Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/402796
7 8 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | N o v - D e c 2 014 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m new class of blends unique to a New Jersey wine region is bringing attention to the Garden State's reds, and may offer direction for making red wines throughout the East. The blend, Coeur d'Est ("Heart of the East"), comes seven years after formal approval by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) of the Outer Coast- al Plain American Viticultural Area, a 2.2 million-acre expanse in southeastern New Jersey. The first iterations of Coeur d'Est, a blend of cham- bourcin and mainly Bordeaux varieties, hit tasting N e w J e r s e y W i n e m a k e r s G e t t o t h e H e a r t o f R e d B l e n d s ' C o e u r d ' E s t ' n a m e a d o p t e d f o r O u t e r C o a s t a l P l a i n w i n e s rooms in spring 2014, uniting in a more formal way the top-performing red hybrid with the tried-and-true vinif- era varieties. Outer Coastal Plain winemakers are nothing if not aspirational. In 2010, the group brought in a slate of experts for a winemaking symposium, including Cor- nelis (Kees) van Leeuen, a professor at the University of Bordeaux, to explore the suitability of crafting Bor- deaux-style wines in New Jersey. Coeur d'Est departs from the conventional Bordeaux blend, taking advantage of chambourcin, the French- BY DAVID FALCHEK