The local landmark managed to stay open during Prohibition. And did you know Nucky Johnson once worked there?
Renault celebrating the end of Prohibition in Egg Harbor City, Dec. 4, 1933
EGG HARBOR CITY — When you are talking about then and now in the Atlantic City region, Renault Winery has to be near the top of the list in longevity. The oldest continuous commercial winemaker in New Jersey, The House of Renault was founded by Master vintner Louis Nicholas Renault in 1864. Finding a climate and soil similar to that which he knew in France, he decided to settle and establish his own vineyard.
Think about it — our nation was still engaged in the Civil War when Renault first opened its doors in Egg Harbor City. By 1870 he had introduced his New Jersey Champagne. Renault Winery soon won prizes for its wines and became the largest distributor of champagne in the United States.
The Atlantic County city itself, founded mostly by German immigrants, was an important stop for travelers from Philadelphia in the late 19th century since visitors going to Atlantic City had to change trains in Egg Harbor.
A few decades later, Renault was faced with the problem of losing its right to make wine because of a national ban on booze. When Prohibition was instituted with ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution on Jan. 16, 1919, which prohibited the “Manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States,” it could have been the end of Renault.
However the winery was able to slip through a loophole in the law.
In 1919, John D’Agostino and family bought the winery and continued to operate it during the 14 years of Prohibition under a special government permit. This permit allowed the production of wines for religious and medicinal purposes. Renault Wine Tonic, which had an alcoholic content of 22 percent, became the chief product and was sold in drug stores throughout the nation. A label warned not to chill the tonic, as it would turn into wine.
Joseph Milza, a former newspaperman, purchased the property in 1977 and part of the appeal was the history. As Milza explains, “The original owners, the Renault family, wanted out of the business [when Prohibition was arriving]. John D’Agostino purchased the property in 1919 and brought with him a permit to make sacramental wines and Renault Wine Tonic. He had planned ahead and was well prepared to keep the business going.”
In essence, churches and snake-oil salesmen helped keep Renault Winery afloat during the era when Nucky Johnson was running his “Boardwalk Empire” 16 miles down the White Horse Pike, so colorfully fictionalized in the hit HBO TV series.
And here’s an intriguing fact: Nucky Johnson was jailed for tax evasion in 1941, and after he was released in 1945, he spent some time working at Renault Winery with his wife Florence.
“Flo worked in the gift shop at Renault while Nucky was still incarcerated,” says Milza. “And when he got out he worked part-time as a salesman for Renault. He was very good at selling things to people.”
That was then. This is now. Renault Winery has thrived even in these tough economic times thanks to Milza, who purchased the property during a period of decline. He admits that it was tough to balance expansion of his property while staying within the state restrictions of the Pinelands Commission that regulates construction with an eye to keeping the Pinelands pristine. He had to battle and compromise, but Milza managed to stay within those restrictions and still expand the scope of Renault, first with the Tuscany House Hotel in 2000 and in 2004, with the opening of Vineland Golf at Renault.
This, combined with the earlier conversion of the Renault restaurant into the Renault’s Gourmet Restaurant and the addition of Joseph’s Restaurant, helped usher in continued prosperity.
Renault Winery retains the quaint charm that has made it so inviting to visitors for generations, enhanced by its colorful history.
By the summer of 1912, Atlantic City had established itself as a premier vacation resort. Its sun, surf and Boardwalk, along with adult offerings of alcohol, gambling and prostitution, could satisfy a variety of appetites.
In celebration of this weekend's Atlantic City Beer and Music Festival — which is promoting craft beers and the brewers who create them, we’re going to hop back in our hot tub time machine and explore the start of micro brewing. From the 1920s Prohibition era to 1970s England, there’s a sudsy story that’s led up to this weekend’s Beer Festival.
"You know what's great about drama? You can make shit up."
This murder-mystery performance deals with the question of what guided Enoch "Nucky" Johnson's — depicted in Boardwalk Empire as Enoch "Nucky" Thompson's — "flotilla of booze" into Atlantic City's safe harbor at Rum Runner's Point during the Prohibition era.
For our 2nd annual Then and Now issue, celebrating the Atlantic City region, we asked several members of the community about their experiences and memories.
Ask the average non-southern New Jersey resident what images the Pine Barrens conjure up and you might hear about the endless tract of trees they drove through to get to the seashore, the folklore of the Jersey Devil, or the place where Paulie and Christopher got lost trying to bury a body on The Sopranos.
By Jeff Schwachter * Photos by Linda Wasman JOSEPH MILZA DIDN'T KNOW a lot about growing grapes when he purchased the Renault Winery back in 1977. "I was in the newspaper business and we had a lady who wrote a column and she wasn't very dependable," says the one-time owner of the Daily Observer newspaper in Ocean County. "She would come in only sparingly and she'd always leave a hole in the paper. I liked wine and loved wine stories, read about it a lot, and I wrote a column. We dropped it in as filler at the beginning, but then later on it became a standard column." One of the stories that his paper covered was how the historic Renault Winery was falling on hard times under new ownership. Prior to the article, all Milza knew was that it was "hidden down in the woods somewhere." Now, several years later, he's still interested in the winery. Not for a newspaper column, but in helping it become one of south Jersey's premiere resort destinations. When Milza, 71, got out of the newspaper business and bought the historic winery in 1977, he hadn't an inkling of the journey it would take him on....
They never could enforce it, not really. In Atlantic City, the ban was a boon. The Amendment went out with the next tide.
Resorts has provided AC Weekly with terrific time-lapse video showing the raising of the new Resorts Event Pavilion, where the circuses will be performed through Sept. 11, 2011.
A multi-part video series on Atlantic City's rich history in relation to HBO's Boardwalk Empire. Learn about the stories behind several facets of the resort's history such as the real Nucky Johnson, the African-American Experience, the Boardwalk and more.
A multi-part video series on Atlantic City's rich history in relation to HBO's Boardwalk Empire. Learn about the stories behind several facets of the resort's history such as the real Nucky Johnson, the African-American Experience, the Boardwalk and more.
Article:
Upcoming Casino Concerts in Atlantic City
Article:
Casino Promotions
Article:
Summer Guide 2013
Article:
South Jersey, Meet New Orleans
Article:
Summer 2013 Movie Preview
Article:
Garden State Girls
Article:
A ‘Resolution’ for Lamb of God
Article:
Historic Horse Racing a Sure Bet?
Share this Story: