Month: October 2012

(Previously published in On Deck Magazine and CapeMayCountyHerald.com) Old Vines? It’s no secret that for sweet corn and juicy tomatoes, Jersey Fresh is always a good bet. But now, those with discerning palates are also seeking out the fruits of another vine—New Jersey wines. Before you scoff, consider this. In 1767, nearly a century before Napa Valley established its first commercial winery, the British Royal Society recognized New Jersey wine as the best in the colonies. Of course, the English are not exactly known for their gastronomical achievements, so that bit of braggery could be akin to my brother-in-law’s claim that he is the funniest accountant in his office. Still, the industry has deep roots here. In fact, Renault Winery in Egg Harbor City, began producing wines in 1864, and it remains one of the oldest wineries in America. And at one time there were as many as 60 vineyards in Vineland alone. Extreme Ignorance That was until Prohibition pulled the plug…or the cork, if you will. Rutger’s agricultural agent, Gary Pavlis said, it took generations for the industry to rebound from that setback. Pavlis is a wine expert who is involved in New Jersey wines from root to glass, and he seems to enjoy talking about wine, almost as much as he enjoys drinking it. At a recent visit to Cape May County Winery, in North Cape May, he explained what it took to get the industry moving again. “(Prohibition) was, of course, extreme ignorance,” Pavlis said, taking a waft of the claret liquid swirling in his glass, but even after the law was repealed in 1933, New Jersey law only allowed for one winery per million people. It was a law that continued Prohibition’s ignorance, Pavlis said, in a way that made clear how offended he was that anyone would usurp a New Jerseyan’s right to sip. The Farm Wine Act in 1981 changed all that, however, and allowed more wineries to operate in within the state so long as they used New Jersey fruit. Within a few years, the state went from four to 12 wineries, and over the last two decades the industry has bloomed again. Increased Demand and Location, Location, Location “We have actually 45 wineries in New Jersey now, and about twice a week I have someone come in who wants to start a winery,” he said. There is now an increased demand for New Jersey grapes, and Pavlis said it is a venture that can really work out for farmers, especially since vineyards remain one agricultural crop that they can still make a profit on. According to Pavlis, New Jersey farms and wines are “perfect together” for many reasons, but it can be boiled down to just three—location, location, location. The one factor that impacts a region’s ability to grow grapes more than anything else is temperature, Pavlis said. Different types of grapes need different climates, and for the most part, vineyards in the Northeast produce American grapes like Concord and Niagara. Those varieties can withstand temperature as low as minus 15 degrees, Pavlis said. “But the wine…not so good…Manischewitz, basically,” he said. European grape varieties (Vinus vinifera), like Cabernet, Riesling, Chardonnay and Merlot produce the best wines, Pavlis said, but they need warmer temperatures. And that’s where southern New Jersey’s ocean breezes come in. They provide the mild winters vinifera grapes need to thrive. And of all New Jersey locations, Cape May County, with its microclimate between the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware Bay, is ideally positioned to grow vinifera grapes and more. “In Cape May, it’s not, ‘What can I grow?’ I’m not even sure what they can’t grow here,” Pavlis said. He offered as an example the vines at Turdo Vineyards, in North Cape May, which are producing varieties of grapes never grown here before, including some that thrive in Southern Italy near the Mediterranean Sea. “We are growing all of them and then some,” Pavlis said. “The potential is incredible…The New Jersey wine industry is taking off.” You can taste New Jersey Wines from these three Cape may County wineries. Cape May Winery 711 Town Bank Rd Cape May, NJ 609-884-1169 Natali Vineyards, L.L.C. 221 North Delsea Drive (North Route 47) Cape May Court House, NJ 609-465-0075 Turdo Vineyards 3911 Bayshore Road North Cape May, NJ 609-884-5591 Hawk Haven Vineyard & Winery 600 S. Railroad Avenue Rio Grande, NJ (609) 846-7347

(Previously published in the Wildwood Leader) Kimmel Schaefer says 22 years in the fireworks industry may have had an effect on his hearing. He can’t hear his wife tell him to take out the trash, but luckily he can still hear the ooh’s and ahh’s of the crowd at a fireworks show. “It still gives me goose bumps,” he said. Fireworks and Family Shaefer’s father, Kim Schaefer Sr. started shooting fireworks in Dunbar, Penna. in1961, and after mastering his skills as a pyrotechnician, he started Schaefer Pyrotechnics in 1977. His son, Kimmel, learned all about fireworks at his father’s knee, but he went onto college and graduate school before returning to the family business. Fireworks get into your blood, Kimmel said. As a boy, he spent summers in Stone Harbor and one of his dreams was to create a fireworks show for Wildwoods’ huge beaches. “This is the show I wanted to have,” he said. He got his wish. Schaefer Pyrotechnics spends a lot of time on Wildwood’s beaches these days. They coordinate a fireworks show there every Friday of the summer, funded by the Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement and Development Authority. Plus on July 4th, they are scheduled to put on a show that is the granddaddy of them all. A Really Big Show According to Patrick Rosenello, who manages the Boardwalk Special Improvement District (SID), it costs about $85,000 to put on Wildwoods’ summer fireworks shows—$5,000 for the weekly show and $30,000 for the July 4th show. The weekly program brings as many as 10,000 people to the prime viewing area on the Boardwalk, he said, and the Fourth of July show brings even bigger crowds. “That show is going to be something else,” Kimmel said. With 25-27 minutes of fireworks, it will take tons of planning, lots of explosives, a team of six technicians and two days. And while Wildwood is one of Schaefer’s biggest shows, it is only one of 69 that the company carries out over the holiday weekend. To accommodate the holiday rush, the company, hires some 500 part time employees. Kim Schaefer, Sr. will come back to work for one night to oversee a show in Narberth, Penna., and in Wildwood, Jack Serpico AKA Pyrojack, and his wife, Denise, are working double time this week to coordinate the weekly Friday show, in addition to the Big Bang of a show, scheduled for the Fourth of July. Last Friday, the couple loaded up truck full of equipment at company headquarters in Ronks, Penna. and headed for the Jersey shore—but definitely not for a vacation. First, they set up the weekly program, and then they turned their attention to setting the Fourth of July show. An Ideal Stage in Wildwood Wildwood’s huge beach offers pyrotechnicians an ideal stage. Fireworks are measured in diameter: the bigger the diameter, the bigger the display. But big fireworks, or shells, as they are known in the business, require 70 feet of clearance for each diameter of shell. For towns with smaller beaches, that means they are limited to using 3-inch shells, which create up to a 150-foot display. In Wildwood, Serpico will launch a display using a variety of shell sizes up to 12-inches in diameter, creating up to 1200 feet of light per explosion. Long before the show happens, however, an intricate choreography of colors, sizes and shapes is sketched out by hand with a pencil and paper before being programmed into a computer. Then “cakes,” a configuration of tubes that hold the explosives, are set up on the beach and connected to modules that are fired in sequence, electronically. A typical show can require more than a full day of hard labor on a sun-drenched beach, followed by a late night of fireworks. Plus, once the explosives are in place, someone must be close by at all times to prevent accidents. Fireworks can be a dangerous business. “Nothing good happens when something goes bad with fireworks,” Kimmel said. Jack Serpico agrees there are risks, but like Kimmel, fireworks are in his blood. His grandfather, who started a fireworks company in 1906, was once injured in a fireworks accident and decades ago two of his employees died while putting on a show at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. “It’s rare, but it happens,” Serpico said. 14 years ago, Serpico gave up his career as an attorney for the big lights of the Fourth of July sky, and neither the inherent risks nor the hectic summer schedule seem to dampen his enthusiasm. He said his current job doesn’t compare at all to his former one. There are way fewer negatives, and many more positives. Plus, nothing quite moves him like the nostalgic explosion of thunder and lights across a summer sky. It can be stressful, but once the details are worked out and the equipment is in place, Serpico said he becomes a spectator. And then, “I yell and holler like everybody else,” he said. Wildwoods’ July 4th show is launched from around Pine Avenue at 10 p.m. on Friday, and it can be viewed from around the island and beyond. Music is piped in via speakers on the Boardwalk, and 98.7 the Coast broadcasts the musical score, as well. Fireworks can also be viewed at 10:30 p.m. in the Wildwoods every Friday throughout the summer.