hike the trails there and taste wines that have garnered a following from pre-opening appearances at state wine festivals.

Other local wineries that are participating include Silver Decoy, Cream Ridge, Hopewell Valley Vineyard in Hopewell Township, Unionville Vineyards in Ringoes, Valenzano Vineyard in Shamong and Alba Vineyard in Finesville.

The new wine country passes feature an all-time high of 30 participating vineyards, said Mark Carduner, one of the partners at Silver Decoy. He said anyone looking to have their passes stamped could hit all three of the wineries at the edge of the Pine Barrens on one day. The wine growers' association lists 33 members; another 10 wineries are making wines al though they are not yet open to the public.

Standing inside or outside on Laurita's pleasant deck, visitors to the vineyard can see the 40 acres of Napa-style vines that have gradually been added to the property over the past 10 years. Any resemblance to the West Coast way of doing things was intentional, says co-owner Ray Shea.

"That was the idea," says Shea of the winery's similarity to the sloping vineyards that dot central California. Shea and partner Randy Johnson acquired the sprawling property nearly 20 years ago, but it wasn't until Shea spent time studying wine that they realized it was an ideal setting for a vineyard. Even before that, the partners had fallen in love with the land, he said.

Laurita makes 18 types of wine, ranging from casual to sophisticated, says Shea, including the colloquially named Down the Shore line of blends that are a tribute to New Jersey's favorite playground.

"Our wines are lithe and angular in style, not high-alcohol," said Shea. They are "more European."

"Our wines with food are absolutely wonderful," he added.

Although it has a West Coast feel, the expansive winery is filled with reminders of its home state, from a two-story fireplace made from bricks recovered from a Tren ton elementary school, to slate tiles that once adorned the governor's mansion Drumthwacket in Princeton Township to restrooms and flagpoles recovered from the Gar den State Racetrack before it was torn down.

The main building was constructed from two local 150-year-old barns that were scheduled to be torn down. The winery also has a restaurant area that serves soup and sandwiches, two tasting bars and a sizable gift shop.

For the holiday weekend, Lau rita will offer tastings of its 18 wines, pairings of wine with cheese as well as wine with chocolates, tours of the vineyard by wagon and 20 percent discounts on full cases.

All of the participating wineries are open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. for the holiday wine trail. Visitors who have their passport stamped at all participating wineries can mail it back to the Garden State Wine Growers Association and receive a gift -- an insulated wine bag holder that holds two bottles of wine.

Here is what some of the other local wineries have planned:

Silver Decoy Winery, Rob binsville (silverdecoywinery.com) -- Carduner says that all of the partners who own the winery will be present this weekend, and that means they will be grilling.

The winery also will release its new vintage, "Retriever," a Sangi ovese-Cabernet blend.

Silver Decoy's new blueberry wine also will be available as part of the weekend's tastings. There also will be tours of the barrel room.

Hopewell Valley Vineyard, Hopewell Township, near Pennington (hopewellvalleyvineyard s.com) -- Wine tastings have a fee of $5 which includes a souvenir glass. Also vineyard tours, homemade treats to sample and special holiday sales.

Unionville Vineyards, Ring oes, (unionvillevineyards.com) -- Standard wine tastings "Thieving from the Barrels" and "Unre leased Until 2009" are available for an adult fee of $5. There also will be product samplings and sales of chocolate truffles, olive oils, and wine jellies. Both the jel lies and chocolates are infused with Unionville Vineyard wines.

Alba Vineyard, Finesville (albavineyard.com) -- Wine tastings, wine and artisan cheese, soup and hors d'oeuvre sam plings from local restaurants, information on wine and food pair ings and tours of the vineyard. This will be the official release of the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. Also featured are ice wines and Hot Alba Apple Wine. Tastings including six samples of wine, cheese and crackers and a souve nir Alba wine glass are $5.

Velanzano Winery, Sha mong (velanzanowine.com) -- Live entertainment will offer background music to three days of wine and cheese tastings from Cabot Creamery and free appetiz ers. There also will be a chocolate fountain with fresh fruit and cookies for dipping, paired with the raspberry and blueberry des sert wines. As a weekend special, those who buy two cases of wine will receive a 50 percent discount on the second case.

For information on other participating wineries throughout the state, see the Garden State Wine Growers website (newjer seywines.com).

These sangria recipes come from Valenzano Winery in Sha mong:

Rick's Blanco Sangria

1 bottle Valenzano White Cran berry Wine 1 bottle Valenzano Shamong White Wine

1 orange cut into 8 wedges and 1 orange, squeezed

1/2 cup diced pineapples with juice

1 pear cut in wedges

1 peach cut in wedges

1 cup sliced strawberries or raspberries

2 cups club soda or ginger ale (optional)

(Directions follow.)

Rick's Classic Sangria

2 bottles Valenzano Cabernet/ Merlot

1 lemon cut into wedges

1 orange cut into wedges

1 lime cut into wedges

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 cup of sliced strawberries (thawed or frozen)

1 small can of diced pineapples (with juice)

4 cups ginger ale

Seed all fruit when appropriate

Pour wine into a glass or ce ramic pitcher, add sliced fruit (ex cept strawberries), and add fruit juice.

When possible chill wine and fruit overnight or at least a few hours in the refrigerator. Just be fore serving add sliced strawberries and club soda or ginger ale (if using) and plenty of ice to the pitcher. Add a piece or two of the marinated fruit and ice to each glass and pour in sangria.

Remember the best sangrias are chilled in the refrigerator for several hours allowing the wine and fruit to develop their blended flavors.

This recipe will yield approximately eight 14-16 ounce glasses of sangria. If the ice melts and waters down the recipe, add more wine to the pitcher to make up for the dilution. Any unused sangria will keep for several days in the fridge. Don't forget to eat the fruit when the liquid is all gone.