Outer Coastal Plain is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in southernmost New Jersey. It was established as the nation's 186th and the state's third wine appellation on February 9, 2007 by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Treasury after reviewing the petition submitted by James Quarella of Bellview Winery, Frank Selak of Sylvin Winery, Larry Coia of Coia Vineyard and Dante Romanini of Panther Branch Vineyard on behalf of themselves and local vintners proposing a viticultural area in southeastern New Jersey known as "Outer Coastal Plain."
The 2.25-million-acre (3,516 sq mi) appellation is roughly triangle-shaped and comprises the eastern and southernmost New Jersey regions. Outer Coastal Plain is one of five defined physiographic regions of New Jersey. The other regions are the Inner Coastal Plain, the Newark Basin Piedmont, the Highlands, and the Appalachian Valley and Ridge. Outer Coastal Plain includes the Atlantic coastline and the area known as the "Pinelands" or "Pine Barrens." It encompasses all of Cumberland, Cape May, Atlantic, and Ocean Counties and portions of Salem, Gloucester, Camden, Burlington, and Monmouth Counties. The region is characterized by well-drained sandy or sandy loam soils of low to moderate fertility, and a relatively long growing season. The climate is moderated by the influence of the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay. The plant hardiness zones range from 7a to 8a.
In 2017, Outer Coastal Plain was expanded approximately 32,932 acres (51 sq mi) to include all or portions of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Monmouth, Ocean and Salem counties after the TTB reviewed the petition from John and Jane Giunco, owners of 4JG's Orchards and Vineyards in Colts Neck, New Jersey. The viticultural area and the expansion does not lie within another viticultural area.
The 126,635-acre (198 sq mi) Cape May Peninsula viticultural area was established by the TTB in 2018 as a sub-appellation within the southernmost tip of Outer Coast Plain where its petition specified that the new AVA, bordered entirely by water and the New Jersey Pinelands, has its own unique terroir.