Uh, Where's the Wine Festival?

On our way up to the North Georgia mountains for a wine festival, we passed by a cabin rental business named “Hatfield’s.”  What came to mind as I drove by was the well-known story of the feuding families of West Virginia and Kentucky, the Hatfield’s and McCoys.  It is appropriate on this day for it to be a metaphor for wineries in this area who have separated themselves into two cliques.  So much, in fact, that there are two wine festivals happening the same weekend:  The Georgia Fine Wine Festival, hosted at Blackstock Vineyards, and the Georgia Wine Country Festival, hosted at Three Sisters Vineyards.  Say, what?  A one day ticket to Blackstock is $35, while only $20 to attend the festival at Three Sisters.  The difference is most likely due to the fact Blackstock’s festival is larger and hosting more wineries and other local businesses.  This has got to be confusing to wine lovers and festival goers in Atlanta, who trek more than 60 miles to visit.  If you want to try wines from, say, Yonah Mountain Vineyards and Montaluce Winery & Estate, you will have to attend 2 different festivals and pay twice.  Conversely, if I only choose to attend one festival I will be missing out on half the wineries in the area.  This cannot be a good thing for the North Georgia winery community nor their businesses.

I reached out to a few of the wineries for comment, but could only obtain a few general statements about the lines being drawn between the Winegrowers Association of Georiga, which is exclusive to just vinifera growers, and the Georgia Wine Country, which is inclusive for all wineries in the area.  The separation of the two cliques goes back to some old dispute between Three Sisters and a few of the other wineries, namely Frogtown, Wolf Mountain and Blackstock.  Sounds like the egos need to be checked at the door.

For wine-producing states outside the Big 4 (California, Washington, Oregon and New York), owning a winery is already a struggle fighting against the stigma of assumed lower quality based on location.  In the Southeast, additional obstacles include the history of sweet fruit-based wines as well as foxy muscadine.  Now, don’t get me wrong, there is still a market in this region for these types of wines and several wineries in North Georgia are successfully making them.  However, many of the newer wineries are trying to make a name for themselves, and North Georgia, by making higher quality dry wines from vitis vinifera grapes.  It seems to me, working together as community and one unit would help accelerate awareness in the local and surrounding regions about some of the great wines being made by many of these wineries.

For those of you attending the Wine Blogger’s Conference in Walla Walla, I will have a couple of GA wines for you to taste.  So, be sure to say Hi when you see me.

Cheers!

As someone who has some Cherokee Indian blood, I was more than a little intrigued by a lone mountain, or “bald,” between the cities of Cleveland and Helen, Georgia given the name Yonah, which is Cherokee for “bear.” My wife and I first stumbled across this mountain, more than 80 miles north of Atlanta, about 2 years ago when surveying some property near its base that appeared promising as a vineyard. Alas, we were fortunate enough to decline the urge to borrow yet again, as the great recession was about to bust wide open just a few short months later. However, in talking with other wineries in the north Georgia area since then, we soon learned a vineyard had already been started in the same area.

Fast forward to the present where we have now learned that newcomer Yonah Mountain Vineyards indeed had planted vines about a year prior to our visit. Due to the infancy of the vineyard, they have not yet made wine from their own fruit, however, they have been sourcing fruit from places like New York, California and Georgia to establish their winemaking facility, promote their craft and begin building a rapidly growing fan base. Joe Smith is the winemaker who turned a 10 year “hobby” that outgrew his home in New York and the desire to live in a beautiful countryside he and his wife had recently discovered into a full-time job making wines for owners Bob and Jane Miller. We had the opportunity to visit Joe at the vineyard as well as the newly constructed tasting room in Sautee.

The property is fairly well-hidden off the main road, which is winding as most mountain routes do, however, my wife did manage to catch a glimpse of a few vines from the road as we approached. At the entrance is an old barn freshly painted with classic red and white paint really giving you the back country, farmer feel. Once inside the gates the property opens up to a majestic view of the great bald “Bear” in the background. The day was perfect for such a setting with cloudless blue skies and warming sunshine. Obviously, a para-glider agreed as we caught eye of him at the top of the mountain taking off as we chatted with Joe on the crushpad.

In addition to the Yonah label, Joe has brought his own label, Serenity, into the mix as well. Between the two, there are at least a dozen wines available, including a “sweet collection.” When asked why they made so many wines instead of focusing on just a few varietals, Joe responded that they like to maintain a broader view of the customer base and provide an option for differing tastes. In essence, they don’t want to appear to be elitist. The big stars in my opinion is the Genesis, which is a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc from Paso Robles as well as the Traminette sourced from New York. Say What?! What the hell is Traminette?

Traminette is a white grape variety that has characteristics of Gewurztraminer and Seyval Blanc. In fact, the grape was bred from Gewurztraminer and produces larger clusters and is more hardy than its parent. We tasted this wine from the tank and it was very unique with floral and citrus aromas, great texture and significant acid that gave it zing.

Joe shared a Chardonnay with us as well which was a blend of 5 different barrels made from different yeasts. The lees were stirred in these lots giving the wine more time on the yeast hulls imparting mouthfeel as well as hazelnut and a light toasty aromas. I don’t recall from where the Chardonnay fruit was sourced, but this is going to be something I go back for once bottled because this shizz has funk! Getting back to the Bordeaux blend, I want to note that the fruit on the nose is plush and followed by caramel, vanilla and coconut. The Merlot really fills out the mid-palate of this wine while the Cab Franc adds a degree of elegance.

These were the wines of note for me and Jonjie, however, as I mentioned there are several options available for every wine drinker. The vineyards aren’t much to see yet, however, the mountain view is phenomenal. I am sure you can call for appointments to visit the property and check out the barrel room which is inside a cave dug out of the side of a hill. Otherwise, check out the cool tasting room in Sautee where they are adding a stage and some amphitheater seating space outside for concerts as well. Unfortunately (fortunately?) we didn’t see any live bears on this trip, but maybe next time…

Tasting Room address: 2454-B Highway 17, Sautee-Nacoochee, GA‎ 30571

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Phone: (706) 878-5522

Cheers!

Extending my earlier post regarding the 100 point 2006 Cardinale Cabernet Sauvignon, here is some video footage from my exclusive tasting with winemaker, Chris Carpenter and the Toast of the Town event hosted by Wine Enthusiast later in the evening held at the Georgia Aquarium.

If there’s schools of fish, whales and sharks in that water, that is.  The Georgia Aquarium hosted their 4th annual Aqua Vino event that brings over 200 wines and 30 restaurants together for over 1,000 guests for an evening of fun and charity.  This event was really like a distributor tasting with many groups represented pimping their juice to passersby.  Also, the restaurants were a nice complement and very necessary to balance with all the wine that was consumed throughout the evening.  I wonder of the fish eye-ing us from behind the glass were concerned as we threw back some great sushi and scallops?

Unfortunately, on the wine side, there was much to be desired.  Most of the wine was just OK, but I won’t harp too much on that.  Sometimes, great food, atmosphere and meeting new people takes the edge off of feeling like you have to critique every taste.  The standouts included the 2006 Goldeneye Pinot Noir and the 2005 Caravan Cabernet Sauvignon (by Darioush) and I liked the fact they had several sparklers and “starters” at the entrance… I had a nice Cava, but neglected to notice what it was as I rushed in to plan my attack of the vino battlefield.  This is how I came across the Goldeneye deep in the bowels of the building and was able to get a few tastes before the rest of the crowd found out and cleaned them out.  There must be a science to plotting your route in and around a tasting of this size… maybe a topic for another time.  It was good to see the locals represented like Blackstock Vineyards, Habersham and Wolf Mountain, however, their tables were back beyond the bowels of the building, which was unfortunate.

One of the disappointments was Silver Oak, which used to be an old fav of mine, though I see more clearly now and certainly agree they are heavily overvalued.  Alas, either they are slipping in their ways, or my palate is maturing for I did not like their Napa Cabernet this go around.  However, their cool, pimped out piano that was customized into an all-in-one wine traveller and cigar humidor was pretty nice… somehow lost the picture of that.  Neuman!  A picture I did get, though, was of a cake that looks like an octopus (check out the video below).  It was on part with some of the cool cakes my man Duff on Ace of Cakes throw together… didn’t stay around long enough to get a bite.  Neuman!

Shout out again to the Atlanta Wine School for the invitation!

It’s Friday at 2 pm and you’re looking to start the weekend early only to find yourself sittin’ in that infamous Atlanta traffic (ranked 4th worst in 2009) unable to go just a few miles without gridlock.  Arghh!  Oh, and if there’s any kind of precipitation then you’re in for a real treat!  It comes with the territory of being a hustling and bustling metropolis and international hub where you must trade the misery of such daily trials and tribulations with many wonderful benefits including a fairly healthy job market, choice arts & entertainment venues as well as every type of food & dining experience you can dream of.  So, what is an Atlien to do in order to slow things down a bit and re-charge the mental well-being before tackling the rat race come Monday?  Look no further than the north Georgia mountains just one hour north of the city where there was once gold in them thar hills.  Only now, the gold is in country lifestyle getaways, hiking, cycling and other tourist activities, including wine tours.

The mountains of north Georgia form the southernmost tip of the Blue Ridge mountain chain and is the start of the Appalachian mountain trail.  When most think about Georgia they may envision southern hospitality (Hey, Y’all!), the “backwoods” (can you hear the banjos, Ned?), peaches, peanuts, pickup trucks and camouflage.  And when it comes to wine, folks may think more about Scuppernong, a species of the bronze and musky Muscadine family of vines, which is definitely an acquired taste, or even fruit wines.  Now, while some of these still hold true, especially the Southern hospitality, the wine country is blossoming with fine wines made from European Vitis Vinifera as well as some French-American hybrids bringing local and regional tourists alike.  Only Savannah had more visitors than Dahlonega-Lumpkin County in the state, which sits at the heart of the North Georgia Wine Trail. 

At the beginning of the 20th century Georgia was #6 in wine production until Prohibition went and messed things up and the vineyards were removed to make way for other crops, such as peaches and tomatoes.  In 2006, Georgia was #24 with approximately 136,000 gallons produced compared to a mere 713 Million gallons produced in California.  There are currently about 25 bonded wineries which is up from about 15 just five years prior and many are producing fine wine from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Viognier, Sangiovese, Chardonnay, Vidal and Seyval among others.  A few of our favorite wineries that we often visit and write about include Montaluce Winery & Estates, BlackStock Vineyards, and Wolf Mountain.  The elevation in the Dahlonega area is approximately 1,500 feet, which helps aid against disease, like Pierce’s disease, and pests and often produces excellent airflow dynamics to many vineyards.  Most of the soils are well-aerated and contain iron and other metals that oxidize to give it the renowned Georgia clay red coloring, similar to that of Italy’s “terra rossa.”

That’s a great segue to the discussion of Montaluce Winery & Estateswhich is the dream of Rob Beecham, who is trying to “bring home Tuscany” and the wine country experience without requiring a week-long expensive vacation to Europe or California.  Complete with Tuscan villa communities, cottages and a state-of-the-art winery, Rob is trying to bring an eco-friendly, sustainable, all-in-one luxury resort experience to those who love wine, food and the lifestyle it accompanies.  Many Atlanta retirees end up residing in the Dahlonega area to begin their second life.  And, by keeping with the European lifestyle theme, the wine is meant and developed to accompany the food, not necessarily to stand on its own or be all-powerful.  Montaluce celebrated their inaugural releasethis year which included a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Risata(Sangiovese Rose’), Viognier and Chardonnay.

Wolf Mountain is the first winery we ever visited after moving to Atlanta.  The views are just spectacular and their brunches, accompanied with accomplished bluegrass musicians, are infamous to those in the region.  Oh, and their award-winning winesare, well, worthy of their awards!  My favorite is the Instinct, which is a Rhone style blend of Syrah, Mourvedre, Cabernet Sauvignon and Touriga, followed closely by the Coupage, but there is something I like in each and every wine that they make.  Wolf Mountain’s wines showed well at this year’s Georgia Fine Wine Festival, which was well-represented by the owner’s son and Assistant Winemaker, Brannon Boegner.

Finally, Blackstock Vineyards, was a catalyst in the area back in the late 1990′s for showing that many varieties of Vitis Vinifera grapes could be grown and succeed in the region.  David Harris, owner of BlackStock, is also a lover of Viognier and has produced a very aromatic, crisp and satisfying version.  Additionally, BSV produces a Sangiovese Rose’ that makes a nice summertime sipper to enjoy on their deck with BBQ and local musicians overlooking the mountains as well as the ACE Family Reserve for those looking for a jammier, black fruit and herbaceous blend.

There are many other wonderful wineries in the area that are worthy of your patronage when you are in the Atlanta area.  Just check out the list linked HERE for wineries in the area and enjoy a little of the South in your mouth!

Y’all come back now, ya’hear!  And check out more local and regional wineries at DrinkLocalWine.com!