Winery 'Salesrooms' Coming To BYO Restaurants, Shops Throughout South Jersey

VOORHEES, NJ — A Camden County winemaker is expanding its reach, opening "salesrooms" at restaurants, stores and even mall kiosks in the region.

Saddlehill, a winery and vineyard in Voorhees, is in the midst of partnering with South Jersey businesses to establish winery salesrooms — made possible by reforms to state liquor laws in the past two years.

Essentially, a winery's products can be sold by the bottle in different venues, such as shops and BYO restaurants. Customers can then consume them on or off the premises. They cannot be sold by the glass.

Currently, Saddlehill has them at a Cherry Hill Mall kiosk and at Ristorante Fieni's, a BYO Italian restaurant in Voorhees, says Julie Pierre, Saddlehill's director of wine operations and sales.

Saddlehill has been establishing partnerships with different businesses with hopes to open more. They can operate up to 15.

Their first salesroom opened this fall at Fieni's. Consistent with new state laws, Saddlehill is selling the wine. But diners can purchase it by the bottle at Fieni's to enjoy with their meals.

"We're selling the wine, but they're restocking it for us," Pierre told Patch. "So then their customers are able to get a bottle of wine."

Saddlehill also opened a kiosk at Cherry Hill Mall last month, which functions as a "secondary tasting room," Pierre says. The salesroom is open for the holiday season and will operate for about three more weeks.

Wineries must apply to the state for individual permits at each venue. The state's Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control is the licensing authority.

Saddlehill applied for salesroom licenses at several ShopRite stores, but those plans have been nixed because of logistical challenges.

The winery has prioritized partnerships with BYO restaurants, but they're hoping to expand into retail stores. For instance, Saddlehill recently began efforts to obtain a salesroom permit at Cheese Etc., a gourmet gift shop in Haddon Township.

Efforts to put them at several ShopRite supermarkets were nixed because of logistical difficulties.

"The BYO restaurants make the most sense for us, so that's been our main focus," Pierre said. "But then we're able to partner with retailers like Cheese Etc. This is a place where we're just in the process of getting an application together, so I don't know if it's going to happen. But that's a place that would make sense for our project, as well."

Saddlehill opened last year at Stafford Farm, where they operate a vineyard, a tasting room and a farmhouse kitchen. It is located at 1407 White Horse Rd., Voorhees.