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!

The ever enlightening Jeff Lefevere at the Good Grape just completed the Top Ten issues plaguing the wine world and has provided counter arguments to each, which I thought was quite clever.  One such item that grabbed my attention was the subject of Direct Shipping or sometimes called Direct to Consumer (DTC) transactions.  Living in Georgia we have had a really tough time with alcohol legislation and to me, it seems like a no-brainer.

I threw in my two cents last night by commenting on Jeff’s post, but, then it got me thinking more about it and maybe I rushed to my conclusion too soon and thought we could extend the discussion on just this topic and see what everyone thinks.  If the 21st amendment as it relates to alcohol regulation governed by each state was relaxed, it seems to me that increased choice and availability for the consumer would result.  Additionally, it seems that wineries’ profits should increase by removing the middlemen and this also allows all of the smaller wineries to play in the reindeer games too.  So, this sounds like a win-win all the way around, no?

Now, if I try to put those 10 credits of Economics (enough to have a Minor) to use, assuming I can remember any of it, this will also increase supply, which should result in lower prices: good for consumer, maybe not so good for wine, or is it?  Again, due to disintermediation, wineries get to keep more of the money.  But, maybe this also increases demand as consumers have more wine to enjoy and learn about, but this should lead to decrease in supply which will result in the opposite of what I just said.  Hmmm…  What do you think?  DTC is good or not-so-good?

The (Nutty) Professor.

Montaluce means “mountain of light” in Italian and could very well be a beacon of hope as well for the North Georgia wine industry.  Based on the passion and dream of Rob Beecham, the COO of Beecham Builders, Montaluce Winery & Estates is a growing Tuscan community in the mountains of North Georgia  (can you say “Ciao Bella!?”) with 2 year-old vineyards and state-of-the art winery. 

They just celebrated their inaugural release of three wines made mostly, if not entirely, from Lumpkin county fruit and, boy, was I impressed.  For those history buffs, Lumpkin was a hotbed for gold back in the early 1800’s, with the town of Dahlonega now quickly becoming a hot spot for tourists and weekend Atlantans alike.

Oliver Asberger and Ed

While tasting the wines, I had an opportunity to chat with winery and vineyard manager, Oliver Asberger, who is originally from Germany.  He told me that that he was a little concerned with the Sangiovese fruit that came in during the crush and, since he is focused on producing the highest quality wine he can, decided on creating a rosé instead of going for a full red.  It seems the production level of the grapes could stand to be reduced some in his opinion, which should, in my understanding, allow more energy and effort of the vines to be directed toward a lesser number of grape clusters in the form of more optimal levels of sugar, acid and flavor, thus increasing the quality of the fruit.  I think that key decision paid off:

The 2008 Montaluce “Risata” (Sangiovese Rosé) had a nice rich, dark rose hue that was bright and lead to a strawberry and light prune nose.  The taste was crisp and fresh, with cherries, cranberries and a little thyme noticeable on the palate.  This was our favorite wine of the release by far and is probably the best rosé we’ve had in the area.  A tip-of-the-cap to Oliver and his team for such a wise decision.  We loved it so much we grabbed a full glass after the tasting and hit the deck overlooking the main vineyard to take in the warm summer afternoon with breathtaking mountain views in the background.

The 2008 Montaluce Chardonnay had traditional aromas of granny smith apples and pears with just a hint of toast and honeysuckle.  There was lemon citrus and mineral on the palate, and not as crisp as the rosé, though I am sure it wasn’t meant to be.

I am told the Viognier grape variety grows really well in this region and Montaluce followed suit with it’s first homage to this Rhone varietal.  It’s perfume aroma was not as profound as I would expect from this grape, though apricot and peach could be detected.  On the palate, the wine is well-balanced with some orange peel (or tangerine?) and citrus.  This is still something you could take to a picnic or your patio in the summer as well and quaff on any afternoon.

Overall, a nice start to the business I would say and I look forward to many more wonderful juice from Rob and Oliver in the future.

(Please note that I am currently a property owner in this community and these opinions are my own.)

What’s your take on wine festivals?  I think it’s a great opportunity for consumers to get out and meet a lot of people and get a chance to taste the wares of area winemakers all in one place.  Unfortunately, you can sometimes feel like just a number in the crowd which can taint the experience a little, depending on what you are looking for.

We went to the Georgia Fine Wine Festival today at Blackstock winery and it was a beautiful day. The food and music was fabulous (big props to The Kip Dockery Jazz Quartet), but my experience at the tasting tents of the various area wineries was mixed I must say.  I’ve been to most of the wineries that were present save for just a few (Yonah Mountain, Persimmon Creek and Sharp Mountain) and the wines were all very nice with a few really good standouts.  Unfortunately, there were just so many people there, I couldn’t help but feel like cattle being moved along as fast as possible like an assembly line through the tasting and this messed up my expectations of the “experience” I was to have this day.  Additionally, most of the folks working these tasting tents were hired help and not the winemakers themselves, except for a few.  Oh, and by the way, if you’re going have hired help pouring your wines, please instruct them never to use water to “rinse” your glass between tastings – I saw this on more than one occasion – and PLEASE make sure they engage with your potential customers!  As those of us who are vying for the Murphy Goode opportunity are continually preaching to the high heavens, it’s all about interactivity and engagement to build long-lasting relationships and ultimately evangelists, not about selling that bottle today.

For a positive example, I actually got to chat for a short while with Brannon, the assistant winemaker and son of the owner of Wolf Mountain Vineyards, Karl Boegner.  He was a very cool dude, a future’s so bright he had to wear shades stud, and explained his wines well as he poured for patrons.  He made a connection and was opened to my inquiries about various winemaking components of his wines and he easily obliged.  If it wasn’t for this one experience on the day, I may have been completely disappointed.  Thanks, Brannon!

So, festivals are nice and can be fun on a nice summer day, but if you don’t leave those patrons thinking about you, your wine or that one experience they’ll remember when they get home, you may have lost them forever.

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In keeping with the “southern” flavor, here’s the 2009 Texas Wine Festival as surveyed by Ashley Bellview of A Really Goode Girl fame:

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