Local Wine Events

Event Details

Wine OR Wine & Food

New Jersey’s largest wine festival, Jazz It Up, will be held Saturday and Sunday Sept. 5 and 6, at Allaire State Park in Farmingdale, featuring the opportunity to taste more than 200 different, locally-produced wines, listen to great, live jazz entertainment including Jazz  In Pastel and the Gambone Project and explore the grounds of Allaire State Park, Farmingdale, NJ, home to an early 19th Century industrial iron producing community.

The Gambone Project featuring Vel Johnson on saxophone will be performing Saturday, Sept. 5  from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. The quartet offers a full range of jazz, including traditional and smooth jazz and rhythm and blues. In addition to Johnson, the group features Gregg Gambone on piano, Jonathan Sims on drums and Kevin Sanders on vibes.

Performing on Sunday, Sept. 6 will be Jazz In Pastel" a band led by Buzz
Saylor, a premier jazz drummer who  has worked with such legendary musicians as Wynton Marsalis, Tony Levin, Steve Rodby and John Helliwell.  

Along with pianist Brian Gibson, bassist Jeff Singleton, and versatile sax
player Dave Miller, the quartet led by Saylor collectively combines smooth classic jazz with playful improvisation to create a very eclectic and vibrant sound featuring all styles of jazz and cross-over rock.

With the music comes the wine and the opportunity to sample the products of 25 New Jersey wineries including scores of award-winning vintages. Among those participating will be the 2009 winners of the New Jersey Wine Competition including  Winery of the Year Award winner, Alba Vineyards of Finesville, which also won the Governor’s Cup for Fruit Wine and the award for Best Fruit Wine with its Apple Ice Wine, Tomasello Winery in Hammonton which won  the Governor’s Cup and the award for Best Dessert Wine with its 2007 Vidal Ice Wine, Heritage Vineyards of Richwood which took the Governor’s Cup for Grape Wine with its 2005 Chambourcin and Plagido’s Winery of Hammonton which garnered  the award for Best American Wine with its Antonio Rosso Fredonia.

Persons interested in learning more about the festival can call The Garden State Wine Growers Association at 609-588-0085 or go the association website at www.newjerseywines.com. Tickets for the festival are $20 a person at the gate. Advance tickets can be purchased only at the association web site for $18 a person.  A discount price of $16 per person is available for bus groups and group sales of 15 or more. Large groups and bus groups can call the Association “Wine Line” for more information.