Central Delaware Valley AVA

The Central Delaware Valley AVA was delimited in 1984, becoming New Jersey's first such wine zone and joining the Lancaster Valley and Lake Erie AVAs in Pennsylvania. While the majority of the AVA zone is on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River, more of the vineyards can be found in Pennsylvania.

The cool continental climate of the area is not well suited to commercial viticulture, and so only a few wineries are making wines in the AVA, mostly a mix of Vitis vinifera and hybrid grape varieties, including Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon and Delaware. Viticulture has not spread widely here and in the early 21st Century, only a few wineries are producing wines from the Central Delaware Valley AVA.