You may be surprised to learn that two New Jerseyans started our state’s wine industry almost two decades before the American Revolution.

At the time, Great Britain was thirsting for good wine in the colonies, and London’s Royal Society of Arts offered a reward to any colonist who could produce wine of the same caliber as vintages from France.

(DailyRecord) - Two New Jersey men, William Alexander and Edward Antill, took the challenge and were recognized by the Royal Society.

Since then, New Jersey’s winemaking history has been filled with stops and starts, and ups and downs.

The vineyards planted by Alexander and Antill — located in Basking Ridge and Piscataway, respectively — shut down after their founders’ deaths. Other vineyards were established, but many vines transplanted from Europe succumbed to insect pests in the late 1800s. A few decades later, prohibition crippled the state’s remaining wineries. Even after Prohibition was repealed, strict laws kept the wine industry from growing.

Today, winemaking is enjoying a renaissance in New Jersey, thanks to sturdier hybrid grapes and changes in regulations.

The Garden State now has over 50 wineries with more than 80 grape varieties on over 2,000 acres. Not surprising for a state famous for blueberries, peaches and apples, fruit wines are also popular.