our Story

ever since the beginning we’ve always approached things differently…

Our Roots

At Cedar Rose Vineyards, we’ve always done things a little differently. Long before the name existed—before the tasting room, the winery, or even a single vine in the ground—there was a shared curiosity and a growing passion for what New Jersey wine could become.

It started in 2009, when Dustin took a summer internship with Dr. Dan Ward at the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center (RAREC). Like many lifelong New Jersey residents, he hadn’t given much thought to the local wine industry—until that season among the vines opened his eyes. He came back the following year, drawn in by the work, the science, and the sense that something special was happening in those fields.

That summer, Steven—Dustin’s neighbor and longtime friend—joined the crew at RAREC as well. The two found themselves side by side in the vineyard, pruning vines, working hard, and dreaming up big ideas. Somewhere between the rows, a plan began to take shape. They weren’t just imagining what could be—they were starting to believe they could build it themselves.

By the end of that summer, the seed of Cedar Rose had been planted. What came next was years in the making.

“So I bought a chainsaw…”

Clearing the Way

After graduating college in 2011, Dustin and Steven wasted no time putting their vision into motion. Dustin headed west to California for an internship focused on farm management and crop production, while Steven stayed behind, continuing to develop his farming skills at RAREC.

Just a week into Dustin’s internship, the phone rang. It was Steven.

"I bought a chainsaw and I started to cut the woods down," he said.

To understand that moment, you have to go back a bit. On Steven’s mother’s property, there was a small overgrown field—a little more than an acre of tangled trees and brush. It was there, walking through the undergrowth, that Dustin and Steven had spent countless hours talking about what might one day be possible. Back then, those conversations were more dream than plan.

But now, Steven had put the dream into motion. That phone call changed everything.

By the time Dustin returned home that August, Steven and his brother Robert had already rallied a crew of friends and family and cleared nearly three-quarters of the woods. Dustin jumped in without hesitation, and together, the team kept the momentum going. Within weeks, they had successfully cleared the remaining trees, transforming the once-overgrown lot into open ground ready for vines.

What once felt distant and idealistic began to take shape, as the team took their first tangible step toward building a vineyard.

Cedar Rose was no longer just a conversation. It was becoming real.

Making It Work

Riding a wave of unfiltered enthusiasm, the crew pushed forward. With the help of Steven’s father—and a backhoe—they cleared the rest of the 1.25-acre plot, finally revealing a field ready for planting. But it didn’t take long to realize that clearing the land was only the beginning. Where would they get the trellis poles? The vines? And how on earth were they going to pay for any of it?

In those early days, sweat equity was king. Every obstacle required creativity, resourcefulness, and a lot of hard work.

Fortunately, Steven’s mother stepped in and purchased the first round of vines, scheduled for planting in the spring of 2012. The varieties chosen—Cabernet Franc and Blaufränkisch—weren’t just practical; they reflected a deeper philosophy from the start: a commitment to expressing the character of South Jersey rather than chasing the mainstream.

Trellis poles, however, were still a problem—until Steven’s father offered up another solution. On a separate property, they had access to Eastern Red Cedar trees, and with that, a new plan was born. The wood’s natural resilience and rot-resistant heartwood made it perfect for the vineyard.

Through the winter of 2011 into 2012, the crew harvested over 300 Red Cedar poles by hand—enough to build trellising for the first acre and a half of vines. It was grueling, physical work, but the payoff was undeniable: a vineyard taking real shape, row by row

the winter of 2011-2012 was spent logging over 300 red cedar trellis poles…

By the end of summer, after weeks of labor in the sun, we finally stepped back to admire what we had built…

there was barely a moment’s respite before we started to wonder, “so what now?

Planting the Future

When the vines arrived in spring 2012, it was go time. Friends, family, and anyone willing to lend a hand showed up for planting day. Every vine was set with care—aligned in straight rows, planted at the right depth, and given the best possible start. Just ten days later, bright green shoots began to emerge, proof that the young vineyard was alive and well in its new home.

By the end of summer, after weeks of labor in the sun, we finally stepped back to admire what we’d built. But the satisfaction was short-lived. We had achieved our goal—planted a vineyard—but now what?

It didn’t take long to realize that a few acres of vines weren’t going to pay the bills. If we wanted to build something real, something sustainable, we’d need a plan—a bigger vision and a way to turn this effort into a living.

As the vines went dormant and the landscape turned gray, we started to wake up to a deeper truth: this wasn’t just a side project anymore. It wasn’t just a bold idea from a couple of ambitious friends. It was a foundation. A beginning. And suddenly, it felt like something we might actually build our lives around.

So that winter, we got to work again—this time indoors, night after night, sketching out a strategy for what came next. If anyone had doubts about whether we were serious, we were ready to prove just how far we were willing to go.

in a chance meeting like something out of a movie, Steven ran into sam at a local pizza spot…

Forks in the Road

Choosing a direction is never easy—especially when the possibilities seem endless. As we dove into business planning, that challenge became all too familiar. Should we keep planting and focus on selling grapes to other wineries? Should we make our own wine and sell it to the public? What about wholesale—restaurants, retailers, distributors?

We wrestled with every option, outlining paths forward and weighing their risks and rewards. In the end, we narrowed it down to three real possibilities:

  1. Scale up the vineyard and sell grapes commercially.

  2. Keep the vineyard modest but add a winery and tasting room.

  3. Start wine production with a focus on wholesale, and ease into hospitality later.

We didn’t have long to sit with the decision—reality came calling faster than expected.

In a moment straight out of a movie, Steven ran into local entrepreneur Sam Pipitone at Joe’s Pizza. Steven shared the story of what we were building: the vines, the vision, the roadmap for Cedar Rose Vineyards—which, by that point, had officially been given a name.

That conversation turned into a meeting. And that meeting turned into a partnership. With Sam on board, Cedar Rose Vineyards LLC was formed, and the wheels were set in motion for a major leap forward: a 20-acre vineyard expansion in 2013, just down the road from where it all began.

With this innovative method we ended up planting the entire 20 acres in 4 days, a feat we thought impossible just a short time earlier.

Going Big

Twenty acres of vineyard might not sound like much to some, but looking back, it may have been one of the largest single vineyard plantings ever attempted in New Jersey. Most people take the sane route—five acres here, ten acres there. But with a mix of youthful naivety, oversized ambition, and a new partnership behind us, we took the leap. An idea that had once lived only in our heads had suddenly become something real, rooted, and impossible to ignore.

We were lucky to have access to one major advantage: a GPS-guided tractor that Sam brought to the table. That tech, paired with a homemade plow and a tree planter, allowed us to map out precise vine spacing and plant straight, perfect rows in record time. What should have taken weeks, we pulled off in four days. It felt surreal.

But, as we were learning, planting was never the end of the story. We still had to install trellis poles (store-bought this time), string wire, and put up thousands of plant guards—then keep the vines alive through an unforgiving first season. It was hard, sweaty, exhausting work, and the learning curve was vertical. We were in deep, with just enough grit (and caffeine) to keep moving forward.

By the time summer faded into fall, we had managed to get the vineyard fully installed. Through sheer determination—and a few sacrificed weedwhackers—the vines made it through their first season and went dormant, marking the start of yet another chapter.

Working two jobs became impossible….

Turning Point

In the early years, Cedar Rose was still a side hustle. Dustin had taken a full-time role at Bellview Winery, learning the ins and outs of winemaking and winery operations under the mentorship of Jim Quarella—widely regarded as one of the godfathers of New Jersey wine. Meanwhile, Steven continued refining his farming skills at RAREC, getting hands-on with vineyard management and deepening his agricultural chops.

But the real breakthrough came during one of those what-if conversations—the kind that only seems possible after a long day in the field. Dustin, Steven, and Jim began kicking around an idea that hadn’t yet been tried in New Jersey: a vineyard management company. At the time, nobody in the state was offering professional vineyard services to other growers and wineries. So they built one.

What started as a concept quickly turned into real demand. New vineyard owners were popping up without the know-how to maintain their vines, and even established wineries needed help managing acreage. Before long, the little side project wasn’t so little anymore. Jim eventually stepped back to focus fully on Bellview, and Dustin and Steven carried the business forward under a new name: Vinetech.

Vinetech grew fast. So fast, in fact, that working two jobs became impossible. But instead of walking away from either business, they found a solution that moved both forward. Dustin and Steven pitched the idea of merging Vinetech into Cedar Rose Vineyards, creating one streamlined operation with shared infrastructure, equipment, and labor. It was a bet on synergy—and it paid off.

With support from their partners, Cedar Rose invested in the tools needed to take Vinetech to the next level: trucks, trailers, tractors, and all the horsepower necessary to serve a growing client base. More importantly, it created a path for both Dustin and Steven to finally go all-in, full time, on the mission they’d started years earlier.

Now, with boots on the ground and no day jobs to fall back on, Cedar Rose Vineyards wasn’t just a vision anymore. It was real, it was growing, and for the first time, it had their full attention.

Just vines in the ground and a vision in our heads...

Laying the Foundation

As Vinetech continued to grow, Cedar Rose was starting to take real shape—but the next step meant facing a whole new kind of challenge: construction.

The site we had planted on was beautiful, but raw. No power. No water. No septic. No driveway. Just vines in the ground and a vision in our heads. It was a blank slate—which, depending on your outlook, was either a dream or a logistical nightmare.

Starting from scratch meant we could build something that truly reflected who we were and what we were trying to create. But it also meant taking on the full-scale job of a general contractor—juggling excavation, infrastructure, permitting, budgets, and timelines—while still managing vineyards and growing a business.

In 2014, we harvested our first crop: Chambourcin, Blaufränkisch, and Cabernet Franc. It was a huge milestone. Without a production facility, we made our first wines in a makeshift crush pad inside a truck garage owned by our partner Sam. It wasn’t glamorous, but it worked—and more importantly, it marked the beginning of our hands-on education in winemaking.

Construction on the winery began in 2015. At first, the plan was simple: a production facility only. No tasting room. Keep it lean. Focus on the wine. But partway through the build, we realized that opening our doors to the public wasn’t just a side idea—it was central to who we wanted to be. So we pivoted.

That decision changed everything.

What followed was three and a half years of blood, sweat, and sawdust. Delays, revisions, inspections, and countless weekends of hands-on labor. The upstairs wasn’t even finished yet, but in November of 2018, Cedar Rose finally opened to the public.

Even with all our experience, running a winery was a different animal altogether...

Building the Plane As We Fly It

Even with all the knowledge we’d picked up over the years—winemaking at Bellview, vineyard management through Vinetech, farming at RAREC—running a winery turned out to be a whole different animal. It wasn’t just about growing grapes and making good wine anymore. It was about creating an experience—and we were figuring that out in real time.

What should we focus on? Tastings? Private events? Live music? Food service? The questions came faster than the answers. We started small, offering charcuterie boards to complement our wines, but it quickly became clear that food was going to be a core part of the experience. A glass of wine wasn’t enough—people wanted a bite, too.

So we added paninis. Then salads. Then small seasonal touches and creative pairings. We weren’t just pouring wine anymore—we were building a hospitality model, step by step, guest by guest.

By the end of 2019, we were starting to get a feel for who we were becoming. The pieces were coming together. Momentum was building.

And then, just as we hit our stride—so did COVID.

It was one of the most uncertain moments in our journey, and once again, we were forced to do what had become second nature: innovate or fold.

Navigating the Chaos

When COVID hit, our world was turned upside down. Practically overnight, we found ourselves stranded—shut down, cash-strapped, and staring down an ever-growing pile of bills with no clear way to keep the lights on. It was one of the most uncertain moments in our journey, and once again, we were forced to do what had become second nature: innovate or fold.

We pivoted fast. Curbside pickup. Local delivery. Online sales. Virtual tastings. Everything was improvised, built from scratch, and held together by determination and grit. But it kept us going through some incredibly tough months.

When restrictions eased and we were finally allowed to reopen, we had a hidden advantage: space. Our large outdoor areas gave guests a place to relax safely, and that helped us regain some momentum. But inside, the rules made tastings feel stiff and awkward—masks, plastic barriers, distancing—so we scrapped the bar and shifted to flights served at the table. It was more relaxed, more guest-friendly, and honestly, it stuck.

Food kept growing, too. By early 2021, demand had outpaced our tiny kitchen setup, so we bought a food trailer and converted it into a full-time mobile kitchen. That one move changed everything.

With the trailer, we started serving a full menu—burgers, sandwiches, calamari, and more. As word spread, we leaned even harder into food as a cornerstone of the Cedar Rose experience. In 2024, we overhauled the menu completely, added rotating specials, and began hosting curated wine-and-dine events like prix fixe dinners and monthly pairings.

By the end of 2024, we had not only survived the COVID interruption—we had come out the other side stronger, sharper, and more certain of who we are. Cedar Rose had found its footing again, built on a clear vision: creating high-quality, one-of-a-kind experiences that simply didn’t exist anywhere else in the area.

Every guest who visits helps shape the story of Cedar Rose…

Hitting Our Stride

Today, Cedar Rose is more than a vineyard—it’s a living, evolving expression of everything we’ve poured into it over the years.

Vinetech now manages over 100 acres of grapes annually, with new vineyards going in every year. What began as a local solution has grown into a regional force, expanding across state lines into Maryland and Rhode Island.

Meanwhile, Cedar Rose has found its rhythm by leaning into what makes us different: creating meaningful, memorable experiences with an unwavering focus on quality.

We've expanded far beyond wine, offering classes in everything from succulent arranging and painting to cake decorating and fragrance making. Private events have become a growing part of what we do—hosting birthdays, bridal showers, corporate events, and weddings with full food service and hospitality.

Our wine and dine series continues to grow, now including seasonal pairings, our signature Valentine’s Day dinner, and even fresh Delaware Bay crabs when the season’s right. We’ve also introduced more festivals and community-driven events that showcase local crafters, artists, and musicians, helping to bring energy and connection to our space.

As we look toward the future, we’re planning a facility expansion to accommodate larger events and increase our indoor capacity—so we can welcome more guests, more often, in every season.

Though it’s been a long road, the story is still unfolding. And the truth is, we don’t write it alone. Every guest who visits, every bottle shared, every conversation held at a table amongst the vines—that’s what shapes Cedar Rose.

We hope you’ll come be part of it.

- Dustin, Steven, Sam, and Robert