North Georgia Wine Tours

Tiger Mountain Vineyards open house is Dec. 4

2011-11-29T11:43:00.000-08:00

From the winery: Tiger Mountain Vineyards has enjoyed a record year of expansion, a near perfect harvest (voted so by some connoisseur bears) and scores of national awards for our wines. But what we value most is our customers, new friends and old.

So we hope you join us for a holiday open house Saturday, Dec. 10, noon to 4 p.m., featuring soups made and paired with our wines, artisan cheeses and breads, Appalachian Christmas fiddling, and free wine tastings for all! We will share our recipes and our printed tips for pairing our wines with your holiday dishes.

We are offering wine discounts, gift ideas such as our three bottle embossed wood box ( yes, we ship) and wine accessories.

Tiger Mountain is celebrating 10 new awards for our 100% Rabun County grown wines, all announced in November:

2010 Petit Manseng –winner of the first Jefferson Cup in a prestigious invitational ever awarded a Georgia winery!

2008 Cabernet Franc Reserve – gold medal, Wines of the South;silver, American Wine Society; silver, Jefferson Cup Invitational

2008 Rabun Red – gold, Mid Atlantic Southeastern competition

2008 Malbec –silver, American Wine Society

2008 Mountain Cyn –silver, Jefferson cup Invitational

2010 Rose’- silver, Jefferson Cup Invitational, silver, American Wine Society

2010 Sweet Petit, late harvest Petit Manseng (dessert wine) – silver, American Wine Society, silver, Jefferson Cup Invitational

Persimmon Creek Vineyards ending sales, production at Rabun County, Ga., venues

2011-10-04T08:54:00.001-07:00

Oct. 4 media release: Persimmon Creek Vineyards has enjoyed a wonderful reputation in the national wine industry. Thanks to our customers and guests we have been able to grow in the production and enjoyment of fine wines produced in Rabun County, Georgia.

Persimmon Creek Vineyards has made a very difficult decision, one very heavy to the hearts of the Hardman family. We will soon discontinue production and sales of our wines in order to pursue new endeavors. This decision does not come easily as we have put our hearts and souls into our wines during the past ten years.

We sincerely thank all of our customers for their support and patronage.

Persimmon on the Square (28 East Savannah Street, 706.212.7380) will be open for normal business through October 15th. Business hours are as follows: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 11 to 5 PM. Closed Wednesdays and Sundays.

The Vineyard will be open every Saturday in October from 11 AM to 5 PM for tastings and wine purchases. Please call 706.212.7380 for directions.

The wines that we have currently available are in very limited quantities. Wines that are currently available for purchase are Seyval Blanc 2009, Natural Fermentation Seyval Blanc 2010, Riesling 2009 and Merlot 2010..

Wine release dinner this weekend; special wine tasting in Rome Aug. 3

2011-07-29T07:27:00.001-07:00

What ahead for Georgia wine lovers:

New: Updates via our new mobile site: http://t.co/bLYEYmf

-July 30: Wine release dinner, BlackStock Vineyards. New Release Wine Dinner featuring all new releases, $65 per person.

-Aug. 3: Winemaker who helped create Captain Crunch, ranch dressing due at Riverside Gourmet tasting in Rome, Ga.: Chaim Gur-Arieh, the owner and winemaker of C G DiArie Vineyards in California, will be the special guest of the Aug. 3 wine tasting at Riverside Gourmet, 250 Broad St., Rome, Ga. What can you say about a food scientist who helped develop the popular cereal, fruit cups and even had a hand in Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing and Power Bars. The free tasting begins at 6:30 p.m.

-Aug. 20: Tomato Festival. Crane Creek Vineyards, Young Harris. 11a.m. to 6 p.m. Music provided by Cornbread Ted and The Butterbeans. Tickets sold at the door: adults $20; ages 13-20, $10; children under 12 free.

-Sept. 3: Crush Fest is a day-long harvest festival at Yonah Mountain Vineyard "celebrating second grape harvest of Yonah Mountain Vineyards - Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Crush Fest is held at the vineyard near Cleveland and will feature grape stomping, vineyard wagon tours and wine tasting. The all-day music schedule will include Curtis Jones with Insonnia, Shoal Creek Bluegrass Band, Chris Bahre and Friends. Local restaurants will provide fine fare, and over 25 vendors will be on site. $15.00 per person; $5.00 desginated drivers; 16 and under free."

More summer wine events in the North Georgia mountains:

-Check with the Wine Growers Association of Georgia for what's ahead in August. Details.

Wine News Vine is an affiliate member of the Winegrowers Association of Georgia.
North Georgia Wineries Persimmon Creek Vineyards -Facebook Three Sisters Vineyards -Facebook Crane Creek Vineyards & Guest House, Young Harris -Facebook Habersham Winery -Facebook Montaluce Winery and Estates -Facebook Sharp Mountain Vineyards The Georgia Winery -Facebook Naturally Georgia Tasting Room, Dahlonega -Facebook BlackStock Vineyards and Winery -Facebook Wolf Mountain Vineyards -Facebook Chateau Elan Winery and Resort -Facebook Frogtown Cellars -Facebook Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards -Facebook Tiger Mountain Vineyards -Facebook Yonah Mountain Vineyards -Facebook Recommended links: Georgia Wine Council Wine Growers Association of Georgia The Bottle Report Georgia Wine Tours Georgia Wine Blog Previous winery profiles: Tiger Mountain Vineyards Frogtown, Three Sisters Montaluce Winery & Estates Wolf Mountain BlackStock Vineyards Crane Creek, Young Harris -2010 update Sharp Mountain Sautee Nachoochee Vineyards Tiger Mountain, Persimmon Creek, Biltmore, Chateau Elan

North Georgia wineries go reds, whites and bluegrass for Independence Day weekend

2011-06-28T15:44:00.000-07:00

New: Follow Wine News Vine's mobile edition: http://bit.ly/jWM56R

What ahead for Georgia wine lovers:

-July 2: Tiger Mountain Vineyard: Sliders on the grill with Jabe Hilson's original Norton barbecue sauce. Music by Greg Pressmanes' group. (From the website).

-July 2: Independence Day Concert, Crane Creek Vineyards, Young Harris. 7-9 p.m. Playing: Bulletproof. Free admission. Wine sold by glass or bottle.

-July 2-3: Three Sisters Vineyards, Dahlonega. The Family Honor & Tuesdays Union perform.

-July 3: Wolf Mountain Vineyards, Reds, Whites and Bluegrass Brunch.

-July 16: Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards, Swinging in the Vines Music Series, 2-5 p.m., tasting room.
-Aug. 20: Tomato Festival. Crane Creek Vineyards, Young Harris. 11a.m. to 6 p.m. Music provided by Cornbread Ted and The Butterbeans. Tickets sold at the door: adults $20; ages 13-20, $10; children under 12 free.

What ahead for Georgia wine lovers: Twin festivals in Dahlonega June 4-5.

2011-05-30T11:11:00.001-07:00

Rome area:

-June 17: Summer Wine Dinner, Johnny Mitchell's Smokehouse, Euharlee: 7 p.m. $47 per person plus tax and gratuity (includes meal and three glasses of wine). Italian theme wth Capresa insalata, smoked trout on zuchini cakes, plum basil sorbet, pasta and pesto, grilled seafood, beef and vegetable shih k-bobs. 770-383-3383.

North Georgia Wine Country:

-June 4-5: BlackStock Vineyards and Winery. The Georgia Fine Wine Festival returns. Billed as "...the finest food, wine, music and art found in the North Georgia Mountains!." Hosted at BlackStock.

-June 4-5, 11-12, 18-19: 10th Anniversary of the Georgia Wine Country Festival, Three Sisters Vineyards. From the e-mail: "Free general admission for three weekends of fun. The 10th Anniversary Georgia Wine Country Festival will include unique musical guests every weekend, folk art, and various exhibits and vendors. The PAWS charity will be on hand to promote and offer pet adoptions. A "Georgia Wine Garden" will be presented to "winelovers" 21 and older for $20 per day. Food and beverages will be available for purchase." Expanded media release.

-June 18: Tiger Mountain Vineyard: Release of Tiger Mountain's 2010 Petit Manseng. Plus: Patio party and live music. 2 to 5 p.m. $10 per person.
July 2: Tiger Mountain Vineyard: Sliders on the grill with Jabe Hilson's original Norton barbecue sauce. Music by Greg Pressmanes' group. (From the website).

More summer wine events in the North Georgia mountains:

-Check with the Winegrowers Association of Georgia for what's ahead in July and August. Details.

Busy spring ahead for North Georgia wineries

2011-04-03T16:30:00.000-07:00

What ahead for Georgia wine lovers:

-April 9: Tiger Mountain Vineyards: Release party for TMV's Rose, $14 per bottle. Details to come.

-April 10: Wolf Mountain Vineyards, 9th Annual Awakening of the Vines & Bluegrass Brunch (also April 17).

-April 14: Crane Creek Vineyards: The release of 2010 “Apfelwein” from 6 until 8 p.m.

-April 16: Yonah Mountain Vineyards, release party for 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon.

-April 24: Wolf Mountain Vineyards. Easter brunch.

-May 6-8: The Georgia Winery: Spring wine fest.

-May 7: 19th annual wine fest, noon-5 p.m., held at Habersham Winery. Expanded details.

-May 7-8: Three Sisters Vineyards, VineDog Weekend: 3rd annual VineDog Celebration. All dogs must be on a leash and under owner's control at all times. A doggie costume contest will be held on Saturday at 2 p.m. (from the website).

-May 28: Crane Creek Vineyards: 11 a.m.-6 p.m., annual spring festival. $20 per adult.

-June 4-5: BlackStock Vineyards and Winery. The Georgia Fine Wine Festival returns. Billed as "...the finest food, wine, music and art found in the North Georgia Mountains!." Hosted at BlackStock.

Dahlonega's Wolf Mountain reopens; adds Sparking Cellar. Plus: What's ahead at wineries, restaurants

2011-03-03T14:43:00.001-08:00

Wolf Mountain Vineyards & Winery reopens after winter break

-The Dahlonega winery also known for its Sunday brunches has reopened after the traditional winter break. First up is the ninth annual end the winter blues jazz brunch each Sunday in March. New this year: the just opened Sparkling Cellar (photo, right) . For more: Wolf Mountain

What ahead for Georgia wine lovers:

-March 4: Johnny Mitchell's Smokehouse, Euharlee, Ga. Wine dinner, Taste of Mardi Gras, 7-10 p.m. Includes six courses and three glasses of wine, $55 per person. Facebook.

-March 12: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. Celebrate St. Patrick's Day, noon to 4 p.m. Celtic fiddling, Irish cheeses and wine tastings. $10 per person. Tasting room open, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

-March 18-20: Fifth Annual Wine Highway Weekend. Purchase a 'passport' for $25 at any participating winery and visit all 10 wineries for tastings. Plus: you keep the souvenir glass. Hours: Friday, 2-5 p.m. Saturday: noon-5 p.m. Sunday: 12:30-5 p.m. Also check for extra-special events at some of the wineries. Details from the Wine Growers Association of Georgia. Details

-March 19: Persimmon Creek Vineyards, 6:30 p.m., hosting a Spring Equinox Celebration Dinner prepared by Chef Vincent Scafiti. The price is $68 per person (plus tax, gratuity). Reservation: 706-212-7380. Expanded details.

-March 19: Montaluce Winery, James Beard Dinner. Chef Steven Hartman has been invited to cook a meal at the James Beard House. For $100 per person, including wine pairings, you can enjoy the same meal he will be cooking for them. Details

-April 9: Tiger Mountain Vineyards: Release party for TMV's Rose, $14 per bottle. Details to come.

-June: BlackStock Vineyards and Winery. The Georgia Fine Wine Festival returns. Billed as "...the finest food, wine, music and art found in the North Georgia Mountains!." Hosted at BlackStock.

Wine tastings, presidential salute, chocolate celebration among North Georgia wine events this weekend

2011-02-16T06:59:00.000-08:00

What ahead for Georgia wine lovers:

- Feb. 18: Riverside Gourmet wine tasting, 6:30 p.m. 250 Broad St., Rome, Ga. A blind wine tasting event. $10 per person (21 and over). Facebook.

-Feb. 19-20: Three Sisters Vineyards. 2011 Wine and chocolate lovers celebration.

-Feb. 19: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. Celebrate President's Day weekend with wine tastings, artisan cheeses, hors d'oeuvres and live music.

--March 4: Johnny Mitchell's Smokehouse, Euharlee, Ga. Wine dinner, Taste of Mardi Gras, 7-10 p.m. Includes six courses and three glasses of wine, $55 per person. Facebook.

-March 12: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. Celebrate St. Patrick's Day, noon to 4 p.m. Celtic fiddling, Irish cheeses and wine tastings. $10 per person. Tasting room open, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

-April 9: Tiger Mountain Vineyards: Release party for TMV's award-winning Rose, $14 per bottle. Details to come.

-June: BlackStock Vineyards and Winery. The Georgia Fine Wine Festival returns. Billed as "...the finest food, wine, music and art found in the North Georgia Mountains!." Hosted at BlackStock.

Chocolate, wines, special meals dominate romantic weekend at North Georgia wineries

2011-02-10T09:06:00.001-08:00

What ahead for Georgia wine lovers:

-February weekends: Three Sisters Vineyards. 2011 Wine and chocolate lovers celebration. First three weekends of the month.

-Feb. 11-13: Montaluce Winery and Estates: Special menu each night, 5:30-9:30 p.m. Three-course meal with two wine pairing options. $75 to $85. Details.

-Feb. 12: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. Annual chocolate and wine pairings for Valentine's - special guitar music in the tasting room.

-Feb. 12: Crane Creek Vineyards, Valentines and Wine weekend, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. $5.

-Feb. 12: Yonah Mountain Vineyards, Prelude to Valentine's Day, 5-9 p.m.

-Feb. 12: Frogtown Cellars. Valentine's Dinner, 6:30 p.m. Four-course dinner, paired with wines and dessert. $55 per person.

-Feb. 12: BlackStock Vineyards and Winery: Wine dinner at 6:30 p.m.; $65 per person.

-Feb. 13: Frogtown Cellars. Valentine's Brunch, 12:30 p.m. Three-course brunch, paired with wines and dessert. $45 per person.

-Feb. 13: Wolf Mountain Vineyards: Valentine's Brunch, 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. seatings, $30 per person. Southern favorites.

-Feb. 19: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. Celebrate President's Day weekend with wine tastings, artisan cheeses, hors d'oeuvres and live music.

-March 18-20: Fifth Annual Wine Highway Weekend. More details soon.

-, March 19: Persimmon Creek Vineyards, 6:30 p.m., hosting a Spring Equinox Celebration Dinner prepared by Chef Vincent Scafiti. The price is $68 per person (plus tax, gratuity). Reservation: 706-212-7380.

Sweet! Chocolate dominates romantic wine pairings in North Georgia

2011-02-02T16:49:00.000-08:00

What ahead for Georgia wine lovers:

-February weekends: Three Sisters Vineyards. 2011 Wine and chocolate lovers celebration. First three weekends of the month.

-Feb. 5-6: BlackStock Vineyards and Winery continues blues weekend celebration. Live music, big fire, wine and winter menu at Corkscrew Cafe.

-Feb. 11-13: Montaluce Winery and Estates: Special menu each night, 5:30-9:30 p.m. Three-course meal with two wine pairing options. $75 to $85.

-Feb. 12: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. Annual chocolate and wine pairings for Valentine's - special guitar music in the tasting room.

-Feb. 12: Crane Creek Vineyards, Valentines and Wine weekend, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. $5.

-Feb. 12: Yonah Mountain Vineyards, Prelude to Valentine's Day, 5-9 p.m.

-Feb. 12: Frogtown Cellars. Valentine's Dinner, 6:30 p.m. Four-course dinner, paired with wines and dessert. $55 per person.

-Feb. 13: Frogtown Cellars. Valentine's Brunch, 12:30 p.m. Three-course brunch, paired with wines and dessert. $45 per person.

-Feb. 13: Wolf Mountain Vineyards: Valentine's Brunch, 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. seatings, $30 per person. Southern favorites.

-Feb. 19: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. Celebrate President's Day weekend with wine tastings, artisan cheeses, hors d'oeuvres and live music.

-March 18-20: Fifth Annual Wine Highway Weekend. More details soon.

Wine, chocolate dominate winter weekends at North Georgia wineries

2011-01-23T12:25:00.001-08:00

What ahead for Georgia wine lovers:

-Jan. 29, 30; Feb. 5-6: BlackStock Vineyards and Winerycontinues blues weekend celebration. Live music, big fire, wine and winter menu at Corkscrew Cafe.

-Jan. 29: Tiger Mountain Vineyards Soup and wine pairings continue. Noon-3 p.m. $10 per person.

-Jan 29: Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards: The Fashing schedule begins with a Winter "Wino" Carnival and offer a limited release of "our new 'Celebration' wine." 7-10 p.m., cash bar.

-February weekends: Three Sisters Vineyards. 2011 Wine and chocolate lovers celebration. First three weekends of the month.

-Feb. 12: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. Annual chocolate and wine pairings for Valentine's - special guitar music in the tasting room.

-Feb. 12: Crane Creek Vineyards, Valentines and Wine weekend, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. $5.

Feb. 12: Yonah Mountain Vineyards, Prelude to Valentine's Day, 5-9 p.m. -Feb. 19: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. Celebrate President's Day weekend with wine tastings, artisan cheeses, hors d'oeuvres and live music.

-March 3: Wolf Mountain Vineyards reopens.

-March 18-20: Fifth Annual Wine Highway Weekend. More details soon.

About the photo: That's from the home page of Crane Creek Vineyards & Guest House, Young Harris

Soup and wine outing, wine tasting among upcoming events

2011-01-14T14:14:00.000-08:00

What ahead for Georgia wine lovers:

-Jan. 15: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. SOUP AND WINE: Every Saturday in January, a different soup and wine pairing ---in the newly heated barrel room. Local cheeses, breads and music. $10 per person ---includes tastings of all TMV wines in the tasting room.

-Jan. 21, Riverside Gourmet, 250 Broad St., Rome: 6:30 p.m. wine tasting, $10 per person. Italian wines.

-Jan. 22: Persimmon Creek Vineyards: A dinner celebration of Saint Vincent, the Patron Saint of Winemaking. Five-course dinner with Persimmon Creek wine pairings. Seating is limited. Price (all-inclusive) is $95 per person. Please call 706.212.7380 for more information and reservations.

-Feb. 12: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. Annual chocolate and wine pairings for Valentine's - special guitar music in the tasting room.
-Feb. 19: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. Celebrate President's Day weekend with wine tastings, artisan cheeses, hors d'oeuvres and live music.

-March 18-20: Fifth Annual Wine Highway Weekend. More details soon.

2010 Wine News Vine archive

2011-01-14T14:04:00.001-08:00

Along Georgia's Wine Highway: Blue Ridge & Ellijay

-About the only thing missing in Blue Ridge off Ga. 515 in the North Georgia mountains is a winery. The good news: wineries are relatively close, including Crane Creek in Young Harris, Sharp Mountain near Jasper and a host of wineries in Dahlonega. But there is a tasting room even closer, just down the highway in downtown Ellijay.

-Grapes & Grinds is tucked inside the front door at Trevor's General Store, 14 N. Main St. Once known as Corks & Crumbs, the owners downsized into another downtown spot. It is in the front right "parlor" of Trevor's and offering wine tasting, coffee and bistro service.

-Grapes & Grinds serves wines from BlackStock Vineyards, part of the growing Dahlonega cluster of wineries. The association with David Harris' White County winery is a relatively new one. Corks & Crumbs once offered Frogtown wines but made the switch several years ago.

-The tasting room is cozy--and busy-- as it is just off the foyer for the general store. The foot traffic on fall weekends is in incredible. Bill serves four tastes for $5, with $1.50 for each additional sample. You can go by flights--red, whites, blush/rose or port--or mix them.

-We asked for Cabernet Savignon 2006, Reserve Viognier 2008, White Merlot 2008 and Merlot during our stop Oct. 9. All were tasty but the White Merlot was perhaps the best of the bunch.

-The atmosphere at Grapes & Grinds is busy, especially with all the foot traffic in to the general store. But they have the routine down and it takes just a minute to be seated and served.

-How does G & G rate vs. a winery tasting room? Totally different experience giving the hustle of the surruonding businesses. But it is fun, especially if you need a quick winery fix while in the area.

-What's the difference from the original location of Corks & Crumbs? Less space and overall elbow room but we never felt crunched.

-Is it open on Sundays? Absolutely. Being an agricultural product grown on Georgia farms, wine samples and sales are OK on Sundays.

Nearby dining: We tried two newer restaurants in Blue Ridge:

-Blue Ridge Brewery: Don't come to town thinking this is a college-age establishment just off downtown Blue Ridge. The quaint impression you get from the brick exterior goes away quickly. Inside you find a nice bar area, a dining room with white table clothes, a rear patio area and more parking. The menu: Outstanding. The beer and wine list: premium (try the Saint Bernardous on draught). The food is even more dazzling: we tried the grilled ribeye, rigatoni in Alfredo Sauce and Wild Rice Risotto. All were excellent right down ot the bacon-wrapped asparagus. It isn't cheap: we got out of there for around $80 before tip. Menu

-Christy Lee's Courtyard Grille: Based just off the tracks carry the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, Christy's is a site to see. The weather was perfect for outdoor dining Saturday night and so was the service. We went light, with flatbread pizzas, with differing toppings: Mushroom, sausage and pepperoni. Click Here.

-Mercier Orchards: Perhaps the best slice of agri-tourism our state has seen. You can stop to pick or buy fresh apples; baked good, Buckhead meats and more. No trip to Blue Ridge if officlal wthouth a Mercier trip. Mercier

How to start your own wine club
“As long as you’re linking to what you’re drinking, you’re learning about wine” -- Ed Hunt, Rome, Ga., wine enthusiast.

By Michelle Picon
For Wine News Vine

Rome businessman Ed Hunt is very generous sharing his time, his knowledge and his love of wine with his many friends. Just ask a Cork Screw, a Cork Dork or an Uncorked.

With names that disguise the seriousness with which Hunt approaches his passion for wine, the three wine clubs Hunt has taught in Rome have provided a fun way for friends to socialize while learning about wine in an organized, systematic way.

Wine events in Northwest Georgia are becoming a popular social activity. Restaurants and wine stores offer wine tastings as a way to get prospective clients through their doors. Some restaurants offer special dinners with food and wine pairings. And events such as the Rome Fine Wine Festival, a benefit for the Rome Symphony Orchestra now in its sixth year, continues to grow in quality and popularity in Rome. This year's event is Nov. 14 (click here)

Not everyone is lucky enough to have Hunt as a guide when navigating the complicated world of appreciating wine. But Hunt shares some ideas about how a group of friends can get together to form their own wine club, and explains how he arrived at his teaching system.

E.J. Hunt, Hector Picon and Ray Jarvis, members of the Cork Dorks Wine Club in Rome, Ga., host a benefit wine class that was up for bid at a recent auction benefitting Saint Mary's Catholic School.

Years ago, Hunt attended a class in Kennesaw with his wife, Margaret, and his newly married son E.J. and daughter-in-law Jenny. “But when I left that class, I was more confused than when I went in. It wasn’t making sense to me,” says Hunt.

Attending the New Orleans Wine Festival later on, he enjoyed choosing “one class, one finite subject, something we would learn about for a two-hour period. So, that was not confusing,” he says.

Hunt uses that systematic approach in his classes. He admits that gathering all the information out there and presenting it in a way that makes sense is “no easy thing

“If you’re going to form a wine club, the number one thing to do is READ,” says Hunt. “There are all kinds of wine books. There’s even a book on how to start your own wine club.
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“Your first class certainly has to be on the basics of wine tasting; there’s thousands of articles on that. Or an introductory course is fine,” he says.

For the next classes, “you then pick a country or a grape. One of my big deals when teaching wine is you have to know four things:
-What’s the grape?
-Who made it?
- Where was it made?

-What was the weather like when it was made?

“You’ve got to understand all four of those things. Wine is not Pepsi made from a formula,” he says. “A farmer makes it. “

There can be two approaches to a wine club: If you’re going to take it seriously and want to learn, you need to use your intelligence and you need to be patient, he says.

Hunts suggests getting six couples together and meeting every two months. Essentially, the group decides how much money it wants to spend, and how much wine members want to purchase for 12 people. Couples alternate hosting meetings. The hosts decide what grape or region they will cover, get on the Internet and do the research.

“The internet will tell you what you need to know about that wine, about the winery, about the vineyard, about the area," Hunt says.

“As long as you’re somehow, some way, linking to what you’re drinking, instead of pouring out of a jug," you will be learning about wine, he says. “It should take about a year so don’t get in any hurry. You can’t do it in a hurry. “

If the approach you prefer involves drinking the wine with friends but not doing any serious research, he suggests another alternative: go to the local wine tastings, enjoy the friends and the wine, and grab a cab home.

Yonah Mountain Vineyards building on a solid first year

First of two parts on this emerging, family friendly wine region near Helen, Ga.

On July 10, Yonah Mountain Vineyards had something to toast: one year of serving some of the nicer wines flowing from the Dahlonega-Helen-Young Harris-Rabun County wine region of North Georgia. Based on the wines sampled during our recent visit, Yonah Mountain was well stocked to serve all patrons at that party and the events to come.

Just down Ga. 17 from another relative newcomer, Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards, Yonah Mountain's tasting room is a lively, comfortable stop for four free samples or a full sample of its wines as well as a souvenir glass for $10 or for a bottle of the growing wine list ($12.50 to $36 per bottle before discounts begin at four bottles).

We did the deluxe tasting featuring 10 wines with the Serenity Cellars Radiance Rose topping our list. It is a careful blend of Cabernet Savignon, Franc and even Merlot. Yonah Mountain describes it as a "full-bodied European style rose." A close second was Serenity Cellars 2008 Viognier, a tasty white wine with a slight fruit taste.

Next from the Serenity Cellars family came 2009 New Vogh and 2008 Majestic as well as Yonah Mountain 2008 Chardonnay; 2006 Genesis; Bearly Sweet White, Rose and Red; and a final surprise, Traminette. We'll tempt you on the Traminette: it has a grapefruit taste almost, different from most wines. Try it out of curiosity if nothing else.

The tasting room is as fun as any we've enjoyed in our tours of North Georgia wineries. The crowd on this particular June Saturday afternoon was charged and a good mix of 20 somethings as well as a few of us older sippers. Adding to the day was the WineSong performance featuring Monica Spears.

Spears' performance underlines another thing we like about Yonah Mountain. While one of the smaller outfits in the North Georgia region, the winery's owners think big--or thing creatively. Yonah Mountain offers a monthly First Friday event. On July 17, another Tour de la Cave and Barrel Tasting was set (noon), giving visitors a taste of what's to come and also a tour of the vineyards area itself (the tasting room is separate). The 'tours' are held the third Saturday of each month.

An extra perk for those tasting with families: In the same rustic center as Yonah Mountain, you'll find Elfmade Wooden Toys, a unique store of handmade wood items. This true mom-and-pop shop offers toys made from reclaimed or discarded wood and allows kids to buy and paint whatever is on display (photo, right). Our son bought and crafted a ping-pong ball shooter. It is a harmless, clever toy powered by clothes pins and rubber bands. Every office needs one. Elfmade Wooden Toys even does birthday parties, and is open daily except Wednesdays. Just as important: the toys are very affordable. Stop by to see Marie Carr or contact her via the website.

What to know about Yonah Mountain Vineyards:
-Tasting room: 706-878-1056. Address: 2454-B Highway 17, Sautee Nacoochee, Ga. 30571
-Tasting room hours: Noon until 5 Monday-Thursday; until 6 Friday; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday; 12:30-5 p.m. Sunday.
-Admission/tasting: Free (four samples) or a complete sampler and keepsake glass, $10 per person.
-Website: www.yonahmountainvineyards.com
-We recommend you use the Facebook account: Facebook
-Our favorite: Serenity Cellars Radiance Rose. $16 a bottle..
-Per bottle prices range from $12.50 to $26.

Why is Sautee Nacoochee a family friendly blend of wineries?

Especially during the summer season, nearby Helen offers a wonderful list of family friend activities. Perhaps the most relaxing is a trip down the river on glorified inner tubes. Several Helen-area companies offer a variety of slow-flowing trips down the river. You can pick the estimated time and that's how they decide to drop you and dozens of others off. The flow time depends on the depth of the river, the current and your own pace (buy one of the sticks offered at each spot; you'll need it to better navigate). After a morning or early afternoon on the tubes, the kids can go to a water park or hit some of the multiple putt-putt golf courses in Helen. Lots of shops and restaurants will keep the family busy as well. So will a few gem and stone mining operations. For a comprehensive list of what to do, click HelenGa.

Sautee Nacoochee, near Helen, is a perfect family wine get-away

First of two parts on this emerging wine region.

Welcome to Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards' wine tasting room, just off Ga. 17 at Sautee Nacoochee between Helen and Cleveland in Northeast Georgia. The tasting room offers free samples of seven wines. Our favorite--and all were good--was Valley Mist 2008.

First, please note the word in italics in the headline: f-a-m-i-l-y. As odd as it may sound to some, we found our trip to an emerging wine-friendly community tucked among Helen, Cleveland, Dahlonega and Gainesville to be the perfect escape for parents or grandparents who want to try some new wines--and keep the kids more than happy as well.

There are several great wine-tasting experiences in Sautee-Nachoochee with another on the way later this year. Or as our 10-year-old calls it, cracker-tasting experiences. He'll munch on the "between sips" crackers offered to all while mom and dad sample each winery's offerings. (Note from 10-year-old: Goldfish are preferred).

This week and next, we're writing about our visits to Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards and Yonah Mountain Vineyards. Or to their wine tasting rooms, separated by about the length of a football field. Also nearby is the granddaddy of Georgia wineries, Habersham Winery. And on the way: A new tasting room from Dahlonega's Frogtown Cellars.

More on the wineries in a second. First, a qualifier. Why is this particular community so kid friendly?

Answer: Especially during the summer season, nearby Helen offers a wonderful list of family friend activities. Perhaps the most relaxing is a trip down the river on glorified inner tubes. Several Helen-area companies offer a variety of slow-flowing trips down the river. You can pick the estimated time and that's how they decide to drop you and dozens of others off. The flow time depends on the depth of the river, the current and your own pace (buy one of the sticks offered at each spot; you'll need it to better navigate).

After a morning or early afternoon on the tubes, the kids can go to a water park or hit some of the multiple putt-putt golf courses in Helen. Lots of shops and restaurants will keep the family busy as well. So will a few gem and stone mining operations. For a comprehensive list of what to do, click HelenGa.

As for the adults, their adventure comes usually after lunch time with trips to the wine-tasting rooms.

We'll start with the Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards at 98 Nacoochee Way, just off Ga. 17 near the Ga. 255 split. The tasting room (pictures on top and to the right) is tucked away a bit from the descending driveway and you'll pass a few shops. A few rows of vines help guide you to a relaxing indoor or outdoor visit to the tasting room. (For details: click About SNV)

Most surprising: Wine tastings are free. Or should we say complimentary?

And you'll like what you taste. We took home a few bottles of Valley Mist 2008, described as "a semi-sweet wine made from merlot grapes.... perfect to enjoy accompanied at the beginning or end of your mail. It is also a natural with fruits, cheeses or chocolates." In all, seven wines are available for tasting or for $6 a glass. Click Wines.

The tasting room has a nice porch area as well, cooled by several fans. If you're lucky, the nearby horses will stop within yards. There's a great view of the valley as well and an overall relaxing atmosphere. You could spend some quality time here on the porch alone. The only negative: it is a bit set back and below the highway. There is plenty of signage to get you off the two-lane, however. Go to far and you're in the parking lot of the retail center that is home to Yonah Mountain (we'll get there next week).

The Sautee Nacoochee tasting room is a nice break from the ones attached to the larger wineries in nearby Dahlonega. That's not a slap on "the big guys." This cutaway seems to make you focus just on the wine tasting and not on the bustle of an adjoining restaurant or event hall or the like. You're there to taste wine and you do so in a very comfortable and fun way.

Sautee Nacoochee's grapes are all locally grown. It has its own vineyards with more to come but they also purchase grapes from local growers. One variety of muscadine wine is offered and that fruit comes from SouthGeogia.

There are plans to add a small tasting at Sautee Nachoochee's nearby winery for special occasions and it likely will feature a small amphitheater.

We found the quaint tasting room plenty big enough to sample--and enjoy--these first wines from Sautee Nacoochee.

What to know:
-Tasting room: 706-878-1056. Address: 98 Old Nacoochee Way, Sautee Nacoochee, Ga.
-Tasting room hours: Noon until 6 Monday-Saturday; 12:30-6 p.m. Sundays.
-Admission/tasting: Free (up to seven samples).
-Website: www.sauteenacoocheevineyards.com
-By e-mail: info@sauteenacoocheevineyards.com
-Our favorite: Valley Mist 2008.
-Per bottle prices range from $14.95 to $23.95. Merlots (red and white), Cabernet Savignon included.
-By the glass price: $6.
-Next week: Yonah Mountain Vineyards.

Closer look: Crane Creek Vineyards, Young Harris, Ga.

By Carol Carter

Story and photos for WineNewsVine.com

Crane Creek Vineyards holds its Annual Spring Festival on Saturday, May 29, from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. There will be – natch – wine tastings for the adults as well as a craft tent for kids. Crane Creek will open its pond for fishing, and lunch will be served.

Maybe you’ll pay the $20 adult admission ($10 for everyone under age 21) just to sit in one of the Adirondack chairs overlooking the 37-acre vineyard and drink in both the surroundings and a glass of Crane Creek Brasstown, which is what the vineyard named its house wines, after Brasstown Valley, in which Crane Creek is located.

The vineyard, in fact, sits in the shadow of Brasstown Bald, Georgia’s highest point.

It’s peaceful at Crane Creek, whether you’re strolling past the garden, walking through the vineyard or sampling wine in the 19th century farmhouse that Crane Creek uses as its tasting room. Even Catawba, the resident canine, exudes the tranquility that permeates the Crane Creek environs.

On Saturday, during the festival, a jazz combo will play standards as well as light jazz, says David Sanford, who works at the vineyard. Additionally, he says, 16 artists will be on hand, selling everything from photography to jewelry and pottery. These vendors will set up their shops both in the Barn Swallow Pavilion (where Crane Creek holds wedding receptions) and also in the barnyard, where the band will be playing.

The children’s craft tent will feature painting, Sanford says. And, he adds, that if the youngsters want to fish, the brim in the pond aren’t likely to disappoint. “They hit all the time. You can throw a hook in, almost unbaited, and those brim will hit it. Kids get a big kick out of that.” Most of the brim end up back in the pond because parents aren’t interested in cleaning fish or in hauling them home.

A festival at a winery wouldn’t be complete without tours of the winery, and Crane Creek will offer tours throughout the day. Lunch, in fact, will be served just off the winery’s crush pad, the place where the grapes are smooshed after harvest.

Crane Creek is just north of the little town of Young Harris in the North Georgia mountains. Heading east on Highway 515 toward Hiawassee, go to the traffic light at Georgia Highway 66, and take a left. Drive just under four miles, take another left and look for the vineyard on your left. Enter Crane Creek’s quiet kingdom and leave your troubles behind, at least for a little while. Maybe you’ll take home a bottle of wine or a jar of dip and a box of crackers from the small gift shop inside the tasting room.

Or, as we observed on a recent Saturday, maybe you’ll take home several bottles of the grape. Recently, Crane Creek has been offering seven wines during its wine tastings, but on Saturday, Sanford says, Crane Creek will be releasing a new wine.

A wine named Enotah, according to the winery, is a step up from the Brasstown wines. Enotah, Sanford says, was the Cherokee name for Brasstown Bald. And the turtle symbol you will see on some of the wine labels also harks back to the Cherokee who once populated North Georgia.

“The turtle,” Sanford says, “is a big Cherokee symbol in this region and for the whole of Brasstown Valley.” All Crane Creek label art was produced by local folk artist Jon Whiddon, who died two years ago.

Crane Creek’s Hellbender wine is named for a salamander. Then there is Barn Swallow, Mountain Harvest and Sweet Sally, named for a dog.

On the way: If you go for the Memorial Day weekend festival, you may want to stop in Blue Ridge, a little west of Young Harris and also just off Highway 515, for that town’s annual Arts in the Park, which will be in full swing both Saturday and Sunday in downtown Blue Ridge. Among the many vendors at Arts in the Park, a local merchant, Mercier Orchards, will debut its brand new traveling concession trailer, where it will sell, among other treats, its trademark fried pies. Shoppers take note: Downtown Blue Ridge is home to several upscale shops, selling everything from kitchen items to home furnishings and outdoor wear. The sidewalks of Blue Ridge are routinely packed with Atlanta residents on weekends.

Or, if you go to the Crane Creek festival late in the day, you may want to call ahead and make dinner reservations at Enrico’s, a popular and always crowded Italian restaurant on Highway 515 in Young Harris. (The garlic rolls are worth the trip, though all the food is routinely delicious).

Brasstown Valley Resort in Young Harris offers golf, a spa and horseback trail riding plus, of course, dining and lodging.

As previously mentioned, Brasstown Bald is nearby in Hiawassee, the town just east of Young Harris. Visitors can climb (or be driven) to the top for an impressive view of the surrounding area.

In Hiawassee, you could take in a movie at the Fieldstone Six. Or, if you have kids, stop in at Fun World at Fieldstone. Among the many things to do at Fun World are laser tag, a climbing wall, batting cages, miniature golf and 120 arcade games. Parents can chill out with ice cream (or pizza or popcorn) while the kids burn off some energy. Fun World is enclosed in one huge space, so the kids can safely run and roam free.

If you are thoroughly enchanted with Crane Creek, you may want to take note of the vineyard’s two guest houses, The Vine Keeper’s Cottage and the River Keeper’s Cottage, and make plans for a weekend visit.

A perfect weekend, says Sanford, would be during the Tomato Festival in August. Calling it “one of our most fun festivals,” Sanford explains: “We plant lots of gardens, and that’s when all the tomatoes are coming in, so we decided to celebrate the tomato – the other vine. And so we have music. We do a tomato toss (for the kids), we do tomato food and we invite vendors to come in with other foods based on tomatoes.”

Every Friday, Crane Creek features its Wine Down Fridays from 4 to 6p.m. “If you enjoy a glass or bottle of wine on the deck,” Sanford says, “we have complimentary cheese trays.”

There seems to be something going on at the winery nearly all the time. Check the website for a complete list. As for this weekend’s festival, Sanford says they are expecting around 250 people. You may as well be one of them.

While on Georgia's Wine Highway: Near Crane Creek Vineyards? Try . . .

Blue Ridge's Mercier Orchards puts twist on 'apples & oranges,'

only the other fruits are strawberries, blueberries, cherries . . .

By Carol Carter

For Wine News Vine

Known mostly for apples, Mercier Orchards in Blue Ridge--a popular getaway spot for Northwest Georgians-

-has expanded into more U pick options. Mercier Facebook photo.

BLUE RIDGE, Ga. _ The first-ever U pick strawberry season at Mercier Orchards in Blue Ridge has just wound down, and son-in-law Joe Foster proclaims it to have been “awesome” -- so awesome in fact that the family thinks it will plant a patch about five times as large next year.

The U pick operation at Mercier’s has grown so much that customers can hop aboard the 25-seat tractor-pulled trailer at varying times throughout the year to pick apples, blueberries, cherries, peaches, nectarines, blackberries (see image to the right from Mercier's Facebook page) and plums.

“We started our U pick six years ago,” Foster says, “where people come out and pick their own apples. That was one of our initiatives as far as getting people back on the farm. We get people out there where they can feel and touch the leaves of the trees. They pick the fruit straight from the tree.”

There are enough Mercier family members working at the orchard to pretty much always have one or the other on the back of the tractor, talking to the customers. Foster’s favorite story to tell concerns customers taking their first bite out of an apple they just plucked off one of Mercier’s trees (they planted 10,000 trees this year).

“They want to know,” he says, “ 'why does it taste so good?' " They often say that it tastes like a candied apple. And Foster explains to them, “That’s probably the first time you’ve ever bitten into a fresh apple.”

What people don’t realize, he says, is that controlled atmospheric storage allows apple orchards in places like Washington state to keep apples in storage for 18 months. That means, he says, that when you go to the grocery store and buy apples, “probably 90 percent of the time – because it’s not apple season all of the time – you’re buying last year’s crop.”

When a Mercier customer bites into a fresh apple for the first time, he says, “Right then and there, we know we have a customer for life.”

In the early fall, Mercier’s sells – among several apple varieties – the Honey Crisp, which is in season for only about four weeks. When customers taste a Honey Crisp, Foster says, they ask where they can get it. The Mercier answer: “Here.. Grocery stores don’t sell it. You can’t get it in the state of Georgia unless you come to a little apple house like us.”

“Little,” however, hardly describes Mercier’s. What started as, essentially, a roadside fruit stand has grown into a bustling retail store complete with gifts, a bakery and a delicatessen that serves breakfast and lunch, an online store, and a wholesale fried pie operation.

This fall, Mercier’s will sell fried pies, apple slushies, plus candied and caramel apples, at the six Georgia Tech home football games. And Mercier’s is in the final stages of building a traveling concession trailer that will sell apples, cider, candied apples and fried pies at festivals around the Southeast.

Last year during apple season, family members surveyed the tour buses that stopped at Mercier’s and counted 500 in the month of October alone. Mercier’s now has a Facebook page where customers leave comment after comment about their experiences picking and eating fresh fruit.

This year marked Mercier’s first blossom tour, during which customers ride out into the orchard and observe the stages of apple growth. “An apple doesn’t just all of a sudden show up on the tree,” Foster says. “It starts as a little flower.”

Seven vendors operate inside the store and another couple sell their wares out in the parking lot. In addition to fresh fruit, bakery items and cider, Mercier’s sells a wide variety of products ranging from kitchen gadgets to popcorn, spices, floral arrangements and bird feeders.

Whatever the season, Mercier’s makes samples available in the store.

“Our product sells itself, so why not let it?” asks Foster. “When we have fresh fruit in, that whole area (in the back of the sprawling store) is geared. We’re slicing strawberries back there right now. We’ll make strawberry shortcake and sample it. Or we’ll make chocolate-dipped strawberries and sample those. We’ll bake an apple. We’ll fry some apples. We’ll do some apple crisp.”

Mercier’s has a bakery program for kids where they come in and bake up something special, say, for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.

And through it all, Mercier’s is always, always baking fried pies: one million of them per year. When all is said and done, Foster says, “We are fried pies.”

Perhaps the greatest testament of all to the fact that Mercier’s is, above all, a family operation is that 92-year-old Adele Mercier, who is in her 68th crop year, still works at the orchard 40 to 50 hours per week.

Fast start to new year at Georgia wineries, restaurants

2011-01-03T11:44:00.000-08:00

What ahead for Georgia wine lovers:.

-Jan. 7: Johnny Mitchell's Smokehouse in Euharlee celebrating second anniversary with wine dinner: The award-winning barbecue spot near the Covered Bridge in Euharlee celebrates its second anniversary next month with a special wine dinner. (Menu) It begins at 7 p.m. Cost: $49. For reservations, call 770-383-3383. Facebook

-Jan. 8: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. Soup and wine. Every Saturday in January, a different soup and wine pairing ---in the newly heated barrel room. Local cheeses, breads and music. $10 per person ---includes tastings of all TMV wines in the tasting room.

-Jan. 22: Persimmon Creek Vineyards: A dinner celebration of Saint Vincent, the Patron Saint of Winemaking. Five-course dinner with Persimmon Creek wine pairings. Seating is limited. Price (all-inclusive) is $95 per person. Please call 706.212.7380 for more information and reservations.

-March 18-20: Fifth Annual Wine Highway Weekend. More details soon.

North Georgia wineries offer special holiday wines, dinners, hours

2010-12-09T12:02:00.000-08:00

What ahead at the North Georgia wineries:.
-Three Sisters Vineyards: Georgia Jug. "If you enjoy Fat Boy Red or Blood Mountain Red, we think you'll love Georgia Jug. It is an off dry Cabernet-Merlot-Pinot blend with rich color and flavor," says the winery's website.
-Crane Creek Vineyards in Young Harris has a limited supply 2010 Christmas Catawba.
-Dec. 11-12: Three Sisters Vineyards: An open house with $5 tastings as well as $15 vintner's tastings. Also set for Dec. 18-19.
-Dec. 11: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hot mulled wine, hors d’oeuvres, gifts for the wine lovers on your list. Appalachian Christmas music.
-Dec. 11: Wolf Mountain Vineyards. Wine dinner, $80 per person. Details
-Dec. 20-February: Wolf Mountain Vineyards Closed starting Dec. 20, reopening weekends only in February.
-Dec. 20-26: Sharp Mountain Vineyards: Closed.
-Dec. 21: Crane Creek Vineyards, annual winter solstice celebration, 6-8 p.m.
-Dec. 24-25: BlackStock Vineyards, closed.
-Dec. 30: Yonah Mountain Vineyard: Tour de la Cave & Barrel Sampling 3 p.m. at vineyards in Cleveland, Ga.
-Dec. 31-Jan 2: Sharp Mountain Vineyards' Customer Appreciation Days. "Pairing cheese and fruit with wine, drawing for Free Tastings, wine, merchandise, or a fact/fortune ticket. There will be gourmet food sampling and complimentary wine tours. "
-Dec. 31: The Georgia Winery: Free tours on the hour, free tastings, free admission, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
-Dec. 31: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. 1- 5 p.m., New Year's Eve tasting.
-Dec. 31: Montaluce Winery . New Year's Eve dinner, two seatings. Details
-March 18-20: Fifth Annual Wine Highway Weekend. More details soon.

This is one of the best weekends to tour N. Georgia's wineries

2010-12-01T17:10:00.001-08:00

Winter Wine Highway weekend is here:
-Dec. 3-5: Second Winter Wine Highway weekend: Nine wineries participating with each offering special events during the weekend, according to the Wine Growers Association of Georgia. A $20 per person "passport" gets you into all nine wineries; you can pick up a passport at any of the wineries. For a look at what's planned at each stop, click Wineries. The winter tour's hours: Friday. Dec. 3 2-5 p.m.; -Saturday, Dec. 4: Noon-5 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 5: 12:30-5 p.m.
-Expanded coverage: BlackStock's offerings for Winter Wine Highway weekend. Click
-North Georgia weather this weekend: Sunny but a tad cool. Highs in the mid-50s, lows in the mid 30s. Weather

What ahead at the North Georgia wineries:.
-Now available Crane Creek Vineyards Tasting Room only, 2010 limited edition Christmas Catawba.-Dec. 3-5: Sharp Mountain Vineyards' fifth anniversary celebration. From the website: "We will be pairing cheese and fruit with wine, drawing for free tastings, wine, merchandise or a fact/fortune ticket. There will be gourmet food sampling and complimentary wine tours.
-Dec. 4-5: Three Sisters Vineyards: An open house with $5 tastings as well as $15 vintner's tastings. Also set for Dec. 11-12, Dec. 18-19.
-Dec. 11: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hot mulled wine, hors d’oeuvres, gifts for the wine lovers on your list. Appalachian Christmas music.
-Dec. 11: Wolf Mountain Vineyards. Wine dinner, $80 per person. Details
Dec. 20-26: Sharp Mountain Vineyards: Closed.
Dec. 31-Jan 2: Sharp Mountain Vineyards' Customer Appreciation Days."Pairing cheese and fruit with wine, drawing for Free Tastings, wine, merchandise, or a fact/fortune ticket. There will be gourmet food sampling and complimentary wine tours. "
-Dec. 31: The Georgia Winery: Free tours on the hour, free tastings, free admission, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
-March 18-20: Fifth Annual Wine Highway Weekend. More details soon.

Sixth Rome Fine Wine Festival draws 200 guests, 150-plus wines

2010-11-14T18:55:00.000-08:00

This month's wine tastings, new releases:

-Nov. 18, Riverside Gourmet, Rome, 6:30 p.m. "Pinot Noirs and Thanksgiving Wines"

-Nov. 20: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. Rabun Red release party, 1-4 p.m.. Sliders--and live music.

-Nov. 27, Yonah Mountain Vineyards, release party for Serenity Cellars 2010 New Vogh.

Sixth Annual Rome Fine Wine Festival draws 200 guests to sample

150-plus wines while supporting south's oldest symphony orchestra

By Michelle Picon

For Wine News Vine

What the Rome Symphony Orchestra began as a fund-raising activity has turned into a much-anticipated community event and as it continues to grow, so seems to grow the Rome’s interest in and appreciation for fine wine.

Close to 200 guests attended the Rome Symphony’s Six Annual Fine Wine Festival on Sunday afternoon. With more than 150 wines to sample and food provided by 11 local restaurants and caterers, the festival was a definite crowd pleaser.

Barbara Beninato, president of the Rome Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors, says she sees the festival continuing to grow “with additional restaurants and distributors helping us. This one, is our biggest and best in terms of quality of wine we are offering.”

This year’s Patron’s Party was better attended than in previous years, with close to 100 tickets sold, said Festival Chairman David Dohrmann, retired pediatrician and wine connoisseur. The Patron’s Party was held at the beautiful and spacious downtown home of Greg and Ramona Fricks, a short walk from the Wine Festival venue, the Forrest Building.

In his second year as chairman of the event, Dohrmann is in great part responsible for the improved quality of the wine. He says that, in general, ticket sales this year were somewhat slower than expected, which he attributes to the sluggish economy. “People still don’t want to spend too much money,” he said.

The festival’s silent auction raised between $3,000 and $4,000 with $2,100 coming from one very popular item, a one-week stay in a 3-bedroom condo in Tuscany, Italy, donated by Gaetano and Philippa Manino.

“Even though they don’t live in our community anymore, they donated their Tuscan apartment,” says Dohrmann. The apartment has been a regular item at the silent auction for the past several years.

At the Forrest Building, guests also were treated to food from Coosa Country Club, Great Harvest Food Company, Harvest Moon Café, Kroger, Meals on Heels, Panera Bread, Provino’s, The Greener Burger, The Olive Garden, Two-Can-Do Catering and Wow Café and Wingery.

Participating wine distributors and retail outlets included Ark’s Liquor, Scant’s Corner Package, Empire Distributors, Stellar Wines and Riverside Gourmet. With more than 40 wines in four tables, Riverside had close to a third of its total wine selection available for tasting, says owner Kevin Dillmon.

Founded in 1921, the orchestra is the oldest symphony in the South. Proceeds from the Wine Festival will go toward the $15,000 to $17,000 it costs to produce each performance. Most of the symphony’s revenue comes from the Annual Fund Campaign and fund-raisers such as the festival, the debutante ball and the symphony suppers, says Beninato. The 2009 wine festival raised $12,000, she says.

Festival Patron’s Party: Enjoying people who enjoy wine
Cardiothoracic surgeon Jim Young, attending his third Rome Fine Wine Festival, echoed the general impression of most parton party guests. “I think (the festival) has improved over the years as they have changed the venue for the Patron’s Party, and have a higher-end wine,” he said.

The Patron’s Party has four wine stations, each one served by “sommeliers” from the community. Young notes that each person has brought “their ideas and their selections that they want to share with everybody.”

“This is a great activity. There are a number of beautiful stations,“ said Kelly Henson, who with his wife Sharon was in charge of one of the stations. “Probably the highlight at my station was the cabernet tasting, and people seemed to enjoy it greatly.

“We tasted three distinctly different cabernets. One was a Cameron Fisher Cabernet which is a spring mountain fruit, 94 rated. We tasted a Lancaster Cabernet. Lancaster is one of the most established and well known and respected Cabernet producers. And then we had a Ledson Cabernet from Sonoma; that was not an estate fruit but a fruit grown on a number of different areas in Sonoma, but really a great everyday cabernet, ” says Henson.

“We have a Termes from Spain,” says community sommelier Marshall Mann about the selections at his table. “The Termes grape is one of the old vines that survived the blight at the end of the century and wiped out all the French vines. Then we have a California old vine Zinfandel, Titus. Also Sequana, a central district Pinot Noir, made in a beaujoleais style, lots of fruit…complex but lots of fruit,”says Mann.

Mann’s favorite selection was Robert Sinskey’s Four Vineyars. “Sinskey is an all-organic Pinot Noir maker. This is more refined, smoother, less fruit, made from four separate small-batch vineyards in his property,” says Mann.

In charge of the Patron’s Party and also one of the very knowledgeable sommeliers, Coosa Country Club General Manager Jim Lawrence had at his table one of the most expensive wines of the evening, a 2005 Doffo Private Reserve from Temecula, just above San Diego.

” I am just so proud of the extensive wine list that I’ve put together at the Coosa Country Club and I love to share those wines for events like this. I brought some of the best cabernets from California: from Alexander Valley , Oakville, Stags Leap District, and Temecula,” he says. The wines from these areas were, respectively, a Robert Young, a Paradigm, a Cliff Lede and the Doffo.
“A lot of our members enjoy the wines at the club and I love to open them up to new wines that I discover through my wine salespeople and my trips to California,” says Lawrence.

Ray Jarvis, wine buyer at Riverside Gourmet, hosted a fourth station. His favorite: Beaux Freres Vineyard Pinot Noir, an earthy-style burgundian-style pinot that retails for $80. This vineyard is owned by wine critic Robert Parker and his brother-in-law, and Jarvis is trying to get some from the distributor to sell at the store. Another one of Jarvis’ featured wines was a Don Nicanor Malbec, a Tres Sabores Zinfandel from Napa, and a favorite, a Vineyard 29 Cru Cabernet, also from Napa.

What ahead at the North Georgia wineries:

-Nov. 20: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. Rabun Red release party, 1-4 p.m.. Sliders--and live music.

-Nov. 20-21: Three Sisters Vineyards: celebrating the 'best of the best' with ' a limited taste of our finest dessert wines.' $20 tastings.

-Nov. 21: Wolf Mountain Vineyards: Eighth annual Wild Game Brunch & Red Wine Festival. Click

-Nov. 27, Yonah Mountain Vineyards, release party for Serenity Cellars 2010 New Vogh, 2-5 p.m.

-Dec. 3-5: Second Winter Wine Highway weekend: Nine wineries participating with each offering special events during the weekend, according to the Wine Growers Association of Georgia. Additional details will be announced soon. The spring wine highway weekend usually is held in March as well. The winter tour's hours: Friday. Dec. 3 2-5 p.m.; -Saturday, Dec. 4: Noon-5 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 5: 12:30-5 p.m.

-Dec. 11: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hot mulled wine, hors d’oeuvres, gifts for the wine lovers on your list. Appalachian Christmas music.

-March 18-20: Fifth Annual Wine Highway Weekend. More details soon.

Wine tastings, releases in North Georgia

2010-11-10T11:24:00.000-08:00

This month's wine tastings, new releases:

-Nov. 14: The Rome Fine Wine Festival is from 3 until 6 p.m. at The Forrest Building Ballrooms at 436 Broad St. This event will feature wines from around the world as well as from local restaurants and caterers. Tickets are $50 in advance or $60 at the door. Tickets may be purchased at Kroger, Provino’s, Riverside Gourmet, World Hi Fi and the Visitors Center. Each guest receives a complimentary Riedel glass. A patrons' party will be held from 1 until 3 p.m. at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Greg Fricks. Private sommeliers with high-end wines will serve guests at this private tasting. Individual tickets are $85 per person. All proceeds benefit the Rome Symphony Orchestra. Restaurants and caterers include Coosa Country Club, Harvest Moon Cafe, Meals on Heels, Panera Bread, Provino's Italian Restaurant, The Greener Burger, The Olive Garden, Two Can Do and WOW Cafe & Wingery. Details: 706-291-7967 or www.romesymphony.org.

-Nov. 18, Riverside Gourmet, Rome, 6:30 p.m. "Pinot Noirs and Thanksgiving Wines"

-Nov. 20: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. Rabun Red release party, 1-4 p.m.. Sliders--and live music.

-Nov. 27, Yonah Mountain Vineyards, release party for Serenity Cellars 2010 New Vogh.

What ahead at the North Georgia wineries:

-Nov. 13, Naturally Georgia Tasting Room, Dahlonega, 5-8 p.m. A 'Prelude to Thanksgiving' wine tasting and food pairing. Plus: Meet John and Martha Ezzard of Tiger Mountain Vineyards

-Nov. 13: Frogtown Cellars, Wine Maker Dinner celebrating the end of the Longest Harvest Season. Dinner includes four courses paired with wine followed by dessert. $75 per person plus tax and gratuity. Dinner begins at 6 p.m. Reservations required.

-Nov. 14: Wolf Mountain Vineyards: Eighth annual Wild Game Brunch & Red Wine Festival. Click

-Nov. 20: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. Rabun Red release party, 1-4 p.m.. Sliders--and live music.

-Nov. 20-21: Three Sisters Vineyards: celebrating the 'best of the best' with ' a limited taste of our finest dessert wines.' $20 tastings.

-Nov. 27, Yonah Mountain Vineyards, release party for Serenity Cellars 2010 New Vogh, 2-5 p.m.

-Dec. 11: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hot mulled wine, hors d’oeuvres, gifts for the wine lovers on your list. Appalachian Christmas music.

-March 18-20: Fifth Annual Wine Highway Weekend. More details soon.

Georgia wineries: Special dinners, two wine releases set

2010-11-04T05:01:00.000-07:00

This month's wine tastings, new releases:
-Nov. 14: The Rome Fine Wine Festival is from 3 until 6 p.m. at The Forrest Building Ballrooms at 436 Broad St. This event will feature wines from around the world as well as from local restaurants and caterers. Tickets are $50 in advance or $60 at the door. Tickets may be purchased at Kroger, Provino’s, Riverside Gourmet, World Hi Fi and the Visitors Center. Each guest receives a complimentary Riedel glass. A patrons' party will be held from 1 until 3 p.m. at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Greg Fricks. Private sommeliers with high-end wines will serve guests at this private tasting. Individual tickets are $85 per person. All proceeds benefit the Rome Symphony Orchestra. Restaurants and caterers include Coosa Country Club, Harvest Moon Cafe, Meals on Heels, Panera Bread, Provino's Italian Restaurant, The Greener Burger, The Olive Garden, Two Can Do and WOW Cafe & Wingery. Details: 706-291-7967 or www.romesymphony.org.
-Nov. 18, Riverside Gourmet, Rome, 6:30 p.m. "Pinot Noirs and Thanksgiving Wines"
-Nov. 20: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. Rabun Red release party, 1-4 p.m.. Sliders--and live music.
-Nov. 27, Yonah Mountain Vineyards, release party for Serenity Cellars 2010 New Vogh.

What ahead at the North Georgia wineries:
-Nov. 6: BlackStock Vineyards and Winery, Library Reserve Wine Dinner, $55 per person. Great dinner paired with wines from BlackStock's library reserve collection. Details.
-Nov. 7: Wolf Mountain Vineyards: Eighth annual Wild Game Brunch & Red Wine Festival. Click
-Nov. 13, Naturally Georgia Tasting Room, Dahlonega, 5-8 p.m. A 'Prelude to Thanksgiving' wine tasting and food pairing. Plus: Meet John and Martha Ezzard of Tiger Mountain Vineyards
-Nov. 13: Frogtown Cellars, Wine Maker Dinner celebrating the end of the Longest Harvest Season. Dinner includes four courses paired with wine followed by dessert. $75 per person plus tax and gratuity. Dinner begins at 6 p.m. Reservations required.
-Nov. 14: Wolf Mountain Vineyards: Eighth annual Wild Game Brunch & Red Wine Festival. Click
-Nov. 20: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. Rabun Red release party, 1-4 p.m.. Sliders--and live music.
-Nov. 27, Yonah Mountain Vineyards, release party for Serenity Cellars 2010 New Vogh.
-Dec. 3-5: Second Winter Wine Highway weekend: Nine wineries participating with each offering special events during the weekend, according to the Wine Growers Association of Georgia. Additional details will be announced soon. The spring wine highway weekend usually is held in March as well. The winter tour's hours: Friday. Dec. 3 2-5 p.m.; -Saturday, Dec. 4: Noon-5 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 5: 12:30-5 p.m.
-Dec. 11: Tiger Mountain Vineyards. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hot mulled wine, hors d’oeuvres, gifts for the wine lovers on your list. Appalachian Christmas music.

N. Georgia wine country weather: Freeze warning

2010-10-29T11:12:00.000-07:00

Freeze warning is in effect from 2 until 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 30, in Dahlonega, Young Harris and much of North Georgia's wine country. It is still a great weekend to go to the wineries and tasting rooms with fall colors, clear skies and a high of 70. http://bit.ly/ap6AzJ

Halloween at the wineries; Thursday tasting at Riverside Gourment, Rome.

2010-10-27T08:13:00.000-07:00

This month's wine tastings, new releases:

-Oct. 28, Riverside Gourmet, 250 Broad St., Rome. ' Life is a Cabernet!' California Cabernet-only tasting. Cost: $10. Time: 6:30 p.m.

What ahead at the North Georgia wineries:

-Oct. 30: Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards "Hallowine" Swinging in the Vines, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

-Oct. 30-31: Three Sisters Vineyards. Annual HalloWINE Celebration, free open house. 12:30- 5 p.m. 'Spooky fun, music and 'Blood Mountain Red' wine.

-Nov. 13, Naturally Georgia Tasting Room, Dahlonega, 5-8 p.m. A 'Prelude to Thanksgiving' wine tasting and food pairing. Plus: Meet John and Martha Ezzard of Tiger Mountain Vineyards

-Nov. 14: Sipping for a cause: The Rome Fine Wine Festival is from 3 until 6 p.m. at The Forrest Building Ballrooms at 436 Broad St. This event will feature wines from around the world as well as from local restaurants and caterers. Tickets are $50 in advance or $60 at the door. Tickets may be purchased at Kroger, Provino’s, Riverside Gourmet, World Hi Fi and the Visitors Center. Each guest receives a complimentary Riedel glass. A patrons' party will be held from 1 until 3 p.m. at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Greg Fricks. Private sommeliers with high-end wines will serve guests at this private tasting. Individual tickets are $85 per person. All proceeds benefit the Rome Symphony Orchestra. Restaurants and caterers include Coosa Country Club, Harvest Moon Cafe, Meals on Heels, Panera Bread, Provino's Italian Restaurant, The Greener Burger, The Olive Garden, Two Can Do and WOW Cafe & Wingery. Details: 706-291-7967 or www.romesymphony.org.

Wine tastings, winery events, wine stops

2010-10-15T04:14:00.001-07:00

This week's wine tastings, new releases:

-Oct. 17. 'Art of the Wine Expo' in Marietta: Area wine enthusiasts will want to be at the Marietta Conference Center for this afternoon for wine tasting, music, food and art. Tickets are $45 per person in advance or $55 at the door. More than 175 wines will be showcased. food. Hours: 3 until 7 p.m. For details, click here or Marietta Wine Market.

-Oct. 20: Crane Creek Vineyards: The winery in Young Harris releases the 2008 vintage of Hellbender Red, 2009 Enotah White and Mountain Harvest Blush, 6-8 p.m.

Along Georgia's Wine Highway: Blue Ridge & Ellijay

-About the only thing missing in Blue Ridge off Ga. 515 in the North Georgia mountains is a winery. The good news: wineries are relatively close, including Crane Creek in Young Harris, Sharp Mountain near Jasper and a host of wineries in Dahlonega. But there is a tasting room even closer, just down the highway in downtown Ellijay.

-Grapes & Grinds is tucked inside the front door at Trevor's General Store, 14 N. Main St. Once known as Corks & Crumbs, the owners downsized into another downtown spot. It is in the front right "parlor" of Trevor's and offering wine tasting, coffee and bistro service.

-Grapes & Grinds serves wines from BlackStock Vineyards, part of the growing Dahlonega cluster of wineries. The association with David Harris' White County winery is a relatively new one. Corks & Crumbs once offered Frogtown wines but made the switch several years ago.

-The tasting room is cozy--and busy-- as it is just off the foyer for the general store. The foot traffic on fall weekends is in incredible. Bill serves four tastes for $5, with $1.50 for each additional sample. You can go by flights--red, whites, blush/rose or port--or mix them.

-We asked for Cabernet Savignon 2006, Reserve Viognier 2008, White Merlot 2008 and Merlot during our stop Oct. 9. All were tasty but the White Merlot was perhaps the best of the bunch.

-The atmosphere at Grapes & Grinds is busy, especially with all the foot traffic in to the general store. But they have the routine down and it takes just a minute to be seated and served.

-How does G & G rate vs. a winery tasting room? Totally different experience giving the hustle of the surruonding businesses. But it is fun, especially if you need a quick winery fix while in the area.

-What's the difference from the original location of Corks & Crumbs? Less space and overall elbow room but we never felt crunched.

-Is it open on Sundays? Absolutely. Being an agricultural product grown on Georgia farms, wine samples and sales are OK on Sundays.

Nearby dining: We tried two newer restaurants in Blue Ridge:

-Blue Ridge Brewery: Don't come to town thinking this is a college-age establishment just off downtown Blue Ridge. The quaint impression you get from the brick exterior goes away quickly. Inside you find a nice bar area, a dining room with white table clothes, a rear patio area and more parking. The menu: Outstanding. The beer and wine list: premium (try the Saint Bernardous on draught). The food is even more dazzling: we tried the grilled ribeye, rigatoni in Alfredo Sauce and Wild Rice Risotto. All were excellent right down ot the bacon-wrapped asparagus. It isn't cheap: we got out of there for around $80 before tip. Menu

-Christy Lee's Courtyard Grille: Based just off the tracks carry the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, Christy's is a site to see. The weather was perfect for outdoor dining Saturday night and so was the service. We went light, with flatbread pizzas, with differing toppings: Mushroom, sausage and pepperoni. Click Here.

-Mercier Orchards: Perhaps the best slice of agri-tourism our state has seen. You can stop to pick or buy fresh apples; baked good, Buckhead meats and more. No trip to Blue Ridge if officlal wthouth a Mercier trip. Mercier

What ahead at the North Georgia wineries:

-Oct. 16-17: Montaluce Winery, annual harvest festival. Food, hayrides, music, vineyard tours/lecture. $25 to taste wines from Montaluce, Sharp Mountain, Chateau Elan. Details

-Oct. 16: Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards Swinging in the Vines, 2-6 p.m.

-Oct. 16: Tiger Mountain Vineyards: "A Pig for a Park," 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. A pig, Tiger Mountain Rabun Red and blue grass music at a benefit to raise funds for Clayton's new Stekoa Creek Park, sponsored by the Chattooga Conservancy. $10 for adults; $6 for kids.

-Oct. 17: Three Sisters Vineyards, harvest barbecue and live music, 12:30 p.m.

-Oct. 23: Crane Creek Vineyards, Annual Harvest Festival, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. From the website: "Hayrides, grape stomping, tours of the winery, a kiddie tent." Tickets: $20 for adults; $10 for those ages 13-20; 12 and under, free. Ticket price includes wine tasting, souvenir wine glass, lunch and admission.

Rome wine expert: How to start your own wine club. Plus: sipping for a cause. What's new at North Georgia wineries

2010-09-30T05:29:00.000-07:00

How to start your own wine club
“As long as you’re linking to what you’re drinking, you’re learning about wine” -- Ed Hunt, Rome, Ga., wine enthusiast.

By Michelle Picon

For Wine News Vine

Rome businessman Ed Hunt is very generous sharing his time, his knowledge and his love of wine with his many friends. Just ask a Cork Screw, a Cork Dork or an Uncorked.

With names that disguise the seriousness with which Hunt approaches his passion for wine, the three wine clubs Hunt has taught in Rome have provided a fun way for friends to socialize while learning about wine in an organized, systematic way.

Wine events in Northwest Georgia are becoming a popular social activity. Restaurants and wine stores offer wine tastings as a way to get prospective clients through their doors. Some restaurants offer special dinners with food and wine pairings. And events such as the Rome Fine Wine Festival, a benefit for the Rome Symphony Orchestra now in its sixth year, continues to grow in quality and popularity in Rome. This year's event is Nov. 14 (click here)

Not everyone is lucky enough to have Hunt as a guide when navigating the complicated world of appreciating wine. But Hunt shares some ideas about how a group of friends can get together to form their own wine club, and explains how he arrived at his teaching system.

E.J. Hunt, Hector Picon and Ray Jarvis, members of the Cork Dorks Wine Club in Rome, Ga., host a benefit wine class that was up for bid at a recent auction benefitting Saint Mary's Catholic School.

Years ago, Hunt attended a class in Kennesaw with his wife, Margaret, and his newly married son E.J. and daughter-in-law Jenny. “But when I left that class, I was more confused than when I went in. It wasn’t making sense to me,” says Hunt.

Attending the New Orleans Wine Festival later on, he enjoyed choosing “one class, one finite subject, something we would learn about for a two-hour period. So, that was not confusing,” he says.

Hunt uses that systematic approach in his classes. He admits that gathering all the information out there and presenting it in a way that makes sense is “no easy thing

“If you’re going to form a wine club, the number one thing to do is READ,” says Hunt. “There are all kinds of wine books. There’s even a book on how to start your own wine club.

.
“Your first class certainly has to be on the basics of wine tasting; there’s thousands of articles on that. Or an introductory course is fine,” he says.

For the next classes, “you then pick a country or a grape. One of my big deals when teaching wine is you have to know four things:
-What’s the grape?
-Who made it?
- Where was it made?

-What was the weather like when it was made?

“You’ve got to understand all four of those things. Wine is not Pepsi made from a formula,” he says. “A farmer makes it. “

There can be two approaches to a wine club: If you’re going to take it seriously and want to learn, you need to use your intelligence and you need to be patient, he says.

Hunts suggests getting six couples together and meeting every two months. Essentially, the group decides how much money it wants to spend, and how much wine members want to purchase for 12 people. Couples alternate hosting meetings. The hosts decide what grape or region they will cover, get on the Internet and do the research.

“The internet will tell you what you need to know about that wine, about the winery, about the vineyard, about the area," Hunt says.
“As long as you’re somehow, some way, linking to what you’re drinking, instead of pouring out of a jug," you will be learning about wine, he says. “It should take about a year so don’t get in any hurry. You can’t do it in a hurry. “

If the approach you prefer involves drinking the wine with friends but not doing any serious research, he suggests another alternative: go to the local wine tastings, enjoy the friends and the wine, and grab a cab home.

-More on Ed Hunt: Please see Michelle Picon's recent profile of Ed Hunt, who also owns a Rome computer company, coaches volleyball at Darlington School and performs in the band, Broad & Third. Click Hunt.

What's ahead this fall in North Georgia's wine country:

-Oct. 2: The Georgia Winery, 2010 Annual Grape Stomp, noon until 4 p.m. "Bring your lawn chairs and enjoy wine tasting, live music, hayrides, kids' activities, and more. $7 per adult." Also releasing a Tennessee Tangerine: blended muscadine and tangerine.

-October weekends: Three Sisters Vineyards /Facebook) plans free weekends, live music each weekend in October.

-Oct. 2: Tiger Mountain Vineyards / Facebook, patio party, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Wine, cheese and live music on the patio. Learn about the wine making process, and see the progress of the 2010 vintages. (From WAG)

-Oct. 3: Crane Creek Vineyards, Puttin' on the Dog 10th Annual Fundraiser. 2-5 p.m. Details

-Oct. 3: Frogtown Cellars / Facebook: Harvest Pow Wow Brunch. Brunch features 3 courses paired with wine plus dessert. Time 12:30 p.m. Cost $35 per person plus tax & gratuity.

-Oct. 9: BlackStock Vineyards and Winery /-Facebook October wine dinner. $68 per person. Click

-Oct. 16: Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards Swinging in the Vines, 2-6 p.m.

Nov. 14/Sipping for a cause: The Rome Fine Wine Festival is from 3 until 6 p.m. at The Forrest Building Ballrooms at 436 Broad St. This event will feature wines from around the world as well as from local restaurants and caterers. Tickets are $50 in advance or $60 at the door. Tickets may be purchased at Kroger, Provino’s, Riverside Gourmet, World Hi Fi and the Visitors Center.Each guest receives a complimentary Riedel glass. A patrons' party will be held from 1 until 3 p.m. at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Greg Fricks. Private sommeliers with high-end wines will serve guests at this private tasting. Individual tickets are $85 per person. All proceeds benefit the Rome Symphony Orchestra. Restaurants and caterers include Coosa Country Club, Harvest Moon Cafe, Meals on Heels, Panera Bread, Provino's Italian Restaurant, The Greener Burger, The Olive Garden, Two Can Do and WOW Cafe & Wingery. Details: 706-291-7967 or www.romesymphony.org.

Second Winter Wine Highway weekend set for Dec. 3, 4, 5

-Nine wineries participating with each offering special events during the weekend, according to the Wine Growers Association of Georgia. Additional details will be announced soon. The spring wine highway weekend usually is held in March as well. The winter tour's hours
-Friday. Dec. 3 2-5 p.m.

-Saturday, Dec. 4: Noon-5 p.m.

-Sunday, Dec. 5: 12:30-5 p.m.

Swinging in the Vines at Sautee; jazz at Wolf Mountain

2010-09-15T16:45:00.000-07:00

This week's spotlight:
-Now-Sept. 30: Harvest month specials at BlackStock Vineyards and Winery. In our year-plus of producing Wine News Vine, we've never seen a winery schedule a full month of specials, from Grill & Chill weekends to discounts and even freebies. Good show, BlackStock! Click
-Sept. 25: Persimmon Creek Vineyards hosts Writer's Dinner at 7 p.m. South Carolina author Cassandra King will join dinners. Chef Rebecca Lang will prepare the wine-matched dinner. $85 per person.

What's ahead this summer in North Georgia's wine country:
-Sept. 18: Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards Swinging in the Vines, 2-6 p.m. Details
-Sept. 19: Eighth Annual Celebration of Jazz in the Vineyard, Wolf Mountain Vineyards. Live jazz and "country French cuisine." $30 per person; seatings at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. Also on Sept. 26.
-Sept. 25: Tiger Mountain Vineyards: "Release of Stonewall Creek Vineyards Rabun Red, a first harvest blend of French vinifera from the Tiger vineyards of Carl and Carla Fackler." (From website)
-Oct. 2: The Georgia Winery, 2010 Annual Grape Stomp, noon until 4 p.m. "Bring your lawn chairs and enjoy wine tasting, live music, hayrides, kids' activities, and more. $7 per adult." Also releasing a Tennessee Tangerine: blended muscadine and tangerine.
-Oct. 3: Crane Creek Vineyards, Puttin' on the Dog 10th Annual Fundraiser. 2-5 p.m. Details
-Oct. 16: Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards Swinging in the Vines, 2-6 p.m.
-Oct. 23: Crane Creek Vineyards, Annual Harvest Festival, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. From the website: "Hayrides, grape stomping, tours of the winery, a kiddie tent." Tickets: $20 for adults; $10 for those ages 13-20; 12 and under, free. Ticket price includes wine tasting, souvenir wine glass, lunch and admission.

Second Winter Wine Highway weekend set for Dec. 3, 4, 5
-Nine wineries participating with each offering special events during the weekend, according to the Wine Growers Association of Georgia. Additional details will be announced soon. The spring wine highway weekend usually is held in March as well. The winter tour's hours-Friday. Dec. 3 2-5 p.m.
-Saturday, Dec. 4: Noon-5 p.m.
-Sunday, Dec. 5: 12:30-5 p.m.

Labor Day weekend sizzling at N. Georgia wineries

2010-09-02T06:53:00.001-07:00

orthwest Georgia wine events:

-Sept. 9: Wine tasting at Riverside Gourmet: It begins at 6:30 p.m. and features a $10 tasting fee. What's planned: French wines.

This week's spotlight:

-Sept. 3-30: Harvest month specials at BlackStock Vineyards and Winery. In our year-plus of producing Wine News Vine, we've never seen a winery schedule a full month of specials, from Grill & Chill weekends to discounts and even freebies. Good show, BlackStock! Click

-Sept. 25: Persimmon Creek Vineyards hosts Writer's Dinner at 7 p.m. South Carolina author Cassandra King will join dinners. Chef Rebecca Lang will prepare the wine-matched dinner. $85 per person.

What's ahead this summer in North Georgia's wine country:

-Sept. 4: First Crush Fest, ,Yonah Mountain Vineyards. From the website: Crush Fest will feature grape stomping a la Lucille Ball, wagon tours of the vineyard, winery and cave tours. Admission: General $15, Designated Driver $5, 16 and under free. Admission includes all of the above, plus wine samples, a tasting glass, music all day, vendors and craftspeople."

-Sept. 4: Tiger Mountain Vineyards: Patio party with wine, cheese and live music on the patio. No admission charge; $5 tasting fee only. Tasting room open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Music, 1-4 p.m.

-Sept. 4-6: Three Sisters Vineyards: Pig n Chips BBQ - Ooh La La Cheesecakes Labor Day Weekend. Barbecue, cheesecake and live music Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

-Sept. 5: Eighth Annual Celebration of Jazz in the Vineyard, Wolf Mountain Vineyards. Live jazz and "country French cuisine." $30 per person; seatings at 12:30 and 2;30 p.m. Also on Sept. 12, 19, 26.

-Sept. 11: The Georgia Winery, Southern Sangria Release Party, "enjoy wine and cheese with us. Free admission. We are releasing our brand new deliciously appealing Southern Sangria. Wonderfully flavored, full-bodied, exceptionally balanced." (Web posting).

-Sept. 11: Frogtown Cellars, Harvest Dinner, 6 p.m. $75 per person. Details.

-Sept. 18: Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards Swinging in the Vines, 2-6 p.m. Details

-Sept. 25: Tiger Mountain Vineyards: "Release of Stonewall Creek Vineyards Rabun Red, a first harvest blend of French vinifera from the Tiger vineyards of Carl and Carla Fackler." (From website)

-Oct. 16: Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards Swinging in the Vines, 2-6 p.m.

Second Winter Wine Highway weekend set for Dec. 3, 4, 5

-Saturday, Dec. 4: Noon-5 p.m.

-Sunday, Dec. 5: 12:30-5 p.m.

2010-08-04T15:22:00.000-07:00

Local wine events:
Aug. 27: Wine dinner at Johnny Mitchell's Smokehouse Barbecue: The Euharlee (near Cartersville) hot spot plans three glasses of wine to go with pork tenderloin, smoke salmon, fried green tomatoes and panna cotta with fresh berries. Starts at 7 p.m.; $35 per person. Click Facebook.
This week's spotlight:
-Aug. 14:Tiger Mountain Vineyards: Celebrate Tiger Mountain Vineyards’ first rose, made from Cabernet Franc and Viognier grapes. The release includes a sliders party (mini-burgers), local cheeses and more, including live music. 2 to 5 p.m. Admission, $15 per person
What's ahead this summer in North Georgia's wine country:
-Aug. 8: Wolf Mountain Vineyards, 8th annual regional Artisan Cheese Month & Vineyard Celebration. (Aug. 15, 22, 29 as well). . Plus: Click for Wolf Mountain's fall themes. Fall.
-Aug. 21, Annual Tomato Festival, Crane Creek Vineyards, 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. The pitch: "Celebrate the fruit of the other vine with your friends and family at Crane Creek Vineyards! Local restaurants and food vendors will be out giving away samples of their cuisine. Chef David and his Culinary Team will be preparing lunch for everyone with all things tomato. This is a great day of food and wine! Tickets will be sold at the door: adults $20, ages 13-20 $10, children under 12 free. Ticket price includes wine tasting, souvenir wine glass, lunch and admission to all of the activities."
-Aug. 21: Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards Swinging in the Vines, 2-6 p.m. Details
-Aug. 21: Persimmon Creek Vineyards, 7 p.m. Special barbecue and wines. $85 per person. Full details.
-Sept. 4: First Crush Fest, ,Yonah Mountain Vineyards. From the website: Crush Fest will feature grape stomping a la Lucille Ball, wagon tours of the vineyard, winery and cave tours. Admission: General $15, Designated Driver $5, 16 and under free. Admission includes all of the above, plus wine samples, a tasting glass, music all day, vendors and craftspeople."
Second Winter Wine Highway weekend set for Dec. 3, 4, 5
-Nine wineries participating with each offering special events during the weekend, according to the Wine Growers Association of Georgia. Additional details will be announced soon. The spring wine highway weekend usually is held in March as well. The winter tour's hours-Friday. Dec. 3 2-5 p.m.
-Saturday, Dec. 4: Noon-5 p.m.
-Sunday, Dec. 5: 12:30-5 p.m.

North Georgia wineries offer special dinners, tours this weekend. Plus: Yonah Mountain Vineyards visit

2010-07-14T18:17:00.000-07:00

New: Part II of our tour of Sautee Nacoochee, Ga.: Yonah Mountain Vineyards. Click

What's ahead this summer in North Georgia's wine country:

-July 15: Riverside Gourmet, Rome: Italian Wine Tasting, July 15th, 6:30 p.m., with Jenny Swab from Vinifera Wine Imports. A $10 tasting fee will be refunded with your wine purchase.

-July 17, Yonah Mountain Vineyards, Tour de la Cave and Barrel Tasting. Details below.

-July 17, BlackStock Vineyards and Winery wine dinner, $65 per peson (includes wine but not tax and gratuity). Paid reservations only. Menu

-July 17, Also at BlackStock: First release of the dry Reserve Touriga.

-July 17, Bastille Day Celebration Dinner at Persimmon Creek Vineyards. 5- course dinner served with wine pairings, prepared by Chef Virginia Willis; $95 per person; reservation required.

-July 17, Crane Creek Vineyards, Pasta Dinner: Dinner begins with a 7 p.m. cocktail hour and then a three-course dinner. $55 per person, includes wine.

-July 18 and 25, Wolf Mountain Vineyards, A Celebration of Napa Cuisine, Jazz & Bubbles. Featuring recipes from Napa Valley's renowned restaurants and Wolf Mountain favorites paired with our Family of Estate Wines, Live Jazz and the release of our new vintage of Sparkling Wines. The cost is $30 per person plus tax and gratuity and wine by the glass or bottle is available at an additional price. Seatings at 12:30 and 2:30pm

-July 24, Picnic Saturday at Persimmon Creek Vineyards. Picnic lunch, bottle of wine, 2 etched wine glasses; $50 per couple; reservation required.

-July 24, release party (5-8 p.m.) at Naturally Georgia in Dahlonega: TigerMountain Vineyards '09 Petit Nanseng.

-Aug. 21, Annual Tomato Festival, Crane Creek Vineyards, 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. The pitch: "Celebrate the fruit of the other vine with your friends and family at Crane Creek Vineyards! Local restaurants and food vendors will be out giving away samples of their cuisine. Chef David and his Culinary Team will be preparing lunch for everyone with all things tomato. This is a great day of food and wine! Tickets will be sold at the door: adults $20, ages 13-20 $10, children under 12 free. Ticket price includes wine tasting, souvenir wine glass, lunch and admission to all of the activities."

Yonah Mountain Vineyards building on a solid first year

First of two parts on this emerging, family friendly wine region near Helen, Ga.

On July 10, Yonah Mountain Vineyards had something to toast: one year of serving some of the nicer wines flowing from the Dahlonega-Helen-Young Harris-Rabun County wine region of North Georgia. Based on the wines sampled during our recent visit, Yonah Mountain was well stocked to serve all patrons at that party and the events to come.

Just down Ga. 17 from another relative newcomer, Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards, Yonah Mountain's tasting room is a lively, comfortable stop for four free samples or a full sample of its wines as well as a souvenir glass for $10 or for a bottle of the growing wine list ($12.50 to $36 per bottle before discounts begin at four bottles).

We did the deluxe tasting featuring 10 wines with the Serenity Cellars Radiance Rose topping our list. It is a careful blend of Cabernet Savignon, Franc and even Merlot. Yonah Mountain describes it as a "full-bodied European style rose." A close second was Serenity Cellars 2008 Viognier, a tasty white wine with a slight fruit taste.

Next from the Serenity Cellars family came 2009 New Vogh and 2008 Majestic as well as Yonah Mountain 2008 Chardonnay; 2006 Genesis; Bearly Sweet White, Rose and Red; and a final surprise, Traminette. We'll tempt you on the Traminette: it has a grapefruit taste almost, different from most wines. Try it out of curiosity if nothing else.

The tasting room is as fun as any we've enjoyed in our tours of North Georgia wineries. The crowd on this particular June Saturday afternoon was charged and a good mix of 20 somethings as well as a few of us older sippers. Adding to the day was the WineSong performance featuring Monica Spears.

Spears' performance underlines another thing we like about Yonah Mountain. While one of the smaller outfits in the North Georgia region, the winery's owners think big--or thing creatively. Yonah Mountain offers a monthly First Friday event. On July 17, another Tour de la Cave and Barrel Tasting was set (noon), giving visitors a taste of what's to come and also a tour of the vineyards area itself (the tasting room is separate). The 'tours' are held the third Saturday of each month.

An extra perk for those tasting with families: In the same rustic center as Yonah Mountain, you'll find Elfmade Wooden Toys, a unique store of handmade wood items. This true mom-and-pop shop offers toys made from reclaimed or discarded wood and allows kids to buy and paint whatever is on display (photo, right). Our son bought and crafted a ping-pong ball shooter. It is a harmless, clever toy powered by clothes pins and rubber bands. Every office needs one. Elfmade Wooden Toys even does birthday parties, and is open daily except Wednesdays. Just as important: the toys are very affordable. Stop by to see Marie Carr or contact her via the website.

What to know about Yonah Mountain Vineyards:

-Tasting room: 706-878-1056. Address: 2454-B Highway 17, Sautee Nacoochee, Ga. 30571

-Tasting room hours: Noon until 5 Monday-Thursday; until 6 Friday; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday; 12:30-5 p.m. Sunday.

-Admission/tasting: Free (four samples) or a complete sampler and keepsake glass, $10 per person.

-Website: www.yonahmountainvineyards.com

-We recommend you use the Facebook account: Facebook

-Our favorite: Serenity Cellars Radiance Rose. $16 a bottle..

-Per bottle prices range from $12.50 to $26.

Why is Sautee Nacoochee a family friendly blend of wineries?

Especially during the summer season, nearby Helen offers a wonderful list of family friend activities. Perhaps the most relaxing is a trip down the river on glorified inner tubes. Several Helen-area companies offer a variety of slow-flowing trips down the river. You can pick the estimated time and that's how they decide to drop you and dozens of others off. The flow time depends on the depth of the river, the current and your own pace (buy one of the sticks offered at each spot; you'll need it to better navigate). After a morning or early afternoon on the tubes, the kids can go to a water park or hit some of the multiple putt-putt golf courses in Helen. Lots of shops and restaurants will keep the family busy as well. So will a few gem and stone mining operations. For a comprehensive list of what to do, click HelenGa.

Non-stop Independence Day celebrations at North Georgia wineries

2010-07-01T05:46:00.000-07:00

Below: Part one of our two-part look at North Georgia's family friendly wine venue, Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards. Part two will be posted the week of July 12.

What's ahead this summer in North Georgia's wine country:
-July 1, Crane Creek Vineyards: Release party for "Sweet Sally." 6-8 p.m. on the Barn Swallow Pavilion. Enjoy complimentary appetizers and a glass of the new vintage.
-July 2: Montaluce Winery and Estates, Dinner and a movie returns. This Friday: Double Indemnity. Details
-July 2-4, Three Sisters Vineyards, All American Wine Celebration. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, Saturday; Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Free open house; music on the Crush Pad Deck. Chef Roberts of Pig n Chips will be offering his World Famous North Georgia BBQ.
-July 3, Crane Creek Vineyards: Free concert, 7-11 p.m., with Bulletproof (classic rock, country, and even party dance music). Wine will be sold by the glass or by the bottle. Hamburgers and hot dogs available for purchase.
-July 3, Tiger Mountain Vineyards, Norton Barbecue. Wine tastings, Georgia cheeses from Sweet Grass, Flat Creek. Live music, 1:30 - 4 p.m. Taste winery manager Jabe Hilson’s barbecue, sauce made with Tiger Mountain American Norton. $5 tasting fee only.
-July 3, 4, Swinging in the Vines, special edition, Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards, 2-6 p.m. both days. Summer music series with complimentary wine tastings, hors d'oeuvres and music with Tone Star. Click Details
-July 3-4, Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards, release of Red-Headed Stepchild. Described as a "fruity blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chambourcin delightfully sweet for your enjoyment." Plus: rock 'n' roll music, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 12:30-6 p.m. Sunday.
-July 3, 4, 5, BlackStock Vineyards and Winery. Music each day from 2 until 5 p.m. Gourmet burgers, holiday foods, wine tastings and wine by the glass.
-July 10, BlackStock Vineyards and Winery wine dinner, $65 per peson (includes wine but not tax and gratuity). Paid reservations only. Menu
-July 10, Yonah Mountain Vineyards, Wine Song, 5-8 p.m. Free admission. Wine Song offers a featured musician or musical group and food pairings to compliment Yonah Mountain Vineyards wines, in the Park at Sautee Village. 2454 Highway 17.
-July 17, Bastille Day Celebration Dinner at Persimmon Creek Vineyards. 5- course dinner served with wine pairings, prepared by Chef Virginia Willis; $95 per person; reservation required.
-July 24, Picnic Saturday at Persimmon Creek Vineyards. Picnic lunch, bottle of wine, 2 etched wine glasses; $50 per couple; reservation required.
-Aug. 21, Annual Tomato Festival, Crane Creek Vineyards, 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. The pitch: "Celebrate the fruit of the other vine with your friends and family at Crane Creek Vineyards! Local restaurants and food vendors will be out giving away samples of their cuisine. Chef David and his Culinary Team will be preparing lunch for everyone with all things tomato. This is a great day of food and wine! Tickets will be sold at the door: adults $20, ages 13-20 $10, children under 12 free. Ticket price includes wine tasting, souvenir wine glass, lunch and admission to all of the activities."

Closer to home:
Putting the 'grand' in a grand opening in downtown Rome
By Michelle Picon
Rome, Ga. _ Bussey's Flowers, Riverside Gourmet and The Season had a festive and well-attended grand opening celebration last week, with about 75 Romans dropping by.
The three-in-one store at 250 Broad St. is downtown Rome's newest neighbor and a one-stop shopping destination. Guests loved the combination of the three stores and daydreamed about having the ideal party: Holly Lynch from The Seasons plans your event, Todd Bussey does the flower arrangements and accessories for your house, and Kevin Dillmon from Riverside Gourmet helps you select the kitchenware to prepare your food, plus delicious wine pairings.
A very special treat for the evening was the chance to sample some wines from Riverside Gourmet's new wine section. The wines average about $20 a bottle but there are higher priced wines for special occasions, said Dr. Ray Jarvis, who along with Dillmon, selected the wines featured at the store.
"We offer a wide variety of hard-to-find quality wines," said the Harbin Clinic OB/GYN whose passion for wine as hobby landed him the opportunity to become Dillmon's consultant.
Said a local wine enthusiast the next day: "There wasn't a wine out there I didn't like. They did a great job selecting the wines."
The three best sellers for the evening, according to Dillmon and Jarvis:
-New Age, Argentinian Sauvignon Blanc/Malvasia Blend, $11.
-Cannonball, California Cab, $15.99.
-Joseph Carr, Napa Cab, $21.99.
What else was everyone talking about? Another wine, CANA, at $23.99, is quickly becoming a favorite as a present. Why? Because it comes beautifully wrapped in tissue printed with the story of the Wedding at Cannan, when Jesus performed his first miracle and turned water into wine.
Up next at Riverside Gourmet: Italian Wine Tasting, July 15th, 6:30 p.m., with Jenny Swab from Vinifera Wine Imports. A $10 tasting fee will be refunded with your wine purchase.

Sautee Nacoochee, near Helen, is a perfect family wine get-away

2010-06-22T09:16:00.000-07:00

First of two parts on this emerging wine region.

Welcome to Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards' wine tasting room, just off Ga. 17 at Sautee Nacoochee between Helen and Cleveland in Northeast Georgia. The tasting room offers free samples of seven wines. Our favorite--and all were good--was Valley Mist 2008.

First, please note the word in italics in the headline: f-a-m-i-l-y. As odd as it may sound to some, we found our trip to an emerging wine-friendly community tucked among Helen, Cleveland, Dahlonega and Gainesville to be the perfect escape for parents or grandparents who want to try some new wines--and keep the kids more than happy as well.

There are several great wine-tasting experiences in Sautee-Nachoochee with another on the way later this year. Or as our 10-year-old calls it, cracker-tasting experiences. He'll munch on the "between sips" crackers offered to all while mom and dad sample each winery's offerings. (Note from 10-year-old: Goldfish are preferred).

This week and next, we're writing about our visits to Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards and Yonah Mountain Vineyards. Or to their wine tasting rooms, separated by about the length of a football field. Also nearby is the granddaddy of Georgia wineries, Habersham Winery. And on the way: A new tasting room from Dahlonega's Frogtown Cellars.

More on the wineries in a second. First, a qualifier. Why is this particular community so kid friendly?

Answer: Especially during the summer season, nearby Helen offers a wonderful list of family friend activities. Perhaps the most relaxing is a trip down the river on glorified inner tubes. Several Helen-area companies offer a variety of slow-flowing trips down the river. You can pick the estimated time and that's how they decide to drop you and dozens of others off. The flow time depends on the depth of the river, the current and your own pace (buy one of the sticks offered at each spot; you'll need it to better navigate).

After a morning or early afternoon on the tubes, the kids can go to a water park or hit some of the multiple putt-putt golf courses in Helen. Lots of shops and restaurants will keep the family busy as well. So will a few gem and stone mining operations. For a comprehensive list of what to do, click HelenGa.

As for the adults, their adventure comes usually after lunch time with trips to the wine-tasting rooms.

We'll start with the Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards at 98 Nacoochee Way, just off Ga. 17 near the Ga. 255 split. The tasting room (pictures on top and to the right) is tucked away a bit from the descending driveway and you'll pass a few shops. A few rows of vines help guide you to a relaxing indoor or outdoor visit to the tasting room. (For details: click About SNV)

Most surprising: Wine tastings are free. Or should we say complimentary?

And you'll like what you taste. We took home a few bottles of Valley Mist 2008, described as "a semi-sweet wine made from merlot grapes.... perfect to enjoy accompanied at the beginning or end of your mail. It is also a natural with fruits, cheeses or chocolates." In all, seven wines are available for tasting or for $6 a glass. Click Wines.

The tasting room has a nice porch area as well, cooled by several fans. If you're lucky, the nearby horses will stop within yards. There's a great view of the valley as well and an overall relaxing atmosphere. You could spend some quality time here on the porch alone. The only negative: it is a bit set back and below the highway. There is plenty of signage to get you off the two-lane, however. Go to far and you're in the parking lot of the retail center that is home to Yonah Mountain (we'll get there next week).

The Sautee Nacoochee tasting room is a nice break from the ones attached to the larger wineries in nearby Dahlonega. That's not a slap on "the big guys." This cutaway seems to make you focus just on the wine tasting and not on the bustle of an adjoining restaurant or event hall or the like. You're there to taste wine and you do so in a very comfortable and fun way.

Sautee Nacoochee's grapes are all locally grown. It has its own vineyards with more to come but they also purchase grapes from local growers. One variety of muscadine wine is offered and that fruit comes from SouthGeogia.

There are plans to add a small tasting at Sautee Nachoochee's nearby winery for special occasions and it likely will feature a small amphitheater.

We found the quaint tasting room plenty big enough to sample--and enjoy--these first wines from Sautee Nacoochee.

What to know:

-Tasting room: 706-878-1056. Address: 98 Old Nacoochee Way, Sautee Nacoochee, Ga. 30571

-Tasting room hours: Noon until 6 Monday-Saturday; 12:30-6 p.m. Sundays.

-Admission/tasting: Free (up to seven samples).

-Website: www.sauteenacoocheevineyards.com

-By e-mail: info@sauteenacoocheevineyards.com

-Our favorite: Valley Mist 2008.

-Per bottle prices range from $14.95 to $23.95. Merlots (red and white), Cabernet Savignon included.

-By the glass price: $6.

N. Georgia wine country: picnics, tributes, Fourth festivities

2010-06-22T09:14:00.000-07:00

What's ahead this summer in North Georgia's wine country:

-June 26: Picnic Saturday at Persimmon Creek Vineyards. Picnic lunch, bottle of wine, 2 etched wine glasses; $50 per couple; reservation required.

-June 27: A Tribute to Tuscany Brunch at Wolf Mountain Vineyards. Seatings for the eighth annual 'tribute' are at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. Cost: $30 (tax, gratuity, wines extra). Reservations: 706-867-9862

-July 3, Fourth of July concert, 7-11 p.m. Crane Creek Vineyards & Guest House, Young Harris. Free concert; featuring Bulletproof.

-July 3, 4, Swinging in the Vines, special edition, Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards, 2-6 p.m. both days. Summer music series with complimentary wine tastings, hors d'oeuvres and music with Tone Star. Click Details

-July 17, Bastille Day Celebration Dinner at Persimmon Creek Vineyards. 5- course dinner served with wine pairings, prepared by Chef Virginia Willis; $95 per person; reservation required.

-July 24, Picnic Saturday at Persimmon Creek Vineyards. Picnic lunch, bottle of wine, 2 etched wine glasses; $50 per couple; reservation required.

-Aug. 21, Annual Tomato Festival, Crane Creek Vineyards, 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. The pitch: "Celebrate the fruit of the other vine with your friends and family at Crane Creek Vineyards! Local restaurants and food vendors will be out giving away samples of their cuisine. Chef David and his Culinary Team will be preparing lunch for everyone with all things tomato. This is a great day of food and wine! Tickets will be sold at the door: adults $20, ages 13-20 $10, children under 12 free. Ticket price includes wine tasting, souvenir wine glass, lunch and admission to all of the activities."

Busy summer ahead at North Georgia wineries. Music, Father's Day, special meals

2010-06-09T13:15:00.000-07:00

What to watch for:
-June 11: Dinner at Cafe Crane Creek, Crane Creek Vineyards. $29 per person; doesn't include wine. 7-9 p.m.
-June 12: Wine Song at Yonah Mountain Vineyards, 5 p.m. This is the first wine song of the season and features Monica Spears & Friends in the Sautee Village Park band shell. Bernie's Restaurant of Sautee will offer food pairings to compliment the wines from Yonah Mountain. $5 admission. Wine Song will be held the second Saturday of each month. Details: Click.
-June 13: A Tribute to Tuscany Brunch at Wolf Mountain Vineyards (Also June 27). Seatings for the eighth annual 'tribute' are at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. Cost: $30 (tax, gratuity, wines extra). Reservations: 706-867-9862
-June 19, Swinging in the Vines, Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards, 2-6 p.m. Summer music series with complimentary wine tastings, hors d'oeuvres and music on the deck by vocalist Alan Davis. (more below) Click Details
-June 19, Farmer's Pasta dinner, 7-10 p.m., Crane Creek Vineyards & Guest House, Young Harris. Cocktail hour at 7 p.m. with dinner at the Barnswallow Pavilion. Salad, main course and dessert for $55 per person.
-June 19, 20: Sharp Mountain Vineyards. The pitch: "Join us on June 19th & 20th for barbecue, winery tours and tastings to kick-off the summer season and celebrate Father's Day."
-June 20: Father's Day gourmet brunch at Wolf Mountain Vineyards.
-July 3, Fourth of July concert, 7-11 p.m. Crane Creek Vineyards & Guest House, Young Harris. Free concert; featuring Bulletproof.
-July 3, 4, Swinging in the Vines, special edition, Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards, 2-6 p.m. both days. Summer music series with complimentary wine tastings, hors d'oeuvres and music with Tone Star. Click Details
-Aug. 21, Annual Tomato Festival, Crane Creek Vineyards, 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. The pitch: "Celebrate the fruit of the other vine with your friends and family at Crane Creek Vineyards! Local restaurants and food vendors will be out giving away samples of their cuisine. Chef David and his Culinary Team will be preparing lunch for everyone with all things tomato. This is a great day of food and wine! Tickets will be sold at the door: adults $20, ages 13-20 $10, children under 12 free. Ticket price includes wine tasting, souvenir wine glass, lunch and admission to all of the activities."
New releases:
-Three Sisters Vineyards: The Paul Family releases two vintages - Three Sisters Vineyards 2006 Cynthiana and Three Sisters Vineyards 2006 Merlot.

2010-05-26T14:10:00.000-07:00

Weekend: Annual Spring Festival at Crane Creek Vineyards, Young Harris

By Carol Carter
Story and photos for WineNewsVine.com

Crane Creek Vineyards holds its Annual Spring Festival on Saturday, May 29, from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. There will be – natch – wine tastings for the adults as well as a craft tent for kids. Crane Creek will open its pond for fishing, and lunch will be served.

Maybe you’ll pay the $20 adult admission ($10 for everyone under age 21) just to sit in one of the Adirondack chairs overlooking the 37-acre vineyard and drink in both the surroundings and a glass of Crane Creek Brasstown, which is what the vineyard named its house wines, after Brasstown Valley, in which Crane Creek is located.

The vineyard, in fact, sits in the shadow of Brasstown Bald, Georgia’s highest point. It’s peaceful at Crane Creek, whether you’re strolling past the garden, walking through the vineyard or sampling wine in the 19th century farmhouse that Crane Creek uses as its tasting room. Even Catawba, the resident canine, exudes the tranquility that permeates the Crane Creek environs.
On Saturday, during the festival, a jazz combo will play standards as well as light jazz, says David Sanford, who works at the vineyard. Additionally, he says, 16 artists will be on hand, selling everything from photography to jewelry and pottery. These vendors will set up their shops both in the Barn Swallow Pavilion (where Crane Creek holds wedding receptions) and also in the barnyard, where the band will be playing.

The children’s craft tent will feature painting, Sanford says. And, he adds, that if the youngsters want to fish, the brim in the pond aren’t likely to disappoint. “They hit all the time. You can throw a hook in, almost unbaited, and those brim will hit it. Kids get a big kick out of that.” Most of the brim end up back in the pond because parents aren’t interested in cleaning fish or in hauling them home.

A festival at a winery wouldn’t be complete without tours of the winery, and Crane Creek will offer tours throughout the day. Lunch, in fact, will be served just off the winery’s crush pad, the place where the grapes are smooshed after harvest.

Crane Creek is just north of the little town of Young Harris in the North Georgia mountains. Heading east on Highway 515 toward Hiawassee, go to the traffic light at Georgia Highway 66, and take a left. Drive just under four miles, take another left and look for the vineyard on your left. Enter Crane Creek’s quiet kingdom and leave your troubles behind, at least for a little while. Maybe you’ll take home a bottle of wine or a jar of dip and a box of crackers from the small gift shop inside the tasting room.

Or, as we observed on a recent Saturday, maybe you’ll take home several bottles of the grape. Recently, Crane Creek has been offering seven wines during its wine tastings, but on Saturday, Sanford says, Crane Creek will be releasing a new wine.

A wine named Enotah, according to the winery, is a step up from the Brasstown wines. Enotah, Sanford says, was the Cherokee name for Brasstown Bald. And the turtle symbol you will see on some of the wine labels also harks back to the Cherokee who once populated North Georgia.

“The turtle,” Sanford says, “is a big Cherokee symbol in this region and for the whole of Brasstown Valley.” All Crane Creek label art was produced by local folk artist Jon Whiddon, who died two years ago. Crane Creek’s Hellbender wine is named for a salamander. Then there is Barn Swallow, Mountain Harvest and Sweet Sally, named for a dog.

On the way: If you go for the Memorial Day weekend festival, you may want to stop in Blue Ridge, a little west of Young Harris and also just off Highway 515, for that town’s annual Arts in the Park, which will be in full swing both Saturday and Sunday in downtown Blue Ridge. Among the many vendors at Arts in the Park, a local merchant, Mercier Orchards, will debut its brand new traveling concession trailer, where it will sell, among other treats, its trademark fried pies. Shoppers take note: Downtown Blue Ridge is home to several upscale shops, selling everything from kitchen items to home furnishings and outdoor wear. The sidewalks of Blue Ridge are routinely packed with Atlanta residents on weekends.
Or, if you go to the Crane Creek festival late in the day, you may want to call ahead and make dinner reservations at Enrico’s, a popular and always crowded Italian restaurant on Highway 515 in Young Harris. (The garlic rolls are worth the trip, though all the food is routinely delicious).
Brasstown Valley Resort in Young Harris offers golf, a spa and horseback trail riding plus, of course, dining and lodging.
As previously mentioned, Brasstown Bald is nearby in Hiawassee, the town just east of Young Harris. Visitors can climb (or be driven) to the top for an impressive view of the surrounding area.
In Hiawassee, you could take in a movie at the Fieldstone Six. Or, if you have kids, stop in at Fun World at Fieldstone. Among the many things to do at Fun World are laser tag, a climbing wall, batting cages, miniature golf and 120 arcade games. Parents can chill out with ice cream (or pizza or popcorn) while the kids burn off some energy. Fun World is enclosed in one huge space, so the kids can safely run and roam free.
If you are thoroughly enchanted with Crane Creek, you may want to take note of the vineyard’s two guest houses, The Vine Keeper’s Cottage and the River Keeper’s Cottage, and make plans for a weekend visit.
A perfect weekend, says Sanford, would be during the Tomato Festival in August. Calling it “one of our most fun festivals,” Sanford explains: “We plant lots of gardens, and that’s when all the tomatoes are coming in, so we decided to celebrate the tomato – the other vine. And so we have music. We do a tomato toss (for the kids), we do tomato food and we invite vendors to come in with other foods based on tomatoes.”
Every Friday, Crane Creek features its Wine Down Fridays from 4 to 6p.m. “If you enjoy a glass or bottle of wine on the deck,” Sanford says, “we have complimentary cheese trays.”
There seems to be something going on at the winery nearly all the time. Check the website for a complete list. As for this weekend’s festival, Sanford says they are expecting around 250 people. You may as well be one of them.
What to watch for:
-May 29: A Taste of Georgia at Marietta Wine Market, 2-4 p.m. Cost: "charity donation." Says the newsletter: "We are showcasing some of Georgia's best wines from a few of our favorite wineries. Recently in San Francisco, Wolf Mountain scored won a gold metal for their Instinct blend, a first for a Georgia winery. Along with Wolf, we will sample some of the best wines from Crane Creek, Three Sisters and Habersham Winery along with sauces and cheeses from Georgia."

-May 30: Wolf Mountain Vineyards' White Wine, Sparkling Wine & Seafood Festival. The eighth annual festival has seatings at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. Tickets: $30 per person.
-June 5-6: 2010 Georgia Fine Wine Festival at BlackStock Vineyards & Winery, Dahlonega. Tickets: $35 for one day, $50 for both days. $15 for non-wine adult tickets; children admitted free. Hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday> Fine Wine
-June 5-6: Three Sisters Vineyards' Georgia Wine Country Festival: Billed as "Dahlonega's Original Wine Festival," it is set for June 5 and 6 this year. It is the ninth time Three Sisters has staged the celebration. Yonah Mountain Winery and Serenity Cellars joins Bouiter Winery, Chateau Elan, Crimson 'N Scarlett, Georgia Wines and Three Sisters at this year's Georgia Wine Country Festival. More details soon. Also, join the event's Facebook page. Cost: $20 per person.> Click
-Release news, June 5: Tiger Mountain Vineyards, Saturday, June 5, 11 a.m.6-p.m., Release of Tiger Mountain's '09 Petit Manseng. $10 per person. Served with seafood pasta, fresh strawberries, light cheeses. Also: Live music
-June 6: Wine dinner at Persimmon Creek Vineyards> Click
From the news vine:
-Open Table high on Montaluce: "Montaluce is pleased to announce that Opentable.com has released their “Best of Georgia” awards," including no. 1 ratings for ambiance and romantic destination. Click

'Taste of Sautee' this weekend; dueling wine festivals June 5-6 in Dahleonga

2010-05-19T10:26:00.000-07:00

North Georgia wine country weather: Click Forecast / Regional radar
-New/What to see while on Georgia's Wine Highway. Today: Mercier Orchards. Click

What to watch for:
-June 5-6: 2010 Georgia Fine Wine Festival at BlackStock Vineyards & Winery, Dahlonega
-Tickets: $35 for one day, $50 for both days. $15 for non-wine adult tickets; children admitted free.
-Hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday> Fine Wine
-June 5-6: Three Sisters Vineyards' Georgia Wine Country Festival: Billed as "Dahlonega's Original Wine Festival," it is set for June 5 and 6 this year. It is the ninth time Three Sisters has staged the celebration. Yonah Mountain Winery and Serenity Cellars joins Bouiter Winery, Chateau Elan, Crimson 'N Scarlett, Georgia Wines and Three Sisters at this year's Georgia Wine Country Festival. More details soon. Also, join the event's Facebook page. Cost: $20 per person.> Click
-Release news, June 5: Tiger Mountain Vineyards, Saturday, June 5, 11 a.m.6-p.m., Release of Tiger Mountain's '09 Petit Manseng. $10 per person. Served with seafood pasta, fresh strawberries, light cheeses. Also: Live music

What's new:
-May 22-23: Taste of Sautee: Fine wine, food, art and music combine for a special weekend. Taking part are four area wineries as well as five bands, area restaurants and more than 40 artists. The wineries include Yonah Mountain, Sautee Nachoochee, Frogtown Cellars, Habersham and Serenity Cellars. The bands include: Kyle Obermeier & Jeremiah Osterman; Kip Dockery Band; The Georgia Mudcats; Monica Spears; Shoal Creek Band. Hours: 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $15 which includes tasting; $5 general admission; children under 16, free. Details: Click Taste or check the event's Facebook page.
-May 23, 30: Wolf Mountain Vineyards' White Wine, Sparkling Wine & Seafood Festival. The eightn annual festival has seatings at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. Tickets: $30 per person.
-May 29: Crane Creek Vineyards & Guest House, Young Harris: Annual spring festival, 11 a.m.-6 p.m $20 for those 21 and over; $10, under 21. Lunch, wine tastings, artists, kids events, fishing.
-June 6: Wine dinner at Persimmon Creek Vineyards> Click

While on Georgia's Wine Highway: Near Crane Creek Vineyards? Try . . .

Blue Ridge's Mercier Orchards puts twist on 'apples & oranges,'
only the other fruits are strawberries, blueberries, cherries . . .
By Carol Carter
For Wine News Vine

Known mostly for apples, Mercier Orchards in Blue Ridge--a popular getaway spot for Northwest Georgians-
-has expanded into more U pick options. Mercier Facebook photo.
BLUE RIDGE, Ga. _ The first-ever U pick strawberry season at Mercier Orchards in Blue Ridge has just wound down, and son-in-law Joe Foster proclaims it to have been “awesome” -- so awesome in fact that the family thinks it will plant a patch about five times as large next year.
The U pick operation at Mercier’s has grown so much that customers can hop aboard the 25-seat tractor-pulled trailer at varying times throughout the year to pick apples, blueberries, cherries, peaches, nectarines, blackberries (see image to the right from Mercier's Facebook page) and plums.
“We started our U pick six years ago,” Foster says, “where people come out and pick their own apples. That was one of our initiatives as far as getting people back on the farm. We get people out there where they can feel and touch the leaves of the trees. They pick the fruit straight from the tree.”
There are enough Mercier family members working at the orchard to pretty much always have one or the other on the back of the tractor, talking to the customers. Foster’s favorite story to tell concerns customers taking their first bite out of an apple they just plucked off one of Mercier’s trees (they planted 10,000 trees this year).
“They want to know,” he says, “ 'why does it taste so good?' " They often say that it tastes like a candied apple. And Foster explains to them, “That’s probably the first time you’ve ever bitten into a fresh apple.”
What people don’t realize, he says, is that controlled atmospheric storage allows apple orchards in places like Washington state to keep apples in storage for 18 months. That means, he says, that when you go to the grocery store and buy apples, “probably 90 percent of the time – because it’s not apple season all of the time – you’re buying last year’s crop.”
When a Mercier customer bites into a fresh apple for the first time, he says, “Right then and there, we know we have a customer for life.”
In the early fall, Mercier’s sells – among several apple varieties – the Honey Crisp, which is in season for only about four weeks. When customers taste a Honey Crisp, Foster says, they ask where they can get it. The Mercier answer: “Here.. Grocery stores don’t sell it. You can’t get it in the state of Georgia unless you come to a little apple house like us.”
“Little,” however, hardly describes Mercier’s. What started as, essentially, a roadside fruit stand has grown into a bustling retail store complete with gifts, a bakery and a delicatessen that serves breakfast and lunch, an online store, and a wholesale fried pie operation.
This fall, Mercier’s will sell fried pies, apple slushies, plus candied and caramel apples, at the six Georgia Tech home football games. And Mercier’s is in the final stages of building a traveling concession trailer that will sell apples, cider, candied apples and fried pies at festivals around the Southeast.
Last year during apple season, family members surveyed the tour buses that stopped at Mercier’s and counted 500 in the month of October alone. Mercier’s now has a Facebook page where customers leave comment after comment about their experiences picking and eating fresh fruit.
This year marked Mercier’s first blossom tour, during which customers ride out into the orchard and observe the stages of apple growth. “An apple doesn’t just all of a sudden show up on the tree,” Foster says. “It starts as a little flower.”
Seven vendors operate inside the store and another couple sell their wares out in the parking lot. In addition to fresh fruit, bakery items and cider, Mercier’s sells a wide variety of products ranging from kitchen gadgets to popcorn, spices, floral arrangements and bird feeders.
Whatever the season, Mercier’s makes samples available in the store.
“Our product sells itself, so why not let it?” asks Foster. “When we have fresh fruit in, that whole area (in the back of the sprawling store) is geared. We’re slicing strawberries back there right now. We’ll make strawberry shortcake and sample it. Or we’ll make chocolate-dipped strawberries and sample those. We’ll bake an apple. We’ll fry some apples. We’ll do some apple crisp.”
Mercier’s has a bakery program for kids where they come in and bake up something special, say, for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.
And through it all, Mercier’s is always, always baking fried pies: one million of them per year. When all is said and done, Foster says, “We are fried pies.”
Perhaps the greatest testament of all to the fact that Mercier’s is, above all, a family operation is that 92-year-old Adele Mercier, who is in her 68th crop year, still works at the orchard 40 to 50 hours per week.

Pizza, Patio party at Tiger Mountain; Wine Fest at Habersham; seafood, white wine Sunday Brunch at Wolf Mountain

2010-04-29T06:59:00.000-07:00

Wine News Vine
North Georgia wine country weather: Click Forecast / Regional radar
What's ahead: 24th Annual Mountain Flower Fine Art and Wine Festival, Dahlonega
-Saturday, May 15, and Sunday May 16, Dahlonega Public Square.
-What we like: In addition to more than 70 artists, you'll find a new twist this year: the Georgia Temptations Wine Garden.
-Inside, you'll find " a sampling of the best wines in Georgia," according to the event's Facebook page.
-The garden is in the pavallion at Park Place (click) and it is adults only (age 21 and over).
-Garden hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 12:30-5 p.m. Sunday.
Tiger Mountain Vineyards, Saturday, June 5, 11 a.m.6-p.m., Release of Tiger Mountain's '09 Petit Manseng. $10 per person. Served with seafood pasta, fresh strawberries, light cheeses. Also: Live music.
What's new:
- May 1: Casual patio pizza parties with wine and cheese, Tiger Mountain Vineyards. $5 tasting fee for these "welcome spring" parties.
-May 1: Wine Fest 2010, noon-5 p.m., Habersham Winery, Helen. Ten wineries participating> Details
-May 1-2: Vine Dog Weekend, Three Sisters Vineyards. Second annual VineDog Weekend at Three Sisters Vineyards. Your pups must be on a leash. Special tastings and every dog get a free treat. On Saturday, VineDog Costume Contest at 3 p.m. Judged by the Frogtown Social Club.
-May 2, 16, 23, 30: Wolf Mountain Vineyards' White Wine, Sparkling Wine & Seafood Festival. The eightn annual festival has seatings at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. Tickets: $30 per person. Our 8th Annual Mother's Day Brunch is already sold out for Sunday, May 9th at both seatings.
-May 7: Dinner and a movie returns Friday nights to Montaluce Winery and Estates> Details
-May 9: Mother's Day brunch at Frogtown Cellars: Three-course served brunch paired with Frogtown's wines plus desserts. $35 per person (plus tax, gratuity). Reservations a must: Cydney at 404.502.9463.
-May 9: Mother's Day brunch at Montaluce Winery and Estates. Cost: $45/per person.
-May 9: Mother's Day brunch at Frogtown Cellars; $42.50 per person> Click
-May 9: Wolf Mountain's twin seatings already sold out.
-May 22-23: Taste of Sautee: Fine wine, food, art and music combine for a special weekend. Taking part are four area wineries as well as five bands, area restaurants and more than 40 artists. The wineries include Yonah Mountain, Sautee Nachoochee, Frogtown Cellars, Habersham and Serenity Cellars. The bands include: Kyle Obermeier & Jeremiah Osterman; Kip Dockery Band; The Georgia Mudcats; Monica Spears; Shoal Creek Band. Hours: 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $15 which includes tasting; $5 general admission; children under 16, free. Details: Click Taste or check the event's Facebook page.
-June 5-6: Three Sisters Vineyards' Georgia Wine Country Festival: Billed as "Dahlonega's Original Wine Festival," it is set for June 5 and 6 this year. It is the ninth time Three Sisters has staged the celebration. More details soon. Also, join the event's Facebook page> Click
-June 6: Wine dinner at Persimmon Creek Vineyards> Click

First look at the weekend: April 23-25

2010-04-20T07:09:00.001-07:00

What to know this weekend

-/Earth Day at Crane Creek Vineyards:

-We did this last year and it was perhaps the top 'wine-and-more' experience we had in 2010. Here's what is scheduled for this year, April 24: Crane Creek Vineyards & Guest House, Young Harris. "Earth Day Celebration going on at Crane Creek Vineyards Saturday, April 24, from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. The main focus of this day will be to promote non-profits in our area and, in turn, educate people on current environmental issues that are taking place all around us. Admission $5 for adults, $3 for children.... food tickets and wine tokens also will be available for purchase."

-Please see our archived report from the 2009 edition of Earth Day at Crane Creek> Details

--Save the date: Tiger Mountain Vineyards, Saturday, June 5, 11 a.m.6-p.m., Release of Tiger Mountain's '09 Petit Manseng. $10 per person. Served with seafood pasta, fresh strawberries, light cheeses. Also: Live music.

What's new:

-April 24: Earth Day celebration at Crane Creek Vineyards & Guest House, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

-April 24, May 1: Casual patio pizza parties with wine and cheese, Tiger Mountain Vineyards. $5 tasting fee for these "welcome spring" parties.

-April 25: Eighth Annual Awakening of the Vines, Bluegrass lunch, Wolf Mountain Vineyards, $30 per person. 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. seatings.

-May 1: Wine Fest 2010, noon-5 p.m., Habersham Winery, Helen. Ten wineries participating> Details

-May 1-2: Vine Dog Weekend, Three Sisters Vineyards. Second annual VineDog Weekend at Three Sisters Vineyards. Your pups must be on a leash. Special tastings and every dog get a free treat. On Saturday, VineDog Costume Contest at 3 p.m. Judged by the Frogtown Social Club.

-May 7: Dinner and a movie returns Friday nights to Montaluce Winery and Estates> Details

-May 9: Mother's Day brunch at Frogtown Cellars: Three-course served brunch paired with Frogtown's wines plus desserts. $35 per person (plus tax, gratuity). Reservations a must: Cydney at 404.502.9463.

-May 22-23: Taste of Sautee: Fine wine, food, art and music combine for a special weekend. Taking part are four area wineries as well as five bands, area restaurants and more than 40 artists. The wineries include Yonah Mountain, Sautee Nachoochee, Frogtown Cellars, Habersham and Serenity Cellars. The bands include: Kyle Obermeier & Jeremiah Osterman; Kip Dockery Band; The Georgia Mudcats; Monica Spears; Shoal Creek Band. Hours: 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $15 which includes tasting; $5 general admission; children under 16, free. Details: Click Taste or check the event's Facebook page.

-June 5-6: Three Sisters Vineyards' Georgia Wine Country Festival: Billed as "Dahlonega's Original Wine Festival," it is set for June 5 and 6 this year. It is the ninth time Three Sisters has staged the celebration. More details soon. Also, join the event's Facebook page> Click

Big crowds in Dahlonega's wine community this weekend

2010-04-14T17:41:00.000-07:00

What to know this weekend
-Big crowds due in Dahlonega for 14th Annual Bear On The Square Mountain Festival> Details
-Save the date: Tiger Mountain Vineyards, Saturday, June 5, 11 a.m.6-p.m., Release of Tiger Mountain's '09 Petit Manseng. $10 per person. Served with seafood pasta, fresh strawberries, light cheeses. Also: Live music.

News Vine spotlight/Earth Day at Crane Creek Vineyards:
-We did this last year and it was perhaps the top 'wine-and-more' experience we had in 2010. Here's what is scheduled for this year, April 24: Crane Creek Vineyards & Guest House, Young Harris. "Earth Day Celebration going on at Crane Creek Vineyards Saturday, April 24, from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. The main focus of this day will be to promote non-profits in our area and, in turn, educate people on current environmental issues that are taking place all around us. Admission $5 for adults, $3 for children.... food tickets and wine tokens also will be available for purchase."
-Please see our archived report from the 2009 edition of Earth Day at Crane Creek> Details

What's new:
-April 18, 25: Eighth Annual Awakening of the Vines, Bluegrass lunch, Wolf Mountain Vineyards, $30 per person. 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. seatings.
-April 24: Earth Day celebration at Crane Creek Vineyards & Guest House, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
-April 24, May 1: Casual patio pizza parties with wine and cheese, Tiger Mountain Vineyards. $5 tasting fee for these "welcome spring" parties.
-May 1: Wine Fest 2010, noon-5 p.m., Habersham Winery, Helen. Ten wineries participating> Details
-May 1-2: Vine Dog Weekend, Three Sisters Vineyards. Second annual VineDog Weekend at Three Sisters Vineyards. Your pups must be on a leash. Special tastings and every dog get a free treat. On Saturday, VineDog Costume Contest at 3 p.m. Judged by the Frogtown Social Club.
-May 7: Dinner and a movie returns Friday nights to Montaluce Winery and Estates> Details
-May 22-23: Taste of Sautee: Fine wine, food, art and music combine for a special weekend. Taking part are four area wineries as well as five bands, area restaurants and more than 40 artists. The wineries include Yonah Mountain, Sautee Nachoochee, Frogtown Cellars, Habersham and Serenity Cellars. The bands include: Kyle Obermeier & Jeremiah Osterman; Kip Dockery Band; The Georgia Mudcats; Monica Spears; Shoal Creek Band. Hours: 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $15 which includes tasting; $5 general admission; children under 16, free. Details: Click Taste or check the event's Facebook page.
-June 5-6: Three Sisters Vineyards' Georgia Wine Country Festival: Billed as "Dahlonega's Original Wine Festival," it is set for June 5 and 6 this year. It is the ninth time Three Sisters has staged the celebration. More details soon. Also, join the event's Facebook page> Click

More wine festivals ahead; check Cork & Keg, too.

2010-03-24T12:18:00.000-07:00

Wine News Vine
North Georgia wine country weather: Click Forecast / Regional radar

Big numbers for Wine Highway Weekend: This update from Yonah Mountain Vineyards: "Over 750 people visited the tasting room in Sautee-Nacoochee, and a great time was had by all tasting." We continue to hear about increased visits this year. Please send your updates to druck@hometownheadlines.com.
-Wolf Mountain Vineyards reported 575 guests on Saturday alone.

Paris to get a taste of Three Sisters' 'Fat Boy Red': Here's the update from Three Sisters Vineyards:
-"This week, the new U.S. Ambassador to France, Charles H. Rivkin, and USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service at the Paris Embassy will host an “American Wine Tasting” at the Ambassador’s Residence. Three Sisters Vineyards is excited to report that we were invited to participate in this special event. Over 400 trade and media guests are expected to attend on March 24, 2010. Three Sisters' Cabernet Franc-Merlot, Cynthiana, Dahlonega Gold and Fat Boy Red will be part of the historic presentation with other wines from California, Washington and Oregon for the occasion. Three Sisters Vineyards and Persimmon Creek Vineyards are the two participating from Georgia. An American Fat Boy in Paris? Stay tuned for pictures and reviews!"

What's new:
-March 27: Yonah Mountain Vineyards, Tour de la Cave and Barrel Tasting. Winemaker Joe Smith leads tours (noon and 3 p.m.) of the Cleveland winery and includes barrel samples of future vintages. The cost of the tour is $25 and includes a full tasting and the Yonah Mountain Vineyards glass at the tasting room in Sautee-Nacoochee (Source: WGA).
-March 28, End of the Winter Celebration, Wolf Mountain Vineyards. Features live jazz and Sunday brunch with seatings at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m., $30 per person.
-April 4: Wolf Mountain Vineyards, Easter brunch. The eighth annual Easter Brunch is $30 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Seats at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m.
-April 4: Montaluce Winery and Estates, Easter brunch. Details pending.
-April 10: Cork & Keg Festival, 2-6 p.m., a beer and wine festival presented by the Sautee Nacoochee Community Association in Helen at Festhalle. $25 per person. Details
-April 10: Tiger Mountain Vineyards plans Malbec release. The release party for the 2008 Malbec is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition to Malbec, enjoy mushroom hors d'oeuvres, artisan cheeses and breads, live music. The cost: $10 per person. (Nod to Wine Growers Association of Georgia)
-Update: New Malbec also available April 10 at Naturally Georgia Tasting Room.
-April 10: Montaluce Winery and Estates Blessing of the Vines, 11 a.m. "This ancient celebration of spring includes a special service by Father Troy Beecham followed by a Prosecco reception at the winery."
-April 17: Tybee Wine Festival: OK, so this isn't North Georgia but it sounds like fun. "The Tybee Wine Festival is an annual fund raiser for the Tybee Post Theater. Over 100 wines and craft beers from around the world will be featured. Local restaurants will be serving samples from their menus – Papas BBQ & Seafood, Hunter House, Breakfast Club, etc. Trolley rides will be provided to preview the restoration progress. Come spend the afternoon at the Lighthouse tasting new wines, craft beers and samples from some of the best restaurants while supporting the restoration of the Tybee Theater. Be sure to bring you lawn chair. $45 per person> Click
-April 18: Wine Highway Tour by Marietta Wine Market, $85 per person: Leaves from Marietta Wine Market at 9:30 a.m. First stop, Wolf Mountain Winery. There we will enjoy their Jazz Brunch and take a tour of their winery. From there it's off to visit and tour the Monteluce Winery. At 3 p.m., depart to Downtown Dahlonega for the 14th annual Bear on the Square Mountain Festival. The Bear on the Square Mountain Festival is an incredible weekend of music and art held each spring in the foothills of the North Georgia mountains and there are three tasting rooms in downtown Dahlongea. Visit our web site to see list of optional events you can participate in while on this tour. Return to the wine market at 7:30 p.m. 770-919-1574.
-April 24: Earth Day celebration at Crane Creek Vineyards & Guest House, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
-May 1: Wine Fest 2010, noon-5 p.m., Habersham Winery, Helen. Ten wineries participating> Details
-May 1-2: Vine Dog Weekend, Three Sisters Vineyards. Second annual VineDog Weekend at Three Sisters Vineyards. Your pups must be on a leash. Special tastings and every dog get a free treat. On Saturday, VineDog Costume Contest at 3 p.m. Judged by the Frogtown Social Club.
-May 22-23: Taste of Sautee: Fine wine, food, art and music combine for a special weekend. Taking part are four area wineries as well as five bands, area restaurants and more than 40 artists. The wineries include Yonah Mountain, Sautee Nachoochee, Frogtown Cellars, Habersham and Serenity Cellars. The bands include: Kyle Obermeier & Jeremiah Osterman; Kip Dockery Band; The Georgia Mudcats; Monica Spears; Shoal Creek Band. Hours: 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $15 which includes tasting; $5 general admission; children under 16, free. Details: Click Taste or check the event's Facebook page.
-June 5-6: Three Sisters Vineyards' Georgia Wine Country Festival: Billed as "Dahlonega's Original Wine Festival," it is set for June 5 and 6 this year. It is the ninth time Three Sisters has staged the celebration. More details soon. Also, join the event's Facebook page> Click

Latest updates: Fat Boy Red does Paris

2010-03-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

North Georgia wine country weather: Click Forecast / Regional radar

Paris to get a taste of Three Sisters' 'Fat Boy Red': Here's the update from Three Sisters Vineyards:
-"This week, the new U.S. Ambassador to France, Charles H. Rivkin, and USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service at the Paris Embassy will host an “American Wine Tasting” at the Ambassador’s Residence. Three Sisters Vineyards is excited to report that we were invited to participate in this special event. Over 400 trade and media guests are expected to attend on March 24, 2010. Three Sisters' Cabernet Franc-Merlot, Cynthiana, Dahlonega Gold and Fat Boy Red will be part of the historic presentation with other wines from California, Washington and Oregon for the occasion. Three Sisters Vineyards and Persimmon Creek Vineyards are the two participating from Georgia. An American Fat Boy in Paris? Stay tuned for pictures and reviews!"
What's new:
-March 28, End of the Winter Celebration, Wolf Mountain Vineyards. Features live jazz and Sunday brunch with seatings at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m., $30 per person.
-April 4: Wolf Mountain Vineyards, Easter brunch. The eighth annual Easter Brunch is $30 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Seats at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m.
-April 4: Montaluce Winery and Estates, Easter brunch. Details pending.
-April 10: Tiger Mountain Vineyards plans Malbec release. The release party for the 2008 Malbec is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition to Malbec, enjoy mushroom hors d'oeuvres, artisan cheeses and breads, live music. The cost: $10 per person. (Nod to Wine Growers Association of Georgia)
-Update: New Malbec also available April 10 at Naturally Georgia Tasting Room.
-April 10: Montaluce Winery and Estates Blessing of the Vines, 11 a.m. "This ancient celebration of spring includes a special service by Father Troy Beecham followed by a Prosecco reception at the winery."
-April 17: Tybee Wine Festival: OK, so this isn't North Georgia but it sounds like fun. "The Tybee Wine Festival is an annual fund raiser for the Tybee Post Theater. Over 100 wines and craft beers from around the world will be featured. Local restaurants will be serving samples from their menus – Papas BBQ & Seafood, Hunter House, Breakfast Club, etc. Trolley rides will be provided to preview the restoration progress. Come spend the afternoon at the Lighthouse tasting new wines, craft beers and samples from some of the best restaurants while supporting the restoration of the Tybee Theater. Be sure to bring you lawn chair. $45 per person> Click
-April 18: Wine Highway Tour by Marietta Wine Market, $85 per person: Leaves from Marietta Wine Market at 9:30 a.m. First stop, Wolf Mountain Winery. There we will enjoy their Jazz Brunch and take a tour of their winery. From there it's off to visit and tour the Monteluce Winery. At 3 p.m., depart to Downtown Dahlonega for the 14th annual Bear on the Square Mountain Festival. The Bear on the Square Mountain Festival is an incredible weekend of music and art held each spring in the foothills of the North Georgia mountains and there are three tasting rooms in downtown Dahlongea. Visit our web site to see list of optional events you can participate in while on this tour. Return to the wine market at 7:30 p.m. 770-919-1574.
-April 24: Earth Day celebration at Crane Creek Vineyards & Guest House, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
-May 1: Wine Fest 2010, noon-5 p.m., Habersham Winery, Helen. Ten wineries participating> Details
-May 22-23: Taste of Sautee: Fine wine, food, art and music combine for a special weekend. Taking part are four area wineries as well as five bands, area restaurants and more than 40 artists. The wineries include Yonah Mountain, Sautee Nachoochee, Frogtown Cellars, Habersham and Serenity Cellars. The bands include: Kyle Obermeier & Jeremiah Osterman; Kip Dockery Band; The Georgia Mudcats; Monica Spears; Shoal Creek Band. Hours: 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $15 which includes tasting; $5 general admission; children under 16, free. Details: Click Taste or check the event's Facebook page.
-June 5-6: Three Sisters Vineyards' Georgia Wine Country Festival: Billed as "Dahlonega's Original Wine Festival," it is set for June 5 and 6 this year. It is the ninth time Three Sisters has staged the celebration. More details soon. Also, join the event's Facebook page> Click

Fifth Annual Wine Highway Weekend is this weekend, March 19-21

2010-03-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

North Georgia wine country weather: Click Forecast / Regional radar

March 19, 20, 21: Fifth Annual Wine Highway Weekend
-An expanded events calendar for the Fifth Annual Wine Highway Weekend has been posted by the Wine Growers Association of Georgia. You'll find updates on what each participating winery has planned as well as specials offered by associate members of WAG. A $20 passport ticket is all you need.
-For expanded details, please click Wine Highway Weekend
-Brasstown Valley Resort offers stay-and-sip package for highway weekend: Packages start at $234 a couple and includes stop on northern tier of wineries: Crane Creek, Tiger Mountain, Persimmon Creek> Details
-Naturally Georgia Tasting Room, Dahlonega: As part of the weekend celebration, Naturally Georgia will be serving Irish Stew that Friday with Irish Soda Bread, 4 to 7 p.m. On Saturday, from 3 to 5 p.m., CelticLink will offer Celtic instruments.
-Tiger Mountain Vineyards: This weekend only, offering "barrel tastings" of the '08 Cabernet Franc. Also: Artisan cheeses and breads; drawing for an embossed three-bottle wood box of estate wines.
-BlackStock Vineyards: Taste two upcoming wines directly from the barrel, served up by winemaker Ariel Padawer.
What's new:
-March 21, 28, End of the Winter Celebration, Wolf Mountain Vineyards. Features live jazz and Sunday brunch with seatings at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m., $30 per person.
-March 20, 21: Spring open house, Three Sisters Vineyards: Live music on the deck with BlueBilly Grit on Saturday and The Buzzard Mountain Boys on Sunday.
-April 4: Wolf Mountain Vineyards, Easter brunch. The eighth annual Easter Brunch is $30 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Seats at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m.
-April 4: Montaluce Winery and Estates, Easter brunch. Details pending.
-April 10: Tiger Mountain Vineyards plans Malbec release. The release party for the 2008 Malbec is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition to Malbec, enjoy mushroom hors d'oeuvres, artisan cheeses and breads, live music. The cost: $10 per person. (Nod to Wine Growers Association of Georgia)
-Update: New Malbec also available April 10 at Naturally Georgia Tasting Room.
-April 10: Montaluce Winery and Estates Blessing of the Vines, 11 a.m. "This ancient celebration of spring includes a special service by Father Troy Beecham followed by a Prosecco reception at the winery."
-April 17: Tybee Wine Festival: OK, so this isn't North Georgia but it sounds like fun. "The Tybee Wine Festival is an annual fund raiser for the Tybee Post Theater. Over 100 wines and craft beers from around the world will be featured. Local restaurants will be serving samples from their menus – Papas BBQ & Seafood, Hunter House, Breakfast Club, etc. Trolley rides will be provided to preview the restoration progress. Come spend the afternoon at the Lighthouse tasting new wines, craft beers and samples from some of the best restaurants while supporting the restoration of the Tybee Theater. Be sure to bring you lawn chair. $45 per person> Click
-April 18: Wine Highway Tour by Marietta Wine Market, $85 per person: Leaves from Marietta Wine Market at 9:30 a.m. First stop, Wolf Mountain Winery. There we will enjoy their Jazz Brunch and take a tour of their winery. From there it's off to visit and tour the Monteluce Winery. At 3 p.m., depart to Downtown Dahlonega for the 14th annual Bear on the Square Mountain Festival. The Bear on the Square Mountain Festival is an incredible weekend of music and art held each spring in the foothills of the North Georgia mountains and there are three tasting rooms in downtown Dahlongea. Visit our web site to see list of optional events you can participate in while on this tour. Return to the wine market at 7:30 p.m. 770-919-1574.
-April 24: Earth Day celebration at Crane Creek Vineyards & Guest House, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
-May 1: Wine Fest 2010, noon-5 p.m., Habersham Winery, Helen. Ten wineries participating> Details
-May 22-23: Taste of Sautee: Fine wine, food, art and music combine for a special weekend. Taking part are four area wineries as well as five bands, area restaurants and more than 40 artists. The wineries include Yonah Mountain, Sautee Nachoochee, Frogtown Cellars, Habersham and Serenity Cellars. The bands include: Kyle Obermeier & Jeremiah Osterman; Kip Dockery Band; The Georgia Mudcats; Monica Spears; Shoal Creek Band. Hours: 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $15 which includes tasting; $5 general admission; children under 16, free. Details: Click Taste or check the event's Facebook page.
-June 5-6: Three Sisters Vineyards' Georgia Wine Country Festival: Billed as "Dahlonega's Original Wine Festival," it is set for June 5 and 6 this year. It is the ninth time Three Sisters has staged the celebration. More details soon. Also, join the event's Facebook page> Click

5th Wine Highway Weekend March 19-21

2010-03-10T11:24:00.000-08:00

March 19, 20, 21: Fifth Annual Wine Highway Weekend
-An expanded events calendar for the Fifth Annual Wine Highway Weekend has been posted by the Wine Growers Association of Georgia. You'll find updates on what each participating winery has planned as well as specials offered by associate members of WAG. A $20 passport ticket is all you need. For expanded details, please click Wine Highway Weekend
-Brasstown Valley Resort offers stay-and-sip package for highway weekend: Packages start at $234 a couple and includes stop on northern tier of wineries: Crane Creek, Tiger Mountain, Persimmon Creek> Details
-Naturally Georgia Tasting Room, Dahlonega: As part of the weekend celebration, Naturally Georgia will be serving Irish Stew that Friday with Irish Soda Bread, 4 to 7 p.m. On Saturday, from 3 to 5 p.m., CelticLink will offer Celtic instruments.

What's new:
-March 14, 21, 28, End of the Winter Celebration, Wolf Mountain Vineyards. Features live jazz and Sunday brunch with seatings at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m., $30 per person.
-March 13-14: Three Sisters Vineyards' St. Patrick's Day Wine Celebration, Saturday, 12:30-5 p.m. and Sunday, 1-5 p.m. On Saturday, live Irish Music by Mulligan Stew will be presented on the Crush Pad Deck & Patio. No general reservations are required. No Admission. Free Parking. Complimentary tastings plus paid "Vintner's Tasting" will be offered both days.
-March 13-14, Frogtown Cellars: Rose & Viognier Chili Pairing Days, noon-3:30 p.m.
-March 13: Tiger Mountain Vineyards' March Madness, 11 until 5 p.m. Irish cheeses, tastings, wine discounts and a drawing.
-March 20, 21: Spring open house, Three Sisters Vineyards: Live music on the deck with BlueBilly Grit on Saturday and The Buzzard Mountain Boys on Sunday.
-April 4: Wolf Mountain Vineyards, Easter brunch. The eighth annual Easter Brunch is $30 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Seats at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m.
-April 4: Montaluce Winery and Estates, Easter brunch. Details pending.
-April 10: -Tiger Mountain Vineyards plans Malbec release. The release party for the 2008 Malbec is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition to Malbec, enjoy mushroom hors d'oeuvres, artisan cheeses and breads, live music. The cost: $10 per person. (Nod to Wine Growers Association of Georgia)
-Update: New Malbec also available April 10 at Naturally Georgia Tasting Room.
-April 10: Montaluce Winery and Estates Blessing of the Vines, 11 a.m. "This ancient celebration of spring includes a special service by Father Troy Beecham followed by a Prosecco reception at the winery."
-April 17: Tybee Wine Festival: OK, so this isn't North Georgia but it sounds like fun. "The Tybee Wine Festival is an annual fund raiser for the Tybee Post Theater. Over 100 wines and craft beers from around the world will be featured. Local restaurants will be serving samples from their menus – Papas BBQ & Seafood, Hunter House, Breakfast Club, etc. Trolley rides will be provided to preview the restoration progress. Come spend the afternoon at the Lighthouse tasting new wines, craft beers and samples from some of the best restaurants while supporting the restoration of the Tybee Theater. Be sure to bring you lawn chair. $45 per person> Click
-April 24: Earth Day celebration at Crane Creek Vineyards & Guest House, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
-May 1: Wine Fest 2010, noon-5 p.m., Habersham Winery, Helen. Ten wineries participating> Details
-May 22-23: Taste of Sautee: Fine wine, food, art and music combine for a special weekend. Taking part are four area wineries as well as five bands, area restaurants and more than 40 artists. The wineries include Yonah Mountain, Sautee Nachoochee, Frogtown Cellars, Habersham and Serenity Cellars. The bands include: Kyle Obermeier & Jeremiah Osterman; Kip Dockery Band; The Georgia Mudcats; Monica Spears; Shoal Creek Band. Hours: 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $15 which includes tasting; $5 general admission; children under 16, free. Details: Click Taste or check the event's Facebook page.
-June 5-6: Three Sisters Vineyards' Georgia Wine Country Festival: Billed as "Dahlonega's Original Wine Festival," it is set for June 5 and 6 this year. It is the ninth time Three Sisters has staged the celebration. More details soon. Also, join the event's Facebook page> Click

Getting ready for Wine Highway Weekend 2010

2010-03-08T04:25:00.000-08:00

Archive: Crane Creek, Tiger Mountain, Persimmon Creek, Biltmore, Chateau Elan

2010-02-23T18:47:00.000-08:00

Crane Creek Vineyards, Young Harris

Why we like winter winery visits

A nice crowd gathers off the main wine tasting area at Crane Creek Vineyards in Young Harris on New Year's Eve afternoon. A steady stream of customers made their way to the country winery even as a winter storm was starting to move in that afternoon.

New Year's Eve "weekend" meant a trip to the Blue Ridge-Elijay-Young Harris area which also means a stop by our favorite country winery, Crane Creek Vineyards. An Earth Day event brought us to Crane Creek last April. While almost all the events were outdoors that time, everyone was inside huddled up as the coldest part of the storm was still coming in that afternoon.

But first we had to park and that's where trouble began. It was a busy New Year's Eve Day (3 p.m.) so we opted for a spot just off the parking area. Wrong move. No sooner did we pull in than we noticed a wheel or two already spinning where grass once grew.

As we exited to investigate, several couples leaving Crane Creek came right to our rescue without even a word spoken. One young lady directed the "rescue" attempt, coordinating a tow chain and a four-wheel drive. One clamp and quick pull later, and we were on our way. The "director" refused payment -- in cash or wine. So first we salute you, the Wine Rescue Crew on New Year's Eve. It is just another example of why we like wine people: friendly, helpful and funny.

Once inside the farm house, we beelined to the tasting bar only to be greeted by Catawba, the winery dog. In the past, we'd seen Sally sleeping behind the tasting bar but our pourer said the big old lab had passed several months ago. Sally is the namesake of some of the wine at Crane Creek. So, too, is Catawba (more for the grape but . . . ) and the pup did her best to make us feel at home by collapsing at our feet.

Properly stationed with Catawba's help, we got down to the tasting--a bargain at $3 per person, by the way, especially on New Year's Eve afternoon. The pouring list included:

Seyval Blanc: A crisp, dry white, it immediately earned a 7-plus in our 10-point scoring.
Etowah White was next, described as an "oaky off dry" white. Crafted from a hybrid grape, this probably was our favorite wine of the tasting. We'd purchased a few bottles during our earlier visit.
Apfelwein: This is a different wine, a relative new release. It is an apple wine with some German stylings. It might work as a dessert wine in a pinch or a pleasant pause between courses. Give it a sample next time you're in Young Harris; we don't know if its available at Naturally Georgia in Dahlonega.
We closed the white wine flite with Mountain Harvest White. Again on the sweet side, they recommend it for a picnic wine and we agree. Tasty
The Rose/Blush tour included Mountain Harvest Blush. Again sweet, it was a different experience. We were anxious to move to . . . the reds.
Brasstown Red earned a solid 7. It is a Merlot/Cabernet Franc blend that had a bit of a Malbec taste. It is said to be best paired with classic Italian or even Middle Eastern dishes.
Another specialty wine was the Christmas Catawba. We liked it as a fruity-tasting libation, perhaps again reserved for after dinner.
The final wine was Sweet Sally, another favorite we picked up last time. It was named early on for the wine dog that just passed. A fine way to end the tasting and a holiday visit.

One side note on our trip: Ten days earlier, Crane Creek hosted a winter solstice tasting from 6 to 8 p.m. In the past, perhaps 20 to 40 people came out on the longest night of the year to sample wine and food. This year, the count topped 100, says our pourer. The turnout surprised the hosts. Chalk it up to the friendly folks at the winery and the growing appeal of North Georgia wine.

-If you go: You'll find some special deals at nearby Brasstown Valley Resort for Valentine's Weekend and during the winter months. This Saturday, Jan. 16, Brasstown is hosting a special wine education seminar followed by a wine-paired dinner. Details> Click

This picture is from the rear tasting bar at Crane Creek, overlooking some of the novelty items on sale and the back deck. You can see the moisture on the decking and the mist outside that Thursday afternoon, the last day of 2009.

Our most recent reviews:

On location/Clayton, Ga. Wineries, Tallulah Gorge, Goats on the Roof

No. 1/Top your winery visit list this Saturday with a trip to Tiger Mountain near Clayton.

We didn't know what to expect from this 10-year-old winery in the Northeast Georgia mountains. We've tasted some of the wines while at Naturally Georgia in Dahlonega and liked what we sampled. Plus co-owner Martha Ezzard (with husband John) and I have mutual ties and friends at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. So we were anxious to visit Tiger Mountain and return to Clayton for the first time in 12 years.

-The winery: It is tiny by comparison to some of the offerings in Dahlonega but what Tiger Mountain lacks in size is compensated for quickly by way of atmosphere, snacks and the wines (especially Burton Blanc). We visited during the first of two Leaflooker Saturdays and timed the trip perfected. This roadside winery (park on the east, sip on the west) has a wonderful patio area that was brimming with visitors Saturday. Select cheeses, excellent sausage (you've got to try the chicken and apple sausage) and the wines made for a perfect Saturday, especially at just $5 admission per person.

-The tasting room beyond the patio is perfectly sized. You can sample Tiger Mountain's wines, buy gifts and wine and get a quick read on the winery's history. It is a must visit if you're on that side of the state.

-We took home a couple bottles of Burton Blanc.

No. 2/Persimmon Creek Vineyards. We stopped by the tasting room in downtown Clayton but didn't make the tour of the winery. One tip if you want to see the winery: make reservations first. They do regular tours for $15 per person. We were a bit time crunched so we stayed downtown (it is about three miles from Tiger Mountain). The tasting room itself is very nice, done in an older, comfortable style. For $8, you get to try several wines including the Riesling and a very sweet dessert wine. Your tasting fee can be applied to a discount if purchasing wine at the shop as well. We brought home a bottle of the dryer Rei sling, having sampled a bottle over dinner the night before (see below). The tasting room or the winery pair great with a weekend trip to Clayton.

No. 3/So what else is there to do in Rabun County? Plenty. Some suggestions:

-Tallulah Gorge: This beautiful state park is a good three-hour stop if you see the sites on both rims, visit the excellent outdoors getaway. Start with a visit to the Jane Hurt Yarn Interpretive Center. You truly start your hike to one of the many "stations" around the gorge inside the Yarn Center (park details). Come prepared to do some walking/hiking (i.e., no Crocs or flip flops). You can follow the paths and multiple steps to the suspension bridge and other points. You can chose between an aggressive hike or a passive one. Just remember: You have to climb back up all those stairs you descend. Think of it as an outdoor "Stairmaster." It is work the time and effort. $5 parking fee. Do the gorge before the wineries!

-Goats on the Roof: You want to scream "tourist trap" the minute you see it. So what? Go inside anyway; you'll find a wonderful selected of Amish furniture and foods. Plus, on the exterior: those very goats on the roof. The fun part is letting the kids fill a can with goat food and using the bicycle assembly to hoist the food to the waiting goats. Also on site: A wonderful fire pit and free marsh mellows to roast. This is a must if you have kids--or what a nice break from it all. Click Goats.

-The Stockton House restaurant: We didn't do our normal research before this trip. It was election week and a hundred of other excuses. So at 7:15 p.m. on a Friday, we were sitting in the Ingle's parking lot looking for dining spots via iPhone. Up popped Stockton House. We liked the quick reviews so we called and we're given easy directions from the store to the door. As we pulled up, a few remaining brain cells reminded us: we had dined here on New Year's Eve 1995. We had a great meal but some in our party were a little out of sorts that night. Not this time. We had a perfect meal including a wonderfully stuffed pork chop, Pecan Chicken Asiago, potatoes and asparagus plus bread. Our son had pasta and devoured every bit of it. As good as the food was, the service was even better. Excellent waitress. Several visits to the table by the owners. A great bottle of locally crafted wine (Persimmon's dry Reisling). With tip and all, we paid $90--and thought about returning the next evening but collapsed at the cabin after a day at the gorge, wineries and football. This is the restaurant to visit if visiting Clayton for the day or weekend. Click Web Site.

-Downtown Clayton: This is a very vibrant downtown so try to save a few hours to tour. One must: Reeves Ace Hardware. This one goes far beyond nuts, bolts and paint. You won't believe the furniture inventory under roof. Click Reeves

On location/Biltmore's Winery, Asheville, N.C.

Details about the winery at Biltmore: Click Winery

Overview: The good news is a tour of the winery and complimentary wine sampling is included in your Biltmore day pass, which means you pay up to $50 per person to get inside the massive compound. And it is worth every penny, especially the expanded tours of the Vanderbilts' home. If you haven't been to Biltmore in a few years, go. The access to the estate home and gardens has been expanded to include the second and third floors as well as the basement.

-The bad news is, to get to the winery for that free sampling, or the for-pay premium tasting bar (three samples, $8), you need that day pass. Or you can convert your daily pass to an annual pass and visit all your want for $50 more.

-And the so-so news: Once in the winery and at the tasting bars (free and paid), you'll taste some of the expansive wines. Maybe it is just us but it seems the glitzier the winery, the less we like the wine itself. (Wine list). But there are some keepers and we brought a few bottles home for friends to enjoy.

-What we liked: The quick wine tour was fun--and self-guided -- although attendants are on duty. You see the production area, the underground wine library, a great event room that looks as if you're in a castle's hidden wine cellar, an expansive free sampling area, the premium wine sampling bar (much smaller) and finally the vast winery store. This is a trick we wish more North Georgia wineries would adopt: let people see how the wine is produced.

-The sampling experience: Let's start with the "freebie" first. The pourer is very knowledgeable and let's you try as many samples from the non-premium wine list as you'd like. These are smaller samples than you get at the North Georgia locations but enough to let you know if the wine is something you wish to buy. The sampling room is huge. There's not a lot of atmosphere although a recent paint job does brighten it considerably. The premium bar is much smaller, with elbow-to-elbow room for perhaps a dozen people at a time. You pay as you go (we suggest the $8 three-sample package because it saves a dollar and you'll probably not want to go much further down the wine list than that). Between the free and premium tastings, we sampled eight wines. All are OK in quality with a few standouts. We did enjoy the Chenin Blanc, Merlot and Limited Release Merlot. The Century White Wine was sweeter than most Reislings but enjoyable.

-The amenities: The winery opened in 1985 and this is a busy time to visit. Around 2,200 guests toured the winery on Oct. 16 and we were among the 2,300 expected the next day. We're pretty sure they hit that goal. The winery complex is attractive, built around the former dairy. The vineyard is off site, around 100 acres near the French Broad River. (Click History). The winery is close to The Inn on Biltmore Estate and a new complex is rising nearby to increase the total visit experience (think "Helen" in Asheville but with a Biltmore touch). The winery features some outdoor wine gardens as well. Plus: You can save the admission price by sampling a few wines at the main gate.

-The Asheville experience: The Biltmore estate is a must-see. Plan to spend at least four to five hours on property, saving the winery for last (hours are noon to 7 p.m.). You'll want a break after all the stair climbing at the home itself. Off property, try dinner at Grove Park Inn. You'll find a few dining options there and the meals are surprisingly affordable. The wine list looks like something out of "War & Peace" and the prices as up there. A wonderful bottle of Reisling we chose with dinner Friday night was recommended by the sommelier -- for $96. We found the same wine available locally for $20 or so a bottle. It cost more than our combined meals that night and we had a wonderful chicken dish with out-of-this-world squash bisque. Accommodations: Shop the online specials and don't be taken by the photos on the Web sites. We stayed at a new "suite hotel" where prices went up $50 per night because of leaf season. The nearby Marriott Residence Inn would have been just as nice--and would have featured breakfast as well. Downtown Asheville is as eclectic as you've heard: wonderful shops, restaurants and more. Visit The Mast General Store, one of our regional favorites. It is a throwback retail experience.

Photos include, top to bottom, the 'free' sampling bar; the wine library; and two production area photos.

CHATEAU ELAN: Beautiful campus, great tour, so-so wines

Like many others, Chateau Elan was our first contact with the state's emerging wine industry. In the early '90s, Donald Panos was earning headlines as new amenities were added to the ever-popular stop off Interstate 85 near Atlanta. We sipped the wine samples then and were secure in the fact that Bud Light was still our beverage of choice.

Our return 15 years later solidified our first view even if our tastes for adult beverages has changed a bit. Chateau Elan remains a landmark attraction, one of the best in the state. A gorgeous setting just off the interstate. Excellent accommodates. Exotic dining. Plenty of ways to pamper oneself from the spa to the equestrian facilities to the winery tours and golf.

But we still need no more than the five samples you get at the $5 tasting/tour to know the wine isn't for us. We enjoyed the walk through the vineyards, sampled a crate of recently harvest grapes, saw the massive vats and oak sticks that make it all come together. But when we gathering around the incredible tasting bar and tried an ounce of this and an ounce of that, we concluded that we wouldn't need to stop by the wine shop on the way out to take some home.

And that was a first as we've always found at least one pour, one bottle, to test at home with family and friends.

Your tastes are different from ours; we certainly endorse spending an afternoon, night or weekend at Chateau Elan. But if you're looking for the taste and texture of wine you'll find in the North Georgia mountains--from Dahlonega to Young Harris to Tiger-- you won't find it here. But do the wine tasting and try to catch the tour that comes with it. The tour and the take-home wine glass ($10 on Saturday) easily are worth the investment.

>For more on Georgia's wineries, click Winery Profiles

Some things that help make an overnight or weekend stay near Chateau Elan ever better:

1) The Mayfield Dairy tour just across I-85 from Chateau Elan and up a few blocks. The tours are daily except for Sunday (Details). And even better: They're free. In around 30 minutes, you'll get a live infomercial on how and why that Mayfield milk in the yellow carton is so special--and pricey. And you'll leave thinking the price is right. In addition to the tour, you'll spend a good bit of time in the gift shop and, we strong recommend, the ice cream counter. For $1.50, you get an overflowing scoop of your favorite Mayfield ice cream flavor in a cup or cone. No matter young or old, make this a priority stop.

2) The Gwinnett Braves. You're going to pay more than you would at most minor league stadiums but less than you do at Turner Field (unless you take advantage of one of those deals). No matter, make the trip, make the investment. Gwinnett Stadium is an open-air beauty. The seats sink into the ground as if part of some modern amphitheater. The 2010 season isn't that far away, and the 2009 edition wasn't bad, having made the International League playoffs. If you have kids: Take advance of the $1 berm seats. Bring a blanket, spread out and relax. Click Gwinnett Braves.

3) The Mall of Georgia: Recession? What recession? This place is hoping and the development around it continues in robust form. A new BrandsMart between the mall and the baseball stadium is a huge hit already. And the shopping? Great selection of stores with some great deals. Plus: Chateau Elan has a $99 overnight special under way on select dates. Click Mall.

-Also nearby: Discover Mills, home of Bass Pro Shop, and the Gwinnett Arena, a great venue and home of the Gwinnett Gladiators minor league hockey team.

4) Accommodations: Plenty of options are online, including good deals at Chateau Elan, at motels just across the street or in about a 10-mile radius. Our suggestion: Pick a spot near the Mall of Georgia; it is a central location for food, entertainment and shopping.

Spotlight:

-Persimmon Creek using solar power to operate winery: Persimmon Creek Vineyards launches solar power efforts at its winery in Rabun County. Co-owners Mary Ann and William “Sonny” Hardman partnered with Atlanta-based Radiance Solar to install an eight-kilowatt solar system on the roof of the winery, trapping energy from the sunlight and converting it into a usable form to power the vineyard’s many functions> Expanded details

North Georgia Wineries

Persimmon Creek Vineyards

Three Sisters Vineyards

Crane Creek Vineyards & Guest House, Young Harris

Habersham Winery

Montaluce Winery and Estates

Sharp Mountain Vineyards

The Georgia Winery

Naturally Georgia Tasting Room, Dahlonega

BlackStock Vineyards and Winery

Wolf Mountain Vineyards

Chateau Elan Winery and Resort

Frogtown Cellars

Tiger Mountain Vineyards

Yonah Mountain Vineyards

Georgia wineries on TV; busy March ahead

2010-02-17T13:49:00.000-08:00

North Georgia wine country weather: Click Forecast / Regional radar

What's new:
-Wolf Mountain Vineyards adds deck: Around a year ago, Wolf Mountain added a new tasting room a floor below the main entrance. Now comes a deck adjoining the tasting bar which, according to the winery's Facebook page, adds seating for 24 "overlooking our gorgeous mountain views!" For more, please click Facebook.

New dining hours at Montaluce Winery:
And they are:
-Lunch: Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.
-Dinner: Friday and Saturday, 5:30 until 9:30 p.m.-Tasting bar: Noon to 5 p.m., seven days a week.

News from the wineries:
-Feb. 17: Three Sisters, Montaluce on latest Georgia Traveler show (episode 307): The Luxury Tour of Georgia features stops at both Dahlonega area wineries. Watch it Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. on Georgia Public Broadcasting.
-Feb. 20: Yonah Mountain Vineyards, 2 until 5 p.m.: The secondTour de Cave and Barrel Tasting. Winemaker Joe Smith will lead a tour of the winery located at the vineyards and offer barrel samples. The cost of the tour is $25 and includes the full winery tasting and YMV glass. Reservations and prepayment required. 678-525-6050. (From Wine Growers Association).
-Feb. 20-21: Three Sisters Vineyards has a tempting blend--wine, chocolate in February: Three Sisters Vineyards' annual "wine and chocolate lovers celebration" is set for February's first three weekends, from 1 to 5 p.m. On tap: "artisan chocolate and wines in a special tasting line-up." No reservations are required for the free tasting and $15 per person tastings. Also:, a special $25 per person private tasting/seating in the winery; reservations required. Limited seatings are at 1, 3 and 5 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 4 p.m. Sundays. The $25 tasting includes a barrel tasting, large souvenir wine glass, special chocolates and treats. Call: 706-865-9463 or visit. Also: VIP tasting moved to Feb. 27.
-March 13-14: Three Sisters Vineyards' St. Patrick's Day Wine Celebration, Saturday, 12:30-5 p.m. and Sunday, 1-5 p.m. On Saturday, live Irish Music by Mulligan Stew will be presented on the Crush Pad Deck & Patio. No general reservations are required. No Admission. Free Parking. Complimentary tastings plus paid "Vintner's Tasting" will be offered both days.
-March 20, 21: Spring Wine Highway Weekend dates set: Save the date for the fifth annual Wine Highway Weekend. The 2009 edition was a huge hit . Details
-May 1: Wine Fest 2010, noon-5 p.m., Habersham Winery, Helen. Ten wineries participating> Details
-May 22: Taste of Sautee: Plans coming together at this time. For more> Click
-June 5-6: Three Sisters Vineyards' Georgia Wine Country Festival: Billed as "Dahlonega's Original Wine Festival," it is set for June 5 and 6 this year. It is the ninth time Three Sisters has staged the celebration. More details soon. Also, join the event's Facebook page> Click

Great month of chocolate, wine celebrations

2010-02-03T18:05:00.000-08:00

Weekend's best bets:
-Three Sisters, Wolf Mountain reopen after post-Christmas breaks (see below)
-Three Sisters' annual chocolate celebration (see below).

Can't make it to the wineries this weekend or next? Try this:
-Feb. 13: Marietta Wine Market, 2-4 p.m.: Wine Tasting at the Marietta Wine Market. From the Web site: Theme: "Champagne & Chocolate," cost: $15 per person. Offering six Champagnes and Sparkling wines for your enjoyment. We will be tasting Heidsieck Monopole Brut, Belle Glos Sparkling Pinot Noir Rose, Schramsberg Sparkling Brut*, Moet & Chandon White Star, Iron Horse Wedding Cuvee,and Elio Perrone Rose' from Italy. Along with the wines will be an array of Chocolates and Hor'd ourves. (*Note from the editor: We tried this for the first time in Napa on Valentine's Day 1999--excellent).
News from the wineries:
-Feb. 6-7, 13-14, 20-21: -Three Sisters Vineyards has a tempting blend--wine, chocolate in February: Three Sisters Vineyards' annual "wine and chocolate lovers celebration" is set for February's first three weekends, from 1 to 5 p.m. On tap: "artisan chocolate and wines in a special tasting line-up." No reservations are required for the free tasting and $15 per person tastings. Also:, a special $25 per person private tasting/seating in the winery; reservations required. Limited seatings are at 1, 3 and 5 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 4 p.m. Sundays. The $25 tasting includes a barrel tasting, large souvenir wine glass, special chocolates and treats. Call: 706-865-9463 or visit.
-Feb. 7: Wolf Mountain Vineyards reopens after January break.
-Feb. 13-14: Tiger Mountain Vineyards chocolate and wine weekend. Classical guitar music, dark cacao fondue, truffles, artisan cheeses and breads. Taste seven wines. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday.
-Feb. 13: Wolf Mountain Vineyards' seventh annual Valentine's Dinner sold out.
-Feb. 13: Yonah Mountain Vineyards: Prelude to Valentine’s Day, 3-6 p.m., at the tasting room in Sautee-Nacoochee. $15 per person includes: A glass of wine of your choice; hors d’oeuvres by Bernie’s Restaurant; and entertainment by Monica Spears. Reservations are requested. Please call 706-878-5522.(From Wine Growers Association).
-Feb. 13, 14: Frogtown Cellars offering special Valentine's Day meals. A wine taster's dinner is available that Saturday at 7 p.m. for $45 per person. On Sunday, a 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. wine taster's brunch is served fro $35 each. Reservations required. 706-865-0687.
-Feb. 13, 14: Montaluce Winery and Estates plans two Valentine's Day opportunities. Music, dining and wine are on the early menu for Feb.13-14. Additional details to post soon.
-Feb. 13: Crane Creek Vineyards & Guest House, Young Harris: A bowl of our soup plus handmade chocolates and flowers for the ladies. Plus: Crane Creek wines.
-Feb. 13, 14: BlackStock Vineyards and Winery: Two options for Valentine's weekend--a four-course meal Saturday night with wine and music; $65 per person. Starts at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, hors d'oeuvres reception and music, $30 per person. 2 to 4 p.m. Reservations required for both events: 706-219-2789.
-Feb. 13-14: Tiger Mountain Vineyards, Classical guitar by UGA Professor Bob Burton, homemade chocolate truffles and chocolate fondue are part of the annual Chocolate and Wine Weekend. $15 admission includes samples of three whites and seven reads.(From Wine Growers Association).
-Feb. 20: Yonah Mountain Vineyards, 2 until 5 p.m.: The second Tour de Cave and Barrel Tasting. Winemaker Joe Smith will lead a tour of the winery located at the vineyards and offer barrel samples. The cost of the tour is $25 and includes the full winery tasting and YMV glass. Reservations and prepayment required. 678-525-6050. (From Wine Growers Association).
-March 20, 21: Spring Wine Highway Weekend dates set: Save the date for the fifth annual Wine Highway Weekend. The 2009 edition was a huge hit . Details
-June 5-6: Three Sisters Vineyards' Georgia Wine Country Festival: Billed as "Dahlonega's Original Wine Festival," it is set for June 5 and 6 this year. It is the ninth time Three Sisters has staged the celebration. More details soon. Also, join the event's Facebook page> Click

News Vine: Big Valentine's Weekend on the way

2010-01-20T18:56:00.000-08:00

North Georgia Wine Country Weather:

-Dahlonega/Northeast Georgia weather: Click Forecast / Regional radar

2010 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

Wolf Mountain wins gold, two silver medals; Crane Creek, gold and bronze; and Tiger Mountain collects pair of bronze in Chronicle contest: The results of the 2010 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition are in. Says the Web site winejudging.com: "Over five days, 63 professional wine experts tasted and evaluated a world-record breaking 4,913 entries." For all the winners, search and click here.

This weekend's spotlight:

-Jan. 23: Yonah Mountain Vineyards offers first-time tours. You're perhaps visited the wine tasting room at Sautee-Nachoochee but here's your first chance to see Yonah Mountain Vineyards, including a winery tour and barrel tasting. Winemaker Joe Smith lead it the tour; cost is $25 per person includes a full tasting. Details: contact Joe at 678-525-6050 or visit the winery's Facebook page.

News from the wineries:

-Saturday, Jan. 23, The Georgia Winery, learn about wine and wine tasting. $15 per person. 7-9 p.m. Details

-Saturday, Jan. 30: Montaluce Winery and Estates to host food, wine conclave: The Dahlonega winery is hosting it's first Wine and Food Conclave. Food and wine writers and bloggers from all around the Southeast are invited for a day of winery and vineyard tours, wine tasting, kitchen tour, chef demonstrations and more. If you're interested in attending, please contact rob@montaluce.com for more details.

-Now-Jan. 31: Tiger Mountain Vineyards in Rabun County. also features a "20-10" special on January weekends. 20 percent off and 10 percent off two wines every weekend. We're not telling which wines. Tasting room open Friday and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

-Feb. 6-7, 13-14, 20-21: -Three Sisters Vineyards has a tempting blend--wine, chocolate in February: Three Sisters Vineyards' annual "wine and chocolate lovers celebration" is set for February's first three weekends, from 1 to 5 p.m. On tap: "artisan chocolate and wines in a special tasting line-up." No reservations are required for the free tasting and $15 per person tastings. Also:, a special $25 per person private tasting/seating in the winery; reservations required. Limited seatings are at 1, 3 and 5 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 4 p.m. Sundays. The $25 tasting includes a barrel tasting, large souvenir wine glass, special chocolates and treats. Call: 706-865-9463 or visit.

-Feb. 7: Wolf Mountain Vineyards reopens after January break.

-Feb. 13: Wolf Mountain Vineyards' seventh annual Valentine's Dinner at 7 p.m., $80 per person. Includes six-course dinner and wine pairings. Click Menu. Reservations required: 706-867-9862.

-Feb.13: Yonah Mountain Vineyards: Prelude to Valentine’s Day, 3-6 p.m., at the tasting room in Sautee-Nacoochee. $15 per person includes: A glass of wine of your choice; hors d’oeuvres by Bernie’s Restaurant; and entertainment by Monica Spears. Reservations are requested. Please call 706-878-5522.(From Wine Growers Association).

-Feb. 13, 14: Frogtown Cellars offering special Valentine's Day meals. A wine taster's dinner is available that Saturday at 7 p.m. for $45 per person. On Sunday, a 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. wine taster's brunch is served fro $35 each. Reservations required. 706-865-0687.

-Feb. 13, 14: Montaluce Winery and Estates plans two Valentine's Day opportunities. Music, dining and wine are on the early menu for Feb.13-14. Additional details to post soon.

-Feb. 13: Crane Creek Vineyards & Guest House, Young Harris: A bowl of our soup plus handmade chocolates and flowers for the ladies. Plus: Crane Creek wines.

-Feb. 13, 14: BlackStock Vineyards and Winery: Two options for Valentine's weekend--a four-course meal Saturday night with wine and music; $65 per person. Starts at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, hors d'oeuvres reception and music, $30 per person. 2 to 4 p.m. Reservations required for both events: 706-219-2789.

-Feb. 13-14: Tiger Mountain Vineyards, Classical guitar by UGA Professor Bob Burton, homemade chocolate truffles and chocolate fondue are part of the annual Chocolate and Wine Weekend. $15 admission includes samples of three whites and seven reads.(From Wine Growers Association).

-March 20, 21: Spring Wine Highway Weekend dates set: Save the date for the fifth annual Wine Highway Weekend. The 2009 edition was a huge hit . Details

Crane Creek Winery; what's ahead this winter

2010-01-13T12:22:00.000-08:00

Crane Creek Winery, Young Harris:

Why we like winter winery visits (thanks to the Wine Rescue Squad)

Properly stationed with Catawba's help, we got down to the tasting--a bargain at $3 per person, by the way, especially on New Year's Eve afternoon. The pouring list included:

Seyval Blanc: A crisp, dry white, it immediately earned a 7-plus in our 10-point scoring.
Etowah White was next, described as an "oaky off dry" white. Crafted from a hybrid grape, this probably was our favorite wine of the tasting. We'd purchased a few bottles during our earlier visit.
Apfelwein: This is a different wine, a relative new release. It is an apple wine with some German stylings. It might work as a dessert wine in a pinch or a pleasant pause between courses. Give it a sample next time you're in Young Harris; we don't know if its available at Naturally Georgia in Dahlonega.
We closed the white wine flite with Mountain Harvest White. Again on the sweet side, they recommend it for a picnic wine and we agree. Tasty
The Rose/Blush tour included Mountain Harvest Blush. Again sweet, it was a different experience. We were anxious to move to . . . the reds.
Brasstown Red earned a solid 7. It is a Merlot/Cabernet Franc blend that had a bit of a Malbec taste. It is said to be best paired with classic Italian or even Middle Eastern dishes.
Another specialty wine was the Christmas Catawba. We liked it as a fruity-tasting libation, perhaps again reserved for after dinner.
The final wine was Sweet Sally, another favorite we picked up last time. It was named early on for the wine dog that just passed. A fine way to end the tasting and a holiday visit.

News from the wineries:

-Friday, Jan. 15: Chateau Elan Winery and Resort is offering a "Wine Tasting Experience Package: for two, $199 plus tax. Includes: wine tasting with the Winemaker, this month's theme is "Top Value Wines" both national and international wines. Coming up: Dessert wines on Feb. 26 and Wines of Italy on March 19> Details

-Saturday, Jan. 23, The Georgia Winery, learn about wine and wine tasting. $15 per person. 7-9 p.m. Details

-March 20, 21: Spring Wine Highway Weekend dates set: Save the date for the fifth annual Wine Highway Weekend. The 2009 edition was a huge hit . Details

Check your favorite wineries before visiting in January: Web sites for some of the wineries show down time in January, from reduced hours to no tastings. We'll assemble a list of closings for next week. Wineries can send us updates by clicking e-mail.

-Three Sisters Vineyards to take a break, reopening Feb. 1 as part of the three-weekend-long Wine & Chocolate Lovers Celebration.

- Wolf Mountain Vineyards: Closed through January, reopening Sunday, Feb. 7.

Wine News Vine: Happy new year!

2009-12-29T12:33:00.000-08:00

North Georgia Wine Country Weather:

-Dahlonega/Northeast Georgia weather: Click Forecast / Local radar / Regional radar

News from the wineries:

-Check your favorite wineries before visiting in January: Web sites for some of the wineries show down time in January, from reduced hours to no tastings. We'll assemble a list of closings for next week. Wineries can send us updates by clicking e-mail.

-Three Sisters Vineyards to take a break, reopening Feb. 1 as part of the three-weekend-long Wine & Chocolate Lovers Celebration.

- Wolf Mountain Vineyards: Closed through January, reopening Sunday, Feb. 7.

-BlackStock Vineyards and Winery is closed New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. 2010 events calendar posted.

- Montaluce Winery and Estates is back after a a Christmas break. For upcoming events, click Here.

-Yonah Mountain Vineyards: We are open all week (except New Year's Day). 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Yonah Mountain Vineyards tasting room is in Sautee-Nacoochee.

-Dec. 31, Montaluce Winery and Estates: New Year’s Eve fabulous 5 course dining experience at Montaluce. Executive Chef Steven Hartman will be featuring local and seasonal ingredients. The cost is $75 per person and an optional wine pairing is available for $35.

-Dec. 31: Crane Creek Vineyards is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. this week, including New Year's Eve. (We'll see you there on 12/31).

-Dec. 31: Tiger Mountain Vineyards in Rabun County. Special New Year's Eve tasting, 1-5 p.m.

-Jan. 2-31: Tiger Mountain Vineyards in Rabun County. also features a "20-10" special on January weekends. 20 percent off and 10 percent off two wines every weekend. We're not telling which wines. Tasting room open Friday and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

-Jan. 23, The Georgia Winery, learn about wine and wine tasting. $15 per person. 7-9 p.m. Details

-March 20, 21: Spring Wine Highway Weekend dates set: Save the date for the fifth annual Wine Highway Weekend. The 2009 edition was a huge hit . Details

Merry Christmas from the Wine News Vine

2009-12-21T04:50:00.000-08:00

North Georgia Wine Country Weather:

-Dahlonega/Northeast Georgia weather: Click Forecast / Local radar / Regional radar

News from the wineries:

-Three Sisters Vineyards to take a break after this weekend: The tasting room will close on Dec. 21, reopening Feb. 1 as part of the three-weekend-long Wine & Chocolate Lovers Celebration.

-Dec. 21, Crane Creek Vineyards, Young Harris, 6-8 p.m., winter solstice celebration of the year's longest night.

-Dec. 21-28: Montaluce Winery and Estates is taking a Christmas break. For upcoming events, click Here.

-Dec. 24, 25: Tiger Mountain Vineyards will be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Open again on Dec. 26-27.

-Dec. 31: Tiger Mountain Vineyards in Rabun County. Special New Year's Eve tasting, 1-5 p.m.

-Jan. 23, The Georgia Winery, learn about wine and wine tasting. $15 per person. 7-9 p.m. Details

-March 20, 21: Spring Wine Highway Weekend dates set: Save the date for the fifth annual Wine Highway Weekend. The 2009 edition was a huge hit . Details

End-of-the-year plans for N. Georgia wineries

2009-12-16T11:46:00.000-08:00

North Georgia Wine Country Weather:

-Dahlonega/Northeast Georgia weather: Click Forecast / Local radar / Regional radar

News from the wineries:

What's ahead at the wineries:

-Dec. 19-20, Three Sisters Vineyards, annual open house holiday weekends. Free wine tastings for wine lovers 21 and older plus Christmas treats for the entire family.

-Dec. 19, Chateau Elan Winery and Resort offers a special wine tasting package. Click Details

-Dec. 19-20, Tiger Mountain Vineyards in Rabun County: Christmas chocolates paired with Tiger Mountain Cabernet Franc and Tiger Mountain Norton, both dry wines with deep berry and cherry flavors - and hints of chocolate.

-Dec. 20, Wolf Mountain: Holiday Open House. Homemade soup, holiday hors d'oeuvres served around the Christmas tree. Seatings are available at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. Wines available by the glass or bottle. Cost: $25.

-Dec. 21, Crane Creek Vineyards, Young Harris, 6-8 p.m., winter solstice celebration of the year's longest night.

-Dec. 24, 25: Tiger Mountain will be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Open again on Dec. 26-27.

-Dec. 31: Tiger Mountain Vineyards in Rabun County. Special New Year's Eve tasting, 1-5 p.m.

-Jan. 23, The Georgia Winery, learn about wine and wine tasting. $15 per person. 7-9 p.m. Details

-March 20, 21: Spring Wine Highway Weekend dates set: Save the date for the fifth annual Wine Highway Weekend. The 2009 edition was a huge hit . Details

Wine News Vine

2009-12-09T11:24:00.000-08:00

North Georgia Wine Country Weather:

-Dahlonega/Northeast Georgia weather: Click Forecast / Local radar / Regional radar

More events for Winter Wine Highway Weekend (Dec. 11-13)

-Overview: The key dates to remember are Dec. 11-13 as the first Winter Wine Highway comes together. For $20 per person, you get a weekend passport to tastings at participating wineries. Click Details: Click Here.

-What's new for that weekend:

>At BlackStock Vineyards and Winery: On Dec. 11 and 12, from 5:30 until 8 p.m., BlackStock is offering four Tapas-style pairings with wine, including samples from three library reserve wines, for $25 per person. You also get a discount on your wine highway passport. Reservations: 706-219-2789 x 223.

-At Tiger Mountain Vineyards in Rabun County: Friday, Dec. 11: Sweet Grass Dairy cheeses and wine tastings, 1 to 5 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 12: Soup and wine pairings, live music; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Music 1 to 3 p.m.); Sunday, Dec. 13: Classical violin music, artisan breads and cheeses.

-At Wolf Mountain, Gourmet Dinner, 7 p.m. in celebration of the Holidays, Dec. 12. The cost is $80 per person, all inclusive and includes a six-course gourmet dinner with wine pairings> Details

-At Yonah Mountain Vineyards' tasting room in Sautee-Nacoochee, visitors will taste the inaugural release of the 2008 Yonah Mountain Vinyards Chardonnay.

-At Habersham Winery on Sunday, you can visit with Santa as he patrols Nachoochee Village (Click)

-For additional updates on events at the wineries and those affiliated with the Winegrowers Association of Georgia, please click Here.

-Can't make it this weekend? Save the dates --March 20, 21 -- for the Fifth Annual Wine Highway Weekend.

What's ahead at the wineries:

-December weekends, Three Sisters Vineyards, Saturday & Sundays until Christmas, annual open house holiday weekends. ll Free wine tastings for wine lovers 21 and older plus Christmas treats for the entire family.

-Dec. 11-13: Winter Wine Highway, $20 per person. Your weekend passport gets you tastings at nine participating wineries. Details: Click Here.

-Dec. 12, Wolf Mountain, Gourmet Dinner, 7 p.m. in celebration of the Holidays. The cost is $80 per person, all inclusive and includes a six-course gourmet dinner with wine pairings> Details

-Dec. 13, 20, Wolf Mountain: Holiday Open House. Homemade soup, holiday hors d'oeuvres served around the Christmas tree. Seatings are available at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. Wines available by the glass or bottle. Cost: $25.

-Dec. 19, Chateau Elan Winery and Resort offers a special wine tasting package. Click Details

-Dec. 21, Crane Creek Vineyards, Young Harris, 6-8 p.m., winter solstice celebration of the year's longest night.

-Dec. 24, 25: Tiger Mountain will be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Open again on Dec. 26-27.

-Dec. 31: Tiger Mountain Vineyards in Rabun County. Special New Year's Eve tasting, 1-5 p.m.

-Jan. 23, The Georgia Winery, learn about wine and wine tasting. $15 per person. 7-9 p.m. Details

-March 20, 21: Spring Wine Highway Weekend dates set: Save the date for the fifth annual Wine Highway Weekend. The 2009 edition was a huge hit . Details

What's new in Georgia's wine community:

-Tracking Georgia wine events: Another new idea we like is The Virtual Grape, "connecting Atlanta's wine lovers and foodies." Give it a sample by click Here.

- Naturally Georgia Tasting Room, Dahlonega, has a newly redesigned Web site. Naturally Georgia offers Dahlonega-based tastings from Tiger Mountain near Clayton and Crane Creek in Young Harris.

-Corks & Crumbs, a great combination bistro, cafe and wine tasting room on Ellijay's square, is now pouring BlackStock Vineyards Wine.Wine