For winemaker at N.J. winery, recognition in international blind tasting was ’an honor’
There were two U.S. producers that landed a wine on the list of either white or red finalists in the Judgment of Davis that weren’t located on the West Coast. One was Waltz Vineyards Estate Winery, from Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County, which placed its 2023 Old Line Chardonnay among the top-scoring white wines. The other was Meadowbook Winery in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, which saw its 2023 Reserve Chardonnay finish among the four standout white wines, along with others from Crowley Wines in Oregon, Giant Steps from Australia, and Oldenburg Vineyards from South Africa. The announcement of the results of the annual competition, a blind tasting event that’s co-organized by Harvard and UC Davis, took place on May 18, 2026, at the Robert Mondavi Institute. Central Pennsylvania native Conor Quilty, who previously worked as the winemaker at Unionville Vineyards before joining the Meadowbrook team on the ground floor, said in an email that “it was an honor to be included among some truly great wine producers from all over the world.” He credited Orley Ashenfelter, a Princeton University professor and the founder of the Journal of Wine Economics and AAWE, and also one of the judges, with encouraging Meadowbrook to enter the competition. “The wine that was recognized was our 2023 Meadowbrook Chardonnay, super straight-forward style, aged in neutral french puncheon (500 L) and barriques for about 9 months on lees,” Quilty wrote. “No batonnage, trying to build out texture but maintain fruit purity and acidity.” Meadowbrook Winery is one of the newest in New Jersey, located at 18 King St., in Oldwick. It’s open 2 to 6 p.m. Thursday and noon to 6 on Friday through Sunday. Walk-ins are welcome for wines by the flight, glass, and bottle, with reservations recommended for full tasting experiences. Elena and Frank Schwab are the owners of this venture, located about halfway between Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Newark, New Jersey, a few minutes off Route 78. They purchased the property in Tewksbury Township, for $1.6 million in 2022, and the 2,000-square-foot tasting room opened in October 2025. As for any other news, Quilty responded: “All good over here! Vineyard is in a bit of recovery mode from the freeze in April, but other than that things are chugging along. Tasting room is up and running, busy as ever, which is great.” ALSO READ Md. legacy winery that provided the ‘road map’ for the industry recognized in ceremony Decision to arrange to preserve a 13-acre vineyard a ‘no-brainer’ for Pa. winery Va. producer gets great news, times two, in what has been a rewarding 2026 Medals aren’t a surprise for North Carolina producer, but Best in Show sure was
