Saddlehill is a new winery and vineyard being developed in Voorhees NJ, on a large property which was previously known as the Stafford farm.
They are targeting a Spring 2024 opening, and as the grapes are growing at the onsite vineyard, full winery oriented development has been taking place on the White Horse Road property.
A 12,000 square foot winery building was already developed (with winery equipment installed), and currently a 7,000 square foot tasting room and restaurant are under development, featuring a covered porch looking out over the vineyard.
The entrance to the upcoming winery is just 1/4 mile from the Haddonfield-Berlin Road intersection, and a half-mile from the Shoprite of Evesham.
Keep scrolling and reading for more details on what is planned, but also “Like” their Facebook page where they team is posting regular updates. Also, the amazing tasting room is being developed by Quarry View Building Group.
Saddlehill Winery: Amazing Facilities, Perfect Location, Amazing Wines
South Jersey is fortunate to have many awesome wineries but typically they start off with a small tasting/winery room, and grow from there over the years.
But it seems the folks at Saddlehill are taking a page from the Bonesaw Brewery book… Meaning they’ll be starting out at the grand opening with a significant production operation and tasting room building(s) already in place!
Another unique aspect of the Saddlehilll winery is the location.
With many acres of land being a core requirement for a successful vineyard, you would expect that any new winery in South Jersey would be further out from the more commercialized towns such as Voorhees.
But owner Bill Green and his wife Amy were able to acquire the Stafford farm, which is a serene and beautiful piece of property on White Horse Road.
Today, immediately after passing through the entrance gates you’ll forget that beyond the property you are surrounded by suburban home developments, retail stores and office parks.
Your world within the Saddlehill property will be vineyards, wildflower and tulip gardens, and an operating horse farm.
The combination of the amount of investment going into the property before it opens to the public, as well as its prime location in a more densely populated area… should make Saddlehill winery a very popular destination spot.
And of course, the wine will be amazing also!
Winemaker Peter Szerdahelyi started his career at SilverOak in Napa Valley, and then at Mazza Vineyards in Pennsylvania
Most recently he was on the East Coast as the winemaker at LaBelle Winery in New Hampshire.
Saddlehill Winery Tasting Room
The Saddlehill tasting room is currently under development on the property. It will overlook the vineyards, farm, horse pastures and flower gardens.
The restaurant portion will offer a farm fresh menu, and your choice of seating options; indoor or outdoors.
They plan to have the facility open every day, year round in all four of New Jersey’s distinct seasons.
Of course world class wine will be available, and that alone will be worthy of making regular visits!
But they plan on offering tours of the winemaking process and the vineyards, food pairings and also just offer a relaxing place to sit back on the front porch and enjoy delicious wine.
Saddlehill Winery Property’s Founding Father History
The history of the property goes back 250 years, and starts with a gentleman who was one of the Founding Fathers of our country, as well as our first president… George Washington.
Back in 1772 during the Revolutionary War, George Washington gave the almost 70 acre parcel of land in Voorhees to his personal guard, lieutenant John Stafford.
This is obviously where the long-standing name of “Stafford Farm” derived from!
In the early years the land was focused on agriculture farming, with vegetable such as corn or potatoes.
Later on in more modern times the focus shifted more to raising and training of harness racing horses and the growing of hay as horse feed. This was likely due to the popularity of the now gone Garden State Park Racetrack.
In the early 2000s with the popularity of Voorhees continuing to increase, concerns arose regarding the risk of losing the pristine open land to development of homes or commercial buildings.
In 2003 a Land Trust in New Jersey paid the owners $20 million for the land development rights… basically preserving the farm forever to never be developed.
In early 2021 the property was purchased by Amy and Bill Green, They both grew up in neighboring towns, and raised their family in both Voorhees and Cherry Hill.
Bill Green is now a very successful business person and investor whose love for South Jersey in the area around Voorhees brought him back to purchase the property and make significant investments in improvements.
Starting with the Spring of 2024, for the first time in 250 years the Green’s will make the signature property accessible to the general public, when Saddlehill Winery opens.
Related to that, just 2 months ago New jersey governor Murphy signed legislation authorizing commercial farms that are located on preserve farmland to hold special occasion events.
Special occasion events allow preserved farmland owners the opportunity to introduce new streams of income to family farming operations, and increase the enjoyments offered to the public by agritourism.
While the official press release speaks in more general terms regarding all preserved farm lands, the legislation is actually derived from a pilot program for wineries on preserved farm lands, who ran a pilot program for several years allowing them to host special events under certain conditions.
Links and Locations
Saddlehill Winery – (Opens Spring 2024)
1407 White Horse Road
Voorhees NJ