Alliance Historic Model Vineyard
OUR GOAL
Following the success of our Alliance Historic Model Farm, we are expanding our project to grow a kosher organic Model Vineyard on the Levin family's historic farmland in Pittsgrove Township, Salem County, New Jersey, the site of the first Jewish farm community in America. We have partnered with vintner Eli Silins to steward the land for his own kosher winery, Camuna Cellars in nearby Philadelphia.
Together we will produce “vine to bottle” kosher wine from the oldest family-owned Jewish farm in America.
ACRe is hosting educational community events about our local history and agriculture, and all things related to kosher wine. We will continue to host Jewish holiday celebrations, especially those in which wine and fruit play a special role, including Purim, TuB'Shvat and Passover.
HISTORY
Our farmland property is located in Alliance, part of the greater area of Vineland, New Jersey, so called for its grapevines.
Thomas Welch of Welch’s Grape Juice got his start in Vineland, NJ in 1869.
The Levins’ farmland has been in the family for five generations and is part of the Alliance Colony, the first successful Jewish farm community in America, established by Russian Jewish immigrants in 1882.
ACRe co-founder William Levin’s great great grandfather Moses Bayuk grew grapes on their family farmland in the early 1900s and sold kosher wine in Philadelphia.
A handful of vineyards operate just a few miles from our own property, where the newly dubbed “Outer Coastal Plain” of New Jersey is gaining a reputation for grape growing.
There are very few organic—and no kosher organic—vineyards on the East Coast.
THE FARM
We have established the model vineyard on a small private lot of historic Alliance farmland with a half-acre paddock and a large pole barn, adjacent to 5 acres vacant farmland ready for future expansion.
THE MODEL
ACRe have partnered with co-founders William and Malya Levin to grow Alliance Historic Model Vineyard on their historic family farmland. Eli Silins of Camuna Cellars is overseeing the creation, stewardship and maintenance, experimenting with biodynamic and permaculture methods. Together they are working with local vineyard management company Vinetech to install and maintain.
ACRe has already begun hosting seasonal holiday events with Eli Silins, introducing their model vineyard to the public with educational tours and wine tasting. ACRe will also publicly share social media and data collected during their organic trials.
Starting with a half acre of 4 choice hybrid varietals—Itasca, Regent, Marquette and NY81.0315.17—we plan to use as few chemical treatments as possible if 100% organic proves impossible. We installed our first 11 rows of grapevines the week of April 10, 2023 and hosted a wine tasting gathering.
After about 3 years, Eli will harvest and use the grapes for production of his kosher wine at Camuna Cellars.
SUPPORTERS
Friends of ACRe Manuela Zoninsein and Andy Dunn have contributed $15K as early supporters and sponsorers of our inaugural year.
Salem County Historic Re-Grant program has awarded ACRe $7,510 for general operations in 2023, a portion of which may be used to support this project.
With additional grants we can devote resources to extensive data collection and publishing the results of our research in experimental organic vineyard cultivation.
We plan to host more occasional wine tasting and learning events at the model vineyard.
Funding for this project is a tax-deductible charitable donation to ACRe.
We can share more specific details about the startup costs and commercial potential of the project upon request. Please contact us by email.
FUTURE POSSIBILITIES
Grow orchard fruits and berries for other fermented beverages.
Expand onto adjacent acreage of historic family farmland.
Restore the Victorian era Moses Bayuk House to function as a winery and tasting room.
Spin off a commercial vineyard or winery.
MEET THE TEAM
Malya & William Levin
MALYA & WILLIAM LEVIN founded the nonprofit organization Alliance Community Reboot in 2014, dedicated to rebuilding farm-based Jewish community in South Jersey.
As a great-great grandson of Moses Bayuk, leader of the Alliance Colony, William had never truly connected with his Jewish agricultural roots or the historic farmland his family still owned. After buying the farmland from their family, the Levins soon realized they had the potential to contribute to the Jewish farming movement, which has experienced a resurgence among the younger generation of American Jews.
Malya is a lawyer admitted to the NY and NJ Bars, and is Assistant Director and General Counsel at the Weinberg Center for Elder Justice, the nation’s first elder abuse shelter. In 2018 Malya was named one of New York Jewish Week’s “36 Under 36.”
Eli Silins
After working on a biodynamic vineyard in Australia in 2004, Eli Silins started making wine in California in 2013. He has long been interested in sustainable agriculture systems and the intersection of ancient and modern holistic farming practices. In 2019 Eli moved from Berkeley, CA to Philadelphia, PA and took Camuna Cellars with him. He is currently exploring the bounty of the Mid-Atlantic as a member of the Outer Coastal Plain Vineyard Association and experimenting with grapes, apples, and honey and their various combinations: wine, cider, mead, cyser and pyment.
Ben Kutner
Ben is the owner of Kutner Landscape Solutions and longtime family friend of the Levins. Ben has supported ACRe with all its projects since the beginning, helping with property maintenance and installing farm and garden infrastructure. Ben will be preparing the land for our vineyard and helping with seasonal maintenance. This works out well, considering Ben also stores and repairs his heavy landscaping artillery in our barn.
This program is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State, through the Salem County Board of County Commissioners & The Salem County Cultural & Heritage Commission.