As an immigrant mother who had to make it in a new country, Deepa Lal was taken aback when her only son, who works on Wall Street, told her that he wanted to open a winery. She took a breath after he told her that he wouldn’t move to Sonoma. Then another after he said he wasn’t quitting his job. But the air left her when he informed her that she would be the one to open and run the winery. That bombshell turned out to be a blessing. Stokelan Winery, 50-52 Eayrestown Rd. in Medford, NJ, is currently undergoing construction in preparation for licensing and permit approval. It is Lal’s hope that her family-run winery will open in the first quarter of 2022.
“The whole journey has been a beautiful story. Stokelan has united my family. Even my grandkids. At a time when parents can drift away from their children and not have much to talk about, we have a lot to talk about, and it’s Stokelan that ties us together,” Lal told What Now Philadelphia.
Lal is looking forward to days where she, her husband Jay, their son Prashant, his wife, and two children can get away and enjoy summer weekends on the farm with their Medford neighbors. Away from the hustle and bustle of a world where people are overworked and overstressed in the name of money. Where one can be at peace with the stillness of nature around them.
“It’s going to bring my whole family together,” Lal told Burlington County Times. “Not everything is about money.”
Lal intends to make Stokelan a refuge for the entire community. Until then, Lal has been working hard on getting the winery open for business. Lal purchased the 10.5-acre Stokelan Estate in 2019. Visitors to Stokelan Winery will enjoy touring the vineyard grounds and sipping wines inside the estate’s 166-year-old home. There will be two main sections of the iconic home that visitors can enjoy. The “bar” will have a romantic/rustic feel and house the tasting room area where friends can learn about and enjoy flights of wine over charcuterie and small bites like bread dipped in olive oil. Lal envisions the elegant room, a more formal space, to host events like bridal and baby showers. Stokelan Winery will be available for private and public events, and bottled wine will also be available for sale.
Stokelan Winery will draw its inspiration from wines of Europe, especially France, as well as the New World and will serve primarily dry wines made from Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay grapes grown on the Medford farm. Lal, who hails from India and lives in Delaware, said that Stokelan Winery will also be making wines from locally purchased grapes. Andrew Dick, of Sussex, England, will serve as Stokelan’s winemaker.
“My vision is to treat our staff and our guests like we treat our family and friends. I want people to enjoy the beauty of the wine and its romance and simplicity. We want Stokelan to be a place where people in Medford and the adjoining area will say, ‘Let’s meet at Stokelan’ and come and enjoy the gardens to spend time with friends over a glass of wine and a nibble and chat their hearts away. Where people can come and have a special time,” Lal said. “That’s our vision.”
