In 2013 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, I started believing in fate because of a batch of oysters.

Outfitted with soft beds instead of seats, a bright red van makes its way south on the Garden State Parkway. A joyful summertime journey made by countless visitors to the Jersey shore is different for this particular vehicle in one significant way: its eight excited passengers are dogs. The purpose of their journey is a…

With the opening of a new farm-based distillery in Cape May, the region is catching the first wave of a growing trend toward small-batch spirits.