Ep. 070 Dustin Tarpine, Cedar Rose Vineyards

🎙️ SHOW NOTES

This conversation with Dustin from Cedar Rose Vineyards is one of those episodes where the story behind the wine is as compelling as what’s in the glass.

We talk about origin stories, hard work, terroir, New Jersey’s evolving wine identity, and what it actually takes to build something from absolute scratch—no shortcuts, no safety nets, no pretense.

What struck me most was the honesty. The humility. The grit. And the way a vineyard can carry the fingerprints—literal and figurative—of the people who tend it.

This episode isn’t just about wine. It’s about purpose, values, identity, and the kind of perseverance that can only come from deciding you’re going to create something real, even when the path makes zero sense on paper.

What this episode explores

• The rise of the New Jersey wine industry and why quality—not quantity—is its defining story.

• How Dustin and Steve went from clearing land with a chainsaw to planting 20 acres… and then building an entire winery from raw farmland.

• Vintage variation, terroir, and why “truth in the bottle” matters more than marketing.

• Cedar Rose’s values: authenticity, hard work, 100% Jersey-grown fruit, and keeping the wines honest to place.

• The birth of Vine Tech and how vineyard management became part of the story.

• Running a business through autonomy, trust, and genuine collaboration—not hierarchy.

• Why people increasingly care who makes their wine and how it’s made.

• What it means to build something with purpose, not permission.