Instead of kicking off your holiday season by circling for parking spaces and elbowing fellow shoppers out of your way, spend some time traversing the wine trails of New Jersey.

Cape May has regular Wine Trails that are scheduled throughout the year, but the November 19 installment is your chance to see the area all dressed up for Christmas. The expedition begins with lunch at Aleathea’s, the elegant Victorian dining room at the historic Inn of Cape May.

Afterwards, board a trolley and spend the afternoon touring both Hawk Haven and Natali Vineyards, where you’ll learn the latest in New Jersey viniculture and sip some award-winning vintages. Tickets are $60 per person, and advance reservations are required (Call 609-884-5404 or 800-275-4278 ). Bonus: If you happen to miss that date, you can catch the same tour on Friday, December 30, but with lunch at Lucky Bones instead.

Just after Thanksgiving, from November 25–27, is the NJ Holiday Wine Trail Weekend. Head to The Garden State Wine Growers Association, print out a map of your choice and go for a relaxing drive with plenty of stops to sniff, sip, and enjoy. Wineries are pulling out all the stops with special barrel tastings, live holiday entertainment, wine-friendly holiday foods, and gifts.

If you’re really ambitious, you can pick up a New Jersey Wine Country Passport at your first stop (call ahead and make sure they participate). Visitors who have their passport stamped at all participating wineries can mail it back to the association and receive a free gift and the chance to win a vacation for two to a European wine destination.

A few wineries not to miss: Amalthea and Sharrott (the Atlantic County Trail), and Coda Rossa and Bellview (Cumberland Wine Trail). You won’t find too many grannies sipping cloyingly sweet raspberry-vanilla concoctions at these vineyards; these producers are putting out some serious stuff, competing with the big boys of Napa and Bordeaux (and frequently trumping them).

Yes, there is great wine being made in New Jersey, and these events are a great way to get to know a terrior that’s coming into its own, perhaps only a few miles from your own backyard, or down the road from the local mall.

Photos via NewJerseyWines.com

Event Date: 11/19,11/25
Event Time: Varies
Location: NJ Wine Trails
Price: Varies
Type: Wine