Mullen is a retired school
psychologist and therapist from
Turnersville who has always had
a love of wine. While recovering
from heart surgery, he began to
focus on two of his main passions
- wine and writing. He devoted
many hours to reading about
wine, completed two courses at
The Wine School of Philadelphia
(receiving his sommelier
certification) and began his quest
to visit every winery in New Jersey.
His quest is a noble one that
wineries around the state certainly
appreciate. Mullen says one of
the biggest misconceptions he
hears from people is that most of
the wineries only produce sweet
wines. While many started out
producing sweet wines or fruit
wines, they have been focusing
on improving the quality of their
wines and have been winning
awards for many years. Last year,
Amalthea Cellars in Atco received
a 97 rating by Chicago’s Beverage
NJ STAGE - ISSUE 58
Tasting Institute (BTI) - a score that
matched the highest ever given
by BTI and one that only nine
international wines has received
out of over 8,000 wines reviewed
since 1981. They received the
top score for their 2015 Legends
Edition Europa I - a wine that pays
homage to Chateau Margaux in
Bordeaux.
Most recently, four wineries from
Southern New Jersey’s Outer
Coastal Plain AVA (American
Viticultural Area) combined to
take home 21 awards at The
San Francisco Chronicle Wine
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