Cheers To That

Raise a glass.  Watch what happens.  People respond in kind.  They may offer an additional tilt of the head, a smile, an exclamation, or even a blessing.  In my home, we toast the chef at the start of every dinner.  Even the two year old raises his sippy cup and taps it against anyone’s near enough to reach.  The contents of the cups don’t matter as much as the toast itself, but historically – and likely in your mind, too, when we think of toasting, we think of wine.

^{Chambourcin grapes, grown on site, make Federal Twist Vineyard’s fantastic Fed Red and other wines made by the Dorko family. Photos by Kristina Gibb Photography.}

The practice of making wine is as old as time itself.  The earliest fermented grape beverage was discovered in ancient China, somewhere around 7000 BC.  The drink also contained fermented rice, which is not exactly wine as we think of it today.  Evidence of the first true wines was discovered in South Caucasus, where early Georgians buried earthenware vessels of grape juice and left them through the winter.  Carbon dating of the pottery puts this practice around 6000 BC.  By 4100 BC, the Armenians, Georgia’s neighbors to the south, had developed a steady production of wine.  Nearly every civilization that followed made a place for wine on the table.  It was part of their mythology, their lore, their culture, and their lives.

For the Dorko family of Federal Twist Vineyard in Stockton (NJ), wine doesn’t just have a place on the table.  It is part of their family life, their livelihood, and their future, but it wasn’t always this way.

^{The Dorko family, from left to right: Lauren, Jessica, Libbey, mother Hattie, father Paul, Ian, and Molly. The Dorkos are the owner-operators of Federal Twist Vineyard and welcomes guests to the vineyard every weekend. Photo by Kristina Gibb Photography.}

Roundabout 45 years ago, when Paul Dorko and his brother, Kevin, purchased what amounts to about 180 acres of land along Daniel Bray Highway, just a few miles north of town, the intention was not to grow grapes.  The pair had a landscape architecture businesses, and they wanted to grow their own materials.  Despite his brother’s passing not long after the purchase, Paul continued on his mission.  He allotted just over 70 acres to the development of a nursery and let a friend farm the balance of the land, which is naturally divided from the nursery by Federal Twist Road.

With his wife, Hattie, and their five children to support and assist when needed, Paul built Hidden Valley Nursery, Inc. from the ground up, quite literally.  In addition to her supporting role in the nursery business, Hattie, along with the Dorkos’ eldest daughter, Jessica, owned and operated Charles Tile in Sergeantsville (NJ), a successful custom design business recently sold in March.

“It was a nice career for 24 years,” Hattie explains.  “We met a lot of really wonderful people along the way and made some really good friends, but it was time to end that and move on to this.”

^{Above: An employee can be seen checking the grapes’ health and progress. Below: Six acres of the Dorko’s 180 have been dedicated to vines, with that allotment expecting to increase in the future. Photos by Kristina Gibb Photography.}

Standing between long rows of perfect vines where dark purple bunches of grapes hang under protective netting, Hattie shrugs with a laugh.  When someone suggested they try growing grapes, “it was just ‘let’s try this,’ and we progressed.”

“And the grapes were happy down here in the river silt,” Jessica adds.  The family believes the sandy, nutrient rich soil along the river has contributed to the success of the six acres of vines they planted in 2012, as little more than an experiment.

If you’re studied in wine, you may know that you can’t use the grapes for the first few years.  The fruit is cut and tilled into the soil below, giving back their nutrients and feeding the vine. It is simply a necessary sacrifice, part of the process.

Four years of patience.  Four years of waiting.  Four years of toiling without a return.

Finally, in 2016, the family made their first batch of wine, and were met with more waiting.  The Chambourcin was the first to go into barrels, but it has to age 18-24 months.  Unable to do anything other than give it away when it was ready, they bottled it and gifted it to friends and family. The responses affirmed their first attempt was a success.

^{The Federal Twist label offers a field white, a Vidal Blanc, a Chambourcin, a Blaufrankisch, and two rose wines. Something for everyone. Photo by Kristina Gibb Photography.}

“Everything started happening from there,” Jess says.  The family delved into the other grapes they’d been nurturing, making different wines, and perfecting their processes.  Just seven years after the first grapes were crushed, the family has a thriving vineyard that offers guests six different wines – some red, some white, and some blush. 

With the whole family contributing to the business, Hattie and Paul now find their five children on the grounds regularly.  A close knit family to begin with, the five Dorko children were raised in a large stone home just uphill from the vines.  The now-grown children joke about how not much has changed since their youths.  They’re still pulling weeds and helping in the field.  It must not be so bad, though, because it’s with sincere smiles that they explain how they each had their time away, having flown the coop only to return to the home they love. 

^{Views from around the Dorko’s acreage just north of Stockton (NJ), property that accommodates Hidden Valley Nursery, the Federal Twist Vineyard, The Federal Twist House vacation rental, and the family home. Photos by Kristina Gibb Photography.}

Jessica, the firstborn, lives the farthest away – a whole 15 miles.  She still works in custom design, is married, and has two teenagers, but spends a good portion of time working for and in the vineyard.  The second of the five, Lauren, is an 8^th grade science teacher.  Also married and with three children, Lauren helps out in the field and during public hours.  Ian, the Dorkos’ only son, sits in the middle of his four sisters.  He works strictly for the family businesses, both Hidden Valley and Federal Twist, focusing his energies on the landscape architecture and land management aspects of things.  He is followed by Libbey, a married mother of three, who works in sales for luxury fashion designer Roberto Cavalli and spends weekends working with her family.  The youngest of the Dorkos is Molly.  Like Ian, Molly is solely employed by the family.  She works for both businesses and runs the marketing and management of the vacation rental on the property.  (Yes, you read that right.  You can stay at the Federal Twist House, at the vineyard.)  Hattie does the bookkeeping and gets out in the fields whenever and wherever she is needed, while Paul maintains the Hidden Valley business.  That doesn’t mean you won’t find him serving guests on the weekends.  He’s there, and he’s grinning with a deserved smile.

Running one small business is tricky enough. Running two is an epic undertaking, but the Dorkos do it well.  The family has a keen understanding of the balance that needs to be found between the two businesses.  While Hidden Valley is well established, the vineyard is still growing and requires focused effort. The delicious, early success of the winery is not yet offset by its newness, but neither is their confidence or their plans for the future. 

Putting all of their available resources to work and applying the unique skillset of each family member, the Dorkos recently made a heavy investment that is about to start paying off: an impressive onsite production space with small event capability.  As with any construction, the timeline for completion is in flux.  The hope is that they will be able to open the building toward the end of the fall season, but they’ve all accepted the start of spring may be inevitable.  In either case, when the building is ready, the Dorkos are ready.

^{Investing in the future, the Dorkos are near completion on the construction of an onsite winery. The venue will also be the location of indoor/outdoor weekend events, special events/activities, and serve as a private event space. Photo by Kristina Gibb Photography.}

“There are so many ideas.  It’s evolving so much,” Jessica says.  Then, she hints toward things to come, and says, “So, we’ll see how it goes and who we meet.”

As I tour the building, one thing is clear: they’ve thought of everything.  From patios with a massive television with presentation capability for patio events and luncheons to a moveable bar that can be pushed to the patio, tasting room, or barrel room, offering guests a variety of aesthetics.  The space was designed for flexibility and simplicity.  Libbey explains there was a specific goal to create a space where an event in one room wouldn’t shut down the entire venue.  Putting her design skills to work, this was a specification that Jessica was able to accommodate, along with some other features the Dorkos have yet to reveal (but will definitely be worth the wait).

Well supported in their endeavor by what Jessica refers to as a “calm and friendly” community of fellow growers and makers, the Dorkos are planning a series of opening events for the building.  They are excited to be able to maintain weekday hours and to bring their weekend events under a roof.  Currently, live music, wine tastings, great eats, and the most delicious wine slushies you’ve ever tasted are available Saturdays and Sundays in the grass by the vines.  For a modest admission fee ($5 per person), guests can claim one of the table and chair sets – some under giant, colored sunbrellas, or they can bring their own set ups.  Larger groups might find renting tents with reserved tables an easier option, so the Dorkos make that available, too.  Whatever it is you’re after – a stroll in the rows, open space, gorgeous relaxation, room to dance, or an Iowa State Fair sandwich (breaded pork tenderloin with a ton of toppings – yum!), the Dorkos aim to accommodate.

^{SLIDESHOW: Weekends at the vineyard welcome guests of all ages and their dogs for music, food, wine, and outdoor fun. Photos by Kristina Gibb Photography.}

“We have people who come, set up, and spend the whole day here,” Libbey tells me.  “Whether it’s enjoying a tasting and then buying a bottle of wine, having their lunch, sitting down, or listening to the music…  Families bring their children or their dogs.  What’s great is that there’s nowhere for the children to go, so it’s sort of run and be free…”

Libbey gestures to the deer fence that protects the properties prized produce from roaming munchers as mom Hattie laughs out loud, saying, “It’s like a giant playpen.”

“Yup,” Libbey nods, chuckling.  “So, parents don’t have to worry about that.  They get to sit and drink wine and relax, and their children get to burn energy and play with their friends.  It’s very relaxed.  It’s fun.  It’s welcoming.”

What feels like a garden party to grownups is an open space dream for kids and pooches alike, and the Dorkos treat it like they’re being visited by family.  They fire up the grill, get the slushies on a slow mix, and greet you at the gate. 

“Some make it a destination with their friends.  It’s a whole day,” Libbey says.  “We do get a lot of people who are just driving by and stop in, or people off the canal, too.  They stop in and come down for lunch and wine tasting or slushies, and then hop back on their bikes and off they go.”

“We have had people uber their bikes home, too,” Jessica adds with a giggle.  Safety first.

^{The Federal Twist House is a vacation rental available to guests who would like to explore both the vineyard and the many attractions in both Hunterdon County (NJ) and Bucks County (PA), which is just a few minutes away. Photos by Kristina Gibb Photography.}

Adding the building to the property will protect these events, their guests, and the hours of operation from the elements, as well as create new opportunities for wine lovers.  Aside from giving indoor and patio options to visitors, the building will give way not only to small events and business luncheons, but tours, increased retail space, and a tasters club membership program.

The biggest change the building will bring about, however, is the scale at which the vineyard will operate.  Bringing the production process to the grounds means a greater ease, a quicker turnaround, more room to make and age the wine, and an increase in overall production.  This will mean more acreage will eventually be given to propagating new vines, and – perhaps most exciting – the Dorkos aim to expand their license to include shipping and offsite sales with cooperating wine retailers.

The future of Federal Twist Vineyard is clear, at least this far…  Although the end goal for this generation is to establish a label that the Dorko grandbabies will carry into their future and the generations beyond, the immediate focus is much tighter. 

^{Building their label with the future in mind. Daughter Libbey holding her son, the youngest of the Dorkos’ eight grandchildren, who has Hattie’s blue eyes. Photo by Kristina Gibb Photography.}

Hattie looks around the interior of the huge, nearly completed winery and event space.  Her distinctly blue eyes twinkle with hope, and awe, and maybe a touch of fear.  She tamps her hands downward as though grounding herself in the space and says, simply, “I think we are definitely keeping our vision here for now.  We might add more vines, but this is where we are focused now.”

It isn’t easy to build this kind of business.  It isn’t easy to just take a leap, and then take another, and another, but this is how we grow.  We take risks, we sacrifice our grapes to the ground, and we wait patiently for things to come to fruition, and when they do, we raise a glass with our family and toast.

To the Dorkos, who are growing their vines like they’re growing their family – with sacrifice, love, patience, and success.  May their roots run long and strong.  May the fruits of their labors be plentiful, and may they continue to share them with us.  Cheers!

^{Paul and Hattie Dorko standing outside of their home on the Hidden Valley Nursery Inc./Federal Twist Vineyard property, just north of Stockton (NJ). They have owned the property for about 45 years and raised their five children here. Photo by Kristina Gibb Photography.}