New Jersey... America's Bordeaux?

Horse racing and winemaking share a few things in common. Both are products of agriculture, and both have ideal conditions to flourish in New Jersey.

In fact, while pouring samples from a selection of reds and whites for festivalgoers at 's on June 25, Mark Carduner of Silver Decoy Winery in Robbinsville, N.J., said the geology right here in New Jersey is not so different from that of wine-rich Bordeaux, France.

"The Shore property here obviously with the sand is quite light. As you make your way toward Princeton, toward the middle of the state where [our winery is] located, the soils have a little more water holding capacity, absolutely ideal for growing high quality grapes, very similar to Bordeaux in France."

Currently fifth in the U.S. in wine production, Carduner said New Jersey's vineyards are riding a red and white wave which is the fastest form of agricultural growth in the state.

There are now over 50 wineries producing and fermenting grapes in New Jersey, and 10 of them were on hand to showcase their products last weekend at Monmouth Park, offering unlimited tastings for a mere $10, which bought a tasting glass emblazoned with a well-designed logo that incorporated a horseshoe into the shape of a wine glass.

Alex Bernardini, 24, of Middletown and Amanda Cookman, 23, of Doylestown, Pa. arrived at the Monmouth Park train station Sunday ready to embark on a wine odyssey.

"This was my first time at the racetrack," said Bernardini. "I came for the wine and stayed for the horses. So much to do and a short train ride."

Like the rest of the festivalgoers, Bernardini and Cookman made their way around (fittingly enough) the horseshoe of wineries, stopping at different tents to appreciate all the reds, whites, blushes and fruit wines local growers had to offer. In between stations, they filled their glasses at water coolers to cleanse and prepare their palates for new tastes.

Robin and David Demarsico, the husband and wife team of Renault Winery, greeted Bernardini and Cookman as they began their journey around the local world of wine.

Renault, located minutes from exit 44 of the Garden State Parkway in Egg Harbor City, offers a restaurant, golf course, and daily tours. Renault's full lineup offers 31 different champagnes and wines, and they brought 13 with them to Monmouth. David said their Riesling was the second harvest from a new field.

Up next was Cream Ridge Winery, which is best known for its fruit wines. Located moments from Freehold, off exit 8 of Interstate 195, Cream Ridge Winery is one of the oldest wineries in New Jersey, in operation for the past 23 years.

"We have about 12 acres. We grow a lot of reds. This year we have pineapple and mango, which have been a big hit," said Kyle, who was manning the booth for the winery.

"We do 100 percent fruit, there's no grape in them," explained Kyle. "So the mango's just mango, the pineapple's just pineapple, which give them a very intrinsic fruitiness. Our mango and pineapple came from Costa Rica. You throw them in a bin, add some sugar and water and ferment them, you wait a couple weeks and you get wine. It's a fairly quick process for fruit wines."

Many of the wineries on hand are family owned, such as Coda Rossa Winery of Franklinville, which has four wines available at Monmouth Park's main restaurant in the clubhouse.

"When asked for my job title," explained Kathy Nice, who runs Coda Rossa with her husband and a small team of dedicated employee "I say owner, operator, master winemaker, and chief toilet scrubber, because when it's your own business you do everything, soup-to-nuts."

Family and friends seemed to run most of the wineries that Patch talked to at the event, including Plagido's Winery, Wagonhouse Winery, and Silver Decoy.

"Silver Decoy was established in 2001 by a bunch of friends that have very diverse backgrounds. We have builders, contractors, schoolteachers, commercial real estates guys... the one thing that ties us all together is we have a deep interest and a deep love of high quality wine," said Carduner.

Carduner spoke for many of the other wineries when he said their presence at Win and Wine Weekend was to spread that love of wine.

"We try to help. I think the greatest thing and the reason we do events like this is to spread the word. I mean, sure we'll sell some wine. We'll cover our expenses to come. It's not about making money today. Today is meeting people who are not usually going to wineries or maybe didn't know how big and flourishing the Garden State wine growing phenomenon is."

By the time the weekend was over, few if any left the festival unhappy.

"I was impressed by the variety. It was a steal for only $10," said Cookman.