Driving along the east coast in October, I came across a strange sight. I found myself northbound on U.S. Highway 9 taking the scenic route (and avoiding the toll roads) along the coast. The highway meanders up through small towns, colorful autumn forests and crossing river outlets to the ocean. Rounding a bend in the road 7 miles south of Tuckerton, NJ and just south of the New Gretna Post Office, in field to the west side of the road at mile point 55.8, I came upon a strange sight.
A 20 foot tall concrete wine bottle statue. Off the side of the road in a small field between two houses. No historic marker around, no signage, no liquor store nearby, no winery nearby, nothing that would indicate a reason for such a monument. And yet, there it was – larger than life. After some searching on the net, I found a link that seems to shed some light onto this strange subject. Apparently, this is an old promotional statue for south Jersey’s Renault Winery and now sits abandoned.