Why Rutgers Professor Angus Gillespie Made New Jersey Wine a Focal Point of Old Ways in New Jersey

If you’ve been to Lambertville in Hunterdon County, you know its charms. There are views of the beautiful Delaware River, great restaurants, antique and specialty shopping, plus plenty of annual festivals and fairs. What would make someone who planned to spend a day in the river town decide they needed to leave immediately?

A well-placed brochure about New Jersey’s wineries might do it. It’s what tempted Angus Kress Gillespie, professor of American Studies at Rutgers University and host of Old Ways in New Jersey, and his wife taway from Lambertville’s shops and restaurants and to head to Angelico Winery, located just a few miles from the town’s quaint streets by the river.

“We were walking down Bridge Street, and there was a newspaper box on the sidewalk with tourist brochures,” says Gillespie. “We picked one up and it said there were over 60 wineries in New Jersey, and I thought, ‘Who knew?’”

After realizing Angelico was only 3.5 miles away, they chose to devote their day to the vines instead.

Gillespie recalls that first winery visit, saying, “The people at the tasting room were very kind, explained everything, and talked enthusiastically to customers. I thought, “Wow, this is really something.’’

It occurred to him that taking a deep dive into New Jersey’s wine industry would be something suitable for his television program, which he’s been hosting for about 20 years.

For the past year, he’s been adding New Jersey wine professionals to his list of interviewees. To date, Gillespie has had eight of them appear on Old Ways in New Jersey.

What Professor Gillespie Has Learned Along the Way

Through his visits to about a dozen of New Jersey’s wineries over the past year and his interviews with Garden State wine professionals, the professor has learned quite a bit.

“I guess what really surprised me, at first, is that if you’re looking at the big picture, New Jersey is the fourth smallest and most densely populated state [in the country], and people think of it as the turnpike, Newark airport, factories, and shopping centers. Yet, there are pockets of rural New Jersey where you can find wineries,” says Gillespie, who lives in Bergen County’s Lodi. Like many North Jersey residents, he had yet to discover the open land in South Jersey. He’s now gearing up to explore the region in one of the most enjoyable ways, by visiting the wineries.

“If you look at the passport, there’s a handful of wineries in North and Central Jersey, but the bulk are in South Jersey,” he says, speaking of the GSWGA Passport Program. Soon, he’ll be making his way to the southern counties, passport in hand.

“I’m doing the passport just for fun. I’m not sure I can complete it all,’ says Gillespie.

What You’ll Learn from the Program

Each episode is Gillespie and his interviewee simply having a conversation. That means that while you need to go to YouTube to access the episodes, you don’t necessarily need to watch them. You can put them on while you’re cooking dinner or driving in the car and just listen to them like you would a podcast.

The professor explains what those who watch or listen will hear during the interviews.

“I’ve interviewed owners and winemakers and general managers,” he says. “Each interview is a bit different, but I think the advantage of my TV show is that it’s 30 minutes, and that allows for a fairly deep dive into the background of the winery, the family that owns it, and the traditions they’re trying to promote. During most of my interviews, I try to get the biographical background of the owner or winemaker, the history of the facility, the acreage, the soil type, and the activities in the tasting room.”

That is, of course, if he’s interviewing someone who works at a winery. He’s also interviewed industry experts Dr. Gary Pavlis and Dr. Dan Ward, both of Rutgers Cooperative Extension, about New Jersey’s history and information specific to grape growing in the state.

The professor is learning while he does the interviews.

“I still have a lot to learn about the different wine varieties. I’m not a somm,” he says. But his recently acquired curiosity about New Jersey’s wine industry has made him become, in his words, “kind of regular wine drinker” because he wants to support New Jersey wineries.

How To Watch the New Jersey Wine Episodes of Old Way in New Jersey

Anyone can support New Jersey wineries and Gillespie’s efforts to promote them by watching Old Ways in New Jersey. His interviews air on EBTV in East Brunswick before they live on YouTube. The list below, with links to each individual New Jersey wine-centric YouTube episode, is of the interviews that have aired so far. He intends to continue interviewing experts from New Jersey’s wine industry, so join us as we follow the YouTube channel for new programs as they’re posted.