Hawk Haven Vineyard & Winery in Rio Grande, NJ

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Telephone:	+1 609-846-7347
Website:	hawkhavenvineyard.com
Address:	600 S Railroad Ave, Rio Grande, NJ, 08242
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:	1.9 miRt-9 at Edgewood Ave
Categories:	Wineries Music Venues

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Bussiness info

Take-out	Yes
Accepts Credit Cards	Yes
Accepts Apple Pay	No
Accepts Bitcoin	No
Parking	Private Lot

Bike Parking	No
Wheelchair Accessible	Yes
Good for Kids	No
By Appointment Only	No

Today

Today	11:00 am – 7:00 pm Open now
Local time (Rio Grande)	13:43 Thursday, 12 June 2025

Business hours

Monday	11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Tuesday	11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Wednesday	11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Thursday	11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Friday	11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Saturday	11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Sunday	11:00 am – 7:00 pm

Description

Specialties

We specialize in European varietal wines like Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

History

Established in 1997.

The Hawk Haven story begins back in 1940 when Johan Felix Wuerker traveled from Germany to Cape May, New Jersey and purchased the land that would one day become a vineyard and winery. Three generations later the farmland was still in the family and it became Todd Wuerker’s turn to choose something to plant.

Todd and his wife Kenna began their work to open the winery in August of 2006 and established Hawk Haven Vineyard LLC by May 2008, opening the tasting room just one year later. Their first vintage was in 2007 and consisted of the American Kestrel White (an unoaked Chardonnay), Red Table Wine, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Today they have nine acres of vines with twelve different varietals; six red and six white. All of the grapes are harvested, pressed, fermented, aged, blended, and bottled on site.

Meet the Business Owner

Todd W.

Business Owner

The youngest of three sons, Todd and his brother planted the first grapevines, Cabernet Sauvignon, in 1997 before he was even of the legal drinking age. He knew nothing of wine but his roots in farming and his dedication to learning more about winemaking resulted in a very knowledgeable individual who not only produces award-winning wines but also consults for two other local vineyards. Additionally, he helped plant vines at Turdo Vineyards and Cape May Winery.

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20 reviews of Hawk Haven Vineyard & Winery

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Shibi M.

Place rating: 3
New York, NY

not particularly crazy about half the wines on this 8 for $ 8 sampler — it’s just like an ascending order of sugar whites and reds with no relief. like, really, i thought the last one was more sweet. now this one is. goddamn. it’s a little much. all of this wine is great if you’re at a cookout and fill your glass with wine and are generally dgaf.
otherwise, if you’re recently beginning to actually notice what wines you like versus the ones you dont, then its pretty obvious that the only saving grace was the merlot. this one is killer. i ordered a glass afterwards and laid out on the porch. i wanted to take a nap, it was so good. haha, i need to eat something.

Kevin B.

Place rating: 3
New York, NY

Lovely scenery — good wine. Went for a Sunday Sangria and was disappointed with it. For a vineyard I could hardly taste any wine in the Sangria. Needed to buy a bottle to satisfy the missing taste of wine. Overall nice place to spend a casual Sunday; just do not expect to have the best Sangria.

Chris S.

Place rating: 4
Redondo Beach, CA

Went here on a rainy Memorial Day, which despite the weather was rather crowded. Although the staff was a bit overwhelmed, and the time between pours was long, they did their best and made sure to accommodate everyone in a reasonable time. The property is gorgeous, and they have a large outdoor patio. The wines are okay (some decent, some to pass on) but generally a good experience. Having visited dozens of wineries, I value the experience more so than the actual wine, which is not to say I don’t enjoy a good wine, but I prefer the customer service and value to strictly the taste of the wine. Overall, very pleased with this experience.

Julie T.

Place rating: 1
Livingston, NJ

Zero stars but I can’t do that. We have a place in Wildwood Crest and while we were down Christmas week decided to do something fun. Told my husband let’s check this place out, it’s close and looks interesting. I have to say I have never in my life have gone someplace that was so unprofessionally run. We walk in and the bar area is full with people doing their tastings. That’s fine we have no problem waiting. The problem was that no one from Hawk Haven acknowledged us being there and this was after standing there for at least 10 minutes. I understand it was busy but it would have been nice if maybe they could have at least have maybe welcomed us and perhaps give us an estimated waiting time. We walked out. There are many other wineries in the area that we will check out in the future.

Frank P.

Place rating: 1
Rahway, NJ

On our way down to Cape May my wife and I thought it would be a good Idea to hit 4 or 5 wineries and it was… except when we stopped at Hawk Haven Vineyard & Winery. The wine tasting is over priced for wine that’s OK at best. With a cash register set up on a table right at the door they offer 2 tasting one for $ 8-$ 9 and one for $ 16, we choose that latter. So for $ 32 we were able to pick 6 wines from a list and they were presented to us by someone that reminded me of Jeff Foxworthy. The reds, which I prefer, were not good at all and the whites were OK at best. We’re not experts by any means but my wife and I know when something tastes bad and most of these wines taste bad. If you like these wines «You might be a redneck». I did buy a bottle of Viognier so the visit wouldn’t be a total waste. But what really turned me off about the place was it seemed as if their first priority was the all mighty dollar. Compared to other wineries we’ve been to over the years in NY and NJ, this place was opening a bottle of wine at diner and find out it went bad. The wine is overpriced, the tastings are overpriced, and we did not get the feeling there was a sense of passion for the wine. My opinion the name should be changed to «Money Hawk Vineyards».

Michael M.

Place rating: 5
North Wales, PA

My wife and I went to Hawk Haven this past weekend to do the premium tasting after which we grabbed a couple bottles of wine, a cheese and charcuterie plate, and a table in their tent. Evidently, they have live music every Saturday afternoon, which made the afternoon all the more enjoyable. Their wines which we sampled were great. Lot of fun, would definitely recommend with a group!

Jesse R.

Place rating: 4
Brooklyn, NY

We had a nice time here on a recent weekend when we came for a «premium» tasting. The «premium» tasting is only offered in Saturdays in March, I believe. There’s a cheaper option at other times.
At $ 16 it’s top of the mark for a premium tasting (it’s something like $ 8 for the regular one), but we did get to try some wines from the cellar. I believe those went back to 2008.
The portions are a bit small — literally a taste, and far from the ¼ glass you’ll get at other establishments like Willow Creek in West Cape May. That’d probably be my only less-than-stellar thing to say.
The gentleman working the counter was knowledgeable on wine. For another $ 2 you can keep the glass. Not bad, not bad.
So, for two people we spent about $ 50 with glasses and tip. You can get much cheaper tastings elsewhere, but this was a fun place to spend a half-hour. Pop in.

J.J. C.

Place rating: 5
Dallas, GA

First of all, excellent wines!!!
Secondly, the guy doing the tasting was extremely personable and knowledgeable. Not only about their wines, but in drawing comparisons to different wine regions.
I would highly recommend this winery for any wine drinker!
(We also had our 10 month old baby with us)

Jackie B.

Place rating: 5
Broomall, PA

What a great place. My husband and I went for the full tasting. The cute couple explained all 8 wines fully. We ended up buying 7 bottles for the Thanksgiving holiday. Not sure they are going to make it to that holiday. We might have to take a drive down right before. We will defiantly be back for Christmas holiday shopping also.

Halie B.

Place rating: 5
Manhattan, NY

From the second we got here (a bachelorette party of 20), we were welcomed and shown the ‘vineyard ropes.’ Our tasting guide Lou was charming and knowledgeable, not to mention patient, which can be difficult with a group of our size who’ve been drinking a bit.
Our whole experience was relaxing, interesting and fun!
I’d recommend this place over and over again! !! Oh, and the wine is fantastic! !!

Maggie T.

Place rating: 5
Woodbridge Township, NJ

Best wine selection/winery in Cape May! I am a red wine drinker mostly, but the selection of whites won my heart at this little gem. If I had baller status and could afford to buy each bottle we tried, I probably would’ve bought a case of every single bottle I tried. It’s that serious. I came home with just 3 bottles and I’m scared to drink them lol. A definite must! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Donna P.

Place rating: 5
Holmdel, NJ

This was our favorite winery tour so far in the Cape May area. This vineyard is family owned and we were fortunate to have the owner share his family history with us on the guided tour. We started off walking the vineyard and walked thru the processing and bottling room. The careful attention to quality details were impressive. A business that has such attention to atmosphere must give the same attention to their wines. Hearing about New Jersey wines were pleasantly surprising. The Pinot Grigio is refreshing, and the Cabernet Sauvignon works well with an assortment of foods. The apple wine was amazing! The elegant tasting room and delicious snacks of cheese, crackers and fruit compliment each other so well. We returned the following week for Sangria Sunday and delicious crepes my family loved. Highly recommended when you visit Cape May!

Richard B.

Place rating: 5
Englishtown, NJ

My family (all adults) went for a wine tour and wine tasting on 8÷25÷2015 with Lou as our tour guide (also wine maker).
My family found the tour to be very informative. Lou throughly explained the wine process from rootstock and grafting to harvesting, fermenting and bottling. Along the way we sampled 9 wines from grapes grown on the property. Upon completion of the tour, we each had a full glass of our favorite wine from the tour accompanied with a platter of various cheeses and crackers. We enjoyed the wine and cheese while looking out over the vineyard.
It was a fun time for the entire family and was fairly priced for what was received from the winery.
Would definitely recommend this wine tour and tasting. Thank you Lou for a wonderful tour

Holly P.

Place rating: 5
DeLand, FL

Great experience! Loved the wine tasting and the meat and cheese plate! Very yummy! Only thing that I would change was the sangria… Not the I’ve had.

Donna J.

Place rating: 4
Dover, DE

Went in for a wine tasting on 4^th of July weekend. Despite the busy time, the wine guide took his time explaining all parts of the wine and even brought out some wines not on the typical sample list for us to try. We thoroughly enjoyed it and then we were able to sit out on the patio and enjoy a glass of wine with some live acoustic music. We have been to a few wineries in the Cape May area and I highly recommend adding this one to your list. We LOVED the red called Q (it’s a must try and buy) also found the simple white blend a great refreshing sit on the deck summer wine. Can’t wait to go back soon!

Tom F.

Place rating: 4
Philadelphia, PA

Nice little spot. Stopped here on our way to Cape May for the weekend for Sangria Sunday. We did a wine tasting which was $ 8 each ($ 10 if you want to keep the glass, which we did). Tasting included 8 or 10 wines… I can’t remember exactly. The tasting is indoors and air conditioned so you will be comfortable. We went on a VERY hot day.
After the tasting, GF’s family arrived and we hung out for the sangria. There is a tent area you can sit outside, but it was so hot they opted to stay inside. There is an area inside next to the wine tasting room with a few tables you can sit at, but it is limited in size. We had a couple cheese platters to share which were tasty. They had some crackers… and you guessed it Cheese! There was about 5 or 6 cheeses on the plate, some jam, and some grapes. Overall a good snack for what we were there for.
We had a pitcher of white sangria and it was ok. It was VERY heavy on the pineapple flavor. I’d suggest cutting back on the pineapple and mixing in some other fruits.

Cory G.

Place rating: 5
Glenside, PA

Who would have thought that a winery would be family friendly but they manager to make it a place for everyone out on the crush pad.
The wines are excellent, the live music is entertaining and the food is excellent

Cat P.

Place rating: 4
Philadelphia, PA

I love that the vineyard business is taking off in Cape May County! It makes for a fun afternoon. Hawk Haven has a lot of outdoor space and a huge tent that you can relax under in the summertime. The parking lot is not huge, but people made their own spaces and no one seemed to care. The whole vibe was laid back. Now for the thing people are actually interested in: the wine. It’s delicious (also vegan, for those of you wondering) and affordable at about $ 5 – 7 a glass and $ 20 – 30 a bottle. If you need gifts for people and you want a local item that’s a little classier than a box of saltwater taffy, I highly recommend a bottle from here.

Rich A.

Place rating: 3
Ansonia, CT

I’ll make this a really simple review. The reds are way better than the whites. As with most other smaller wineries, the wine is expensive for the quality. I bought one bottle of red for $ 14 that I thought was good. As for the whites, all I tasted was the alcohol, they were very flat and lacked flavor. Their most expensive wine for $ 34 that won may awards is not worth the price.

Jeanne S.

Place rating: 5
Cleveland, OH

My husband and I were in town visiting from Ohio and landed at this cute winery. Opted to do a tasting 3 whites, 3 reds, 1 blush and each was flavorful. My favorite was the Q (quill), smooth, full bodied and almost silky, buttery. We decided to enjoy a glass of wine and cheese spread that was fabulous. Ended up buying 6 bottles (with that purchase you get an additional 5% off). I would highly recommend this winery for it’s fantastic wine, wonderful staff and overall ambiance.

Hawk Haven Vineyard & Winery

Rio Grande, United States