Amalthea Cellars Farm Winery

One of the best wine tasting experiences in my life. Sally was an amazing host, we tried several types of wine and she was the best wine guide. Every single wine we tried was fantastic. We had a living social package and ended up buying 6 bottles of wine.
I recommend this place to everyone. The facility is so nice, it’s old school, quiet and so clean. I cannot wait to go back!!!

A little late on this review. But about a month ago I made a trek to the winery with my mom and the wife.
The proprietor was one of the nicest people you’ll find in New Jersey. She gave a super fun tasting and showed off all of the awesome barrel rooms and historic parts of the building.
I can’t say enough good things about the folks who run this place. And the wine is tremendous. Make sure you try the «fresh fine.» Simply delicious and they sell it in gallons so you can some with a box of wine and be classy.
If you live or are visiting the Southern NJ area make sure you stop by.

This is probably one of the best wineries on the area. The staff is knowledgeable, and the wine tastings are never crowded. We have gone to both tastings and festivals here, and every time we leave happy.
The must-​do thing here is to get a tote of Cantina Mas. It’s good for 2 weeks, and the fall blend this year is fantastic. Heading back soon to refill our tote as we get closer to the holidays– a great present for the wine lover!

I am in no way a wine expert but I love Amalthea Cellars. I have been here numerous times. Their tastings are informative and they welcome questions. No need to feel intimated if you don’t know the first thing about wine. Every time I’ve gone here for a tasting I have always felt welcome and comfortable asking questions about their wines. They have a great selection and variety. I often will get a glass of wine and sit outside. There is quite a lot of property that is open to be explored. There are chairs and tables which are in the shade which makes sitting outside comfortable even on the hottest of days.

You will be glad you stopped. Best I have been to. Small, not commercialized. Staff very knowledgeable and attentive. Rustic old world style atmosphere. But most of all, the wine. Superbly made. Something for all to try. You won’t be disappointed.

Very cool winery with an interesting history. Parts of the building are over two centuries old, and the farm used to be a stopover for the ac to philly shellfish trade, so you can still find shells in the soil! The tasting setup is cool– each type of wine has a different room! Do more than one tasting so you can see everything! We didnt love the wines here as much as other places, but we left with three bottles! They have a outdoor sitting area, and you can byo food

Almathea’s VIP wine tastings are not to be missed. The staff is passionate and informative and the wines are in the style of classic French wineries. Always an enjoyable experience

I’m thoroughly disgusted with the level of «customer service» this place has to offer. After being thoroughly impressed by the video on their website showcasing a dinner party in the vineyard, I wanted to do something similar for a babyshower. I tried calling to which i was abruptly hung up on as soon as i asked about renting the venue. I didn’t even get so much as a no before they hung up. I called back, hoping we had gotten disconnected, but it went straight to voicemail. Thinking maybe their phone died (idk why a business would be using a cell phone for their main line?), i called back after a few minutes, and it still went to voice mail. I called off of a different number only to realize that they blocked my number. Brushing it off to some freak accident (bc who does that, honestly), i left a voicemail to which no one has yet responsed. I followed up the lack of response with an email. They actually responded this time, but unfortunately, i wish they hadn’t. Their response was rude. Basically they said they don’t rent out their green dragon tavern (i have no idea what that is nor did i ask about it), that they only do wine events (i forgot you could never serve wine at a shower), and that they don’t serve food (did i even say i wanted you to cater it? No. Just asked about using your yard). Frankly, i will never buy a single bottle of their wine as long as i live, and i will certainly tell anyone i know considering it not to support such a poorly run company. I had every intention of buying hundreds of dollars of wine to serve at the shower, and I guarantee the caliber of event would have had many ladies trying to host more parties at the venue. Basically A-​mouthy vineyard said that my money wasn’t green enough, and that they rather pass on thousands of dollars of business. I highly recommend Tomasello winery. They have great wine and great customer service. #disgusted

Wow, my friend and I were really impressed here. We used the living social deal and came home with our wine baby. =) During our tasting, we learned a lot. I was really impressed by the reds there (I thought Jersey only produced the super sweet reds). The people there were really friendly and knowledgable. It was an eye opening experience and I’m hoping to visit again when the weather is nicer! Wow, Jersey can produce good wine…

Went on Black Friday for a mini winery tour around Atlantic County. I’ll be posting reviews for other local wineries also for comparison. Walked in and greeted by a welcoming hello. They also asked if we had been there before and gave us a description of the event of the day which was the barrel tasting. We were told that for $ 10 or $ 12 (forgot which winery had which price) you get to taste as many of their wines as you’d like. We started in the Green Dragon Tavern which is a quaint little building near the main building and looks like something out of colonial times. We were again greeted with a friendly hello and were told that food was in one room and the tasting would follow in the main room. Once in the main room we were entertained by the Sommelier who gave the history of the winery and described each wine to us as the server poured. They also had an option to invest in wine futures since we were tasting some of the fresh wine from the barrel. The wines were very good and to me the best in South Jersey. Next we went back into the main building where they had 3 tasting stations that were all staffed with knowledgeable and friendly people. Overall this was the best experience of our mini tour. Wines were very good, the staff was very friendly, and the ambiance of the place itself was top notch. I agree with another reviewer that the bad reviews must have a hidden agenda.

Amalthea wines are By Far the Best that New Jersey has to offer if not the outer plains region! The folks that give bad reviews must have another agenda on tap…
All wine is made with the finest barrels and ingredients. It tastes like a labor of love in great wine making that is in our own back yards!
Treat yourself, your family & loved ones. This place is one of the best kept secrets in southern New Jersey!

I was truly surprised at the bad reviews some people gave this place. The tasting room is small and intimate. Knowledgable staff knew the history of each wine. Jersey dry reds have come a long way in the past few years and this place has just about the best. There’s an assortment of tastings to suit every taste and budget.

A world class winery in New Jersey? YES! I have tasted, and purchased, all of their reds and would be hard pressed to pick a favorite. The same for their semi sweet varieties. We’ve brought friends with us on a number of occasions who know far more about wines than we do and they were truly amazed at the wines Amalthea produces. It’s certainly worth a trip to Atco NJ.

After hearing the «New Jersey Wine» episode of «Planet Money» on NPR (
) I became interested in checking out this winery. Started by Lou Caracciolo in the 70’s, this former potato farm is now putting out wine meant to compete with wines from France.
I clocked about an hour and forty five minutes (with mild traffic) from Elizabeth, NJ, so add on about another half hour if you’re coming from Manhattan. Once you’re on the Turnpike the drive is very straight forward. On the way you’ll pass through towns with several stores including Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and Cracker Barrel. It’s a nice drive and not complicated at all.
When you arrive, you pull down a gravel road and park where you can, there is no «lot». You head into a small, charming stone house and there is the main greeting area and cash register. There is a book with articles about the winery, antique tools and machinery and even a small gift shop. The tasting room is to the left and it is wonderfully intimate. There’s a small bar and I’d say about six people could stand there and enjoy the tasting without a problem.
The young lady who took us through the tasting was super nice and patient. I may be remembering wrong but I think her name was Kate (apologies, it’s been a couple weeks). For the low price of $ 3/​person, my girlfriend and I did the «Semi-​Sweet Wines» tasting and even got to try a couple bonus wines in the process. We were provided with a list of wines with brief descriptions, prices and provided with pencils to take notes. Please keep in mind I’m no wine expert, but I did want to provide highlights of some of the wines I tried:
TRAMINETTE: Very light. Notes of white tea and spice (more the former than the latter). This would be great with food.
VIDAL BLANC: A sweeter wine that has melon notes. It’s not super sweet though. I had this with friends as part of an Asian Fusion meal and it worked perfectly.
CALLISTO BLANC: Fruity with a honey like note. This one I would drink alone, almost as a dessert wine (but it’s not as sweet as say, a port).
PINO GRIGIO: Very rounded in flavor. Sweet but not one note. It’s light enough to drink with food but it’s also sweet enough to drink on its own.
As a visitor, you can also see the wine cellar (which was cool to see) and walk the grounds to see the vines. They haven’t quite grown out yet as I write this, but I imagine by mid-​summer it will be a very impressive sight!
I had a wonderful time at Amalthea and definitely recommend it to anyone wanting a winery experience in NJ. For the record, I wound up buying bottles of all the wines listed above and a few more (including the Europa 1).

While the atmosphere was nice. It is a beautiful cellar in a woodsy sort of feel to it, all wood and stone interior. we weren’t impressed with the overall wines. We did only do the free wine tasting tour of the semi-​sweet and dry (each in my group did something different). There more expensive wines may be better tasting. The person doing the tasting was knowledgable.

Ive been to nearly every winery in New Jersey and completed the Passport. this is One of the best wineries in NJ. Top 5. Great wine, a neat cellar, and knowledgable staff.

Overall, this a very nice winery with nice grounds and very good wines. I am surprised that they are not busier given the number of positive articles I have seen recently. The VIP tasting is a bargain, given that you taste all of the Top shelf wines (11) as well House Dry Wine Flight (5).
While we liked all three of the Legends Edition: Europa I, II and VII, we decided to buy two bottles of the 2009 Clone II — one for this year and one to hold for 3 additional years.
I was hoping for a barrel tasting but I misread the email and didn’t realize it was a week too early.

Definitely come for a visit! Growing up in New Jersey, I love that New Jersey wineries are starting to focus on dry wines in addition to sweet/​fruit wines. Amalthea was the first New Jersey winery I’ve been to after recently hearing about it in an NPR story.
The folks working here are super friend and also know their wine. We got to do a barrel tasting with the cellar master and the tastings are quite generous. We ended up leaving with a case of wine, which shows how good and affordable this place is.
Finally, I love the winery and cellar and they are decorated very nicely. The tasting room originally was a stagecoach overnight rest station back in the day for people traveling between Philadelphia and Atlantic City.

This vineyard is in New Jersey?!? I meant… this vineyard is in New Jersey.
I was lucky to attend a small gathering of local business persons which was held at Amalthea, and was pleasantly surprised on all accounts. The vineyard itself it literally a breath of fresh air for this city dweller, and the buildings have a comforting amount of ‘old worldiness’ to them.
The staff is wonderfully eccentric, passionate, and knowledgable about their product. I should probably include a giant, but friendly cat (who looks like Professor McGonegall to me) into the Amalthea family, lest I offend.
The wines are pleasant, with the Cabernet being a clear winner. All of them do have a tendency to be a bit ‘minerally’ though. The closest flavour analogy I can offer, would be to call it (in style) ‘Fronsac lite’, or a Spanish Temprinillo before the Spaniards bought all the old vine french garnache.
The upshot is that it’s surprisingly affordable and fun to visit. Make time to check it out, or plan your next corporate or private there!

I visited Amalthea for my second time this past weekend. I do appreciate this winery: it’s very quaint and quietly nestled in the middle of nowhere — or so it feels.
The tasting cellars date back a century or so, and the greeters /​pourers are all very friendly (it helps to be from the Mid-​West!). They had free tastings (some charge for the «complimentary» glass) — and also a plethora of cheese and crackers!
Of course, you feel the obligation to buy a bottle in the end, but I didn’t mind. Amongst all of the NJ wineries I’ve been to — this one doesn’t particularly stand out as one of my top favorites — but I do like Amalthea and I’d definitely return if I’m in the area again.