Somerset County's First Distillery Underway, Fall Opening Planned

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Construction on Somerset County's first distillery is well underway with an opening planned for this upcoming fall.

Former Naval Officer turned distiller Camden Winkelstein and his wife Christina Lee of Plainsboro have been working since 2017 to get their dream off the ground and are now months away from opening Bellemara Distillery in Hillsborough.

The name Bellemara roughly translates to the beauty of the seas, which incorporates Winkelstein's background as a naval officer in with his brewing passion.

Construction began in January 2021 at Carriage Farm, at 2 Clerico Lane in Hillsborough, just off Route 206.

"Things are progressing pretty nicely," said Winkelstein. "As far as the structure itself we have been working on the exterior and will be ready to close up the walls in the next two weeks. All of our major production equipment arrived on-site about a week ago."

All of the distilling equipment was specially designed for Bellemara Distillery and is coming from all over the world.

The fermentation tanks recently arrived in late June from Canada. Custom-designed copper pot stills, which were shipped all the way from Italy have also arrived on site.

⁠Winkelstein spent a year designing these stills based on extensive research. He was inspired by shapes he saw while learning the art of brewing and distilling in Scotland.

"Construction will take a couple of months and then inspections. With any luck, we will be turning on the stills at the end of September... And then open to the public at the end of October," said Winkelstein.

Bellemara will distill high-quality grain to glass single malt gin along with a single malt spirit similar to vodka. Winkelstein will offer tours, educational experiences and a two-floor tasting room allowing guests to sample while enjoying the farm scenery.

Winkelstein and Lee's distillery is a partnership with Jeremy "Flounder" Lees, who owns and runs Flounder Brewing. Both decided to build their new home at Carriage Farm. Their goal was to create a destination in Somerset County. Read More: Flounder Brewing Opens New Location In Hillsborough

Along with the brewery and distillery, Carriage Farm has been coordinating with food trucks to bring treats to the property since Flounder or Bellemara can't serve food.

"It's very exciting, we are finally getting to the beginning," said Winkelstein. "It is great with customers on the site now that Flounder is open and you can see both sites come to life. It doesn't feel like a construction zone, it feels like a destination - an agricultural destination."

To follow along on the progress and updates or to learn more about Bellemara Distillery visit bellemaradistillery.com or on Instagram or Facebook.

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