Buys Seahorse Farm, plants vines, opens winery in Lower Township
LOWER TOWNSHIP — John P. Stratis says that he does not miss anything about his life in central Pennsylvania after retiring from his plastic surgery practice in Harrisburg and moving to Cape May two years ago with his wife Barbara, but he does see similarities between being a plastic surgeon and running Seahorse Farm Winery and Vineyard.
Stratis says that although this next chapter of his life in southern New Jersey is totally new, it has the same values and themes as being a plastic surgeon, including being creative and accomplishing certain tasks.
“Like in plastic surgery, if someone comes in with an issue, a problem, a request, through your knowledge and creativity, you find a solution and then you do the process and you get the solution and hopefully it all turns out the way you want it to. Same thing with here, with growing grapes, making wine,” he said.
The 73-year-old noted that in both his former career and his present venture, “people have to be happy with what you produce.”
“It’s all very similar,” he said.
In 2019, Stratis purchased the Seahorse Equestrian Farm from Maria and Bob Schumann. Shortly after, he purchased two adjacent lots on Seashore Road, where the winery and tasting room are now located.
Stratis decided to keep the name Seahorse for his winery, noting that “it is a good name” and it provides “a little continuity.” He rents out the original barn, which was built by Bob Schumann, to horse trainers Gary Weeks and John Sparks, who continue to run the Seahorse Farm and Equestrian Center.
Growing up in a Greek family in Burlington, N.J., Stratis worked at the Burlington Diner, which was owned by his father Nick, from about 7 years old into his early surgery residency. He graduated from Rancocas Valley Regional High School, Johns Hopkins University and University of Pennsylvania Medical School.
Another one of Stratis’ self-proclaimed traits is that he likes to experiment, noting that he has even planted Greek grapes.
“Normally, on 4.5 acres, you maybe plant two or three varieties; I have 11,” Stratis said.
He said that living in Cape May is a “magnet” for his three children and 10 grandchildren.
“If you want to see your grandkids, you have to have some type of gimmick for them. Here, they actually want to stay the whole summer. This area is just great, it’s wonderful. You have the beach, you have the bay,” he said.
Stratis also said both local residents and visitors have been very nice and the winery staff, half of which are teachers, “are fantastic.”
According to Stratis, the biggest draw in terms of marketing the winery is its location at 1076 Seashore Road, near the bridge into West Cape May.
“There are only two ways to get into Cape May and we are one of the ways. So, we really don’t have to do any external advertising,” he said.
However, Stratis does post on Facebook about the winery’s special flights, including July’s “We the People Flight” which benefits the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. The flight includes a Raspberry Blush, Chardonnay — in honor of the French — and Blueberry Sparkle.
“In September, we are going to have a weekend where it’s going to be called the ‘Harvest of Hope.’ We are going to make a special flight and all the proceeds will go to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which is run out of the St. John Neumann Church. And hopefully we’ll get some of the businesses also to do a match,” he said.
Stratis said that owning a vineyard on the East Coast presents its own challenge: the weather.
“Here, the weather is not predictable. And, with high humidity and all that going on here, there is a constant struggle with nature when it comes to the vineyard. The bad news is it presents you with something different every year. But that’s also the good news, because it means that I can be creative,” he said.
Stratis’ creativity has also seeped into the design of the winery, which opened June 4.
“Initially, when you look at it, it looks like a barn — that is themed to the barn — and then everything else is coastal,” he said.
Stratis’ attention to detail is apparent, from the textured concrete patio with stamped symbols of shells and seahorses to the interior floors.
“We talked a lot about what kind of flooring, and I said that I want to simulate sand in the main area and then in the barrel room I want to simulate wine colors. So, all those little things are purposefully done,” he recalled.
Stratis’ own original paintings are displayed inside the winery. But perhaps most notably, at the front entrance is a framed letter from the Schumanns detailing the history of the farm and thanking Stratis and his wife for bringing the “vineyard and winery to life on soil so long cherished by” their family and for “keeping the spirit of the farm alive.”
“What I tell people now is this whole project is my self-portrait. It’s basically me, what I have decided to do, my values and my themes. It’s fun. My life is great,” Stratis said.
Seahorse Farm Winery is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
By JENNIFER HANS/For the Star and Wave
