Nine vineyards and wineries spread out across the Northeast Georgia mountain landscape provide multiple destinations for a driving and tasting tour of Georgia burgeoning wine industry. View an interactive map showing the locations of all nine wineries on the tour. Photo by Blackstock Vineyards.

A driving tour of Georgia wine country is the perfect way to explore the Northeast Georgia mountains while at the same time sampling the award-winning wines at the nine Georgia vineyards and wineries that are members of the Wine Growers Association of Georgia.

The Northeast Georgia Mountains combine the perfect terrain, soil, drainage, and elevation necessary for vineyards to produce wines that reveal a “sense of place,” or terroir, which separates the wines of the region from those made in other geographically diverse regions. The soil composition is very much like that of Italy’s Piedmont region, which produces some of the most prestigious wines in the world.

All of the wineries on the tour are members of the Winegrowers Association of Georgia, a non-profit corporation organized to promote and market Georgia wines, to improve the market environment for Georgia wines, to increase public awareness of Georgia wines, and to facilitate research in Georgia viticultural and vinification techniques to improve already noteworthy Georgia wines. Annual members must qualify with a minimum of five acres in Georgia of vinifera or French-American grapes in production, or with a minimum of 1,000 cases of wine produced annually from Georgia-grown vinifera or French-American grapes.

Links:

• Read a feature blog about Habersham Vineyards and Winery.
• View profiles of all nine vineyards and wineries on the tour, as well as other Georgia vineyards and wineries.
• View an interactive map showing the locations of all nine wineries on the driving tour.
• Download a copy of the 2009 Georgia Wine Association Brochure.
• Read more about the Winegrowers Association of Georgia.
• Find places to eat in Northeast Georgia.
• Find places to stay in Northeast Georgia.

Habersham’s Stonepile Vineyard. Located north of Clarkesville, Stonepile is Habersham’s original and oldest vineyard with plantings dating to 1980. Current plantings of about 30 acres yield 125 tones yearly on average. 

Producing Georgia wines since 1983, Habersham is one of Georgia’s oldest and largest wineries.

Some of the finest award-winning Georgia Wines have been produced at Habersham Vineyards and Winery since 1983. Over 150 medals have been awarded to Habersham Wines in both national and international competitions. The Winery was located in Baldwin, Georgia until November 1998 when construction on a new facility was completed at Nacoochee Village in Helen, Georgia.

Complimentary Tastings and Self-Guided Tours
The winery is open daily for complimentary tastings and self guided tours. In addition to a large selection of Georgia grown and produced wines, the tasting room also features a gift shop with gourmet foods and wine specialty gift items.

Tour Nacoochee Village
The winery is located one half mile south of Alpine Helen in the Nacoochee Village (pictured at right with Habersham Winery in the foreground). In addition to being the home of Habersham Winery, the Village is home to an historic grist mill, antiques, shopping, dining, cabin rental, and flyfishing. At Nacoochee Village, not only will your family enjoy a visit of the winery, but the other unique shops that are part of the Village.

Links:
Read more about Habersham Vineyards and Winery.
Read more about Nacoochee Village.

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 Georgia > Northeast Region >Lumpkin County > Dahlonega

From the back decks at Blackstock Vinyards and Winery , you get a splendid view of the North Georgia mountains. Wine may be the heart of this business but the owners know about hosting events, from parties to weddings to other occasions.  

BlackStock Vineyards and Winery, producing Georgia wine in the beautiful Dahlonega mountains of North Georgia, provides an atmosphere that is warm, relaxing, and friendly.

Enjoy sweeping views of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the panorama of lush vineyards, while experiencing some of the best wines in the Southeast.

Whether on our covered-deck among the vines or in our Appalachian-style lodge, Blackstock provides an incredible backdrop for a true Appalachian-Mountain experience, lingering over a glass of wine and often enjoying live bluegrass, blues, or folk music.

BlackStock Vineyards, the first of the current vineyards in the Dahlonega area, was founded by formally-trained winemaker David Harris, a 20+ year pioneer in Georgia wine. After a decade dedicated to evolving a vineyard, BlackStock now offers an estate winery for your pleasure. Enjoy spectacular views of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the panorama of lush vineyards, while experiencing some of the best wines in the Southeast.

We produce hand-crafted complex wines that cater to the serious enthusiast, but with a sense of balance that is both easily approachable and enjoys wide appeal. Our goal in the tasting room is to provide an educational experience for those with a passion to learn more about wine in a very relaxed, down-to-earth environment.

Enjoy a glass of port and the warm atmosphere of our Appalachian-style lodge with its unique three-sided “stovepipe” fireplace and expansive window views of the Blue Ridge. Or enjoy the cool summer breezes and a glass of White Merlot on our 2,000 square-foot covered deck. We offer deli selections daily, with fresh baked goods and live music often featured on weekends.

The winery specializes in private events from formal weddings of up to 200 to informal luncheons on our vineyard deck. We also offer a unique weekday meeting environment for corporate retreats with optional team-building programs. Our stone encased cellar provides another unique venue for a more intimate affair, accented by a waterfall feature that naturally humidifies over a hundred barrels.

All BlackStock wines are currently made exclusively from estate grown grapes produced from the winery property. The Harris family believes that wine is made in the vineyard, and our wines represent specific field selections grown to fulfill their particular niche and style. While the cellar practices are meticulous and detail-oriented, the emphasis is on gentle handling and minimal intervention. The real differences are derived from how our wine grapes are managed in the vineyard.

Links:

• Read more about Blackstock Vineyards and Winery.

 Georgia > Northeast Region > Rabun County > Tiger

Tiger Mountain Vineyards at sunrise. Tiger Mountain’s fine dry wines reflect the rich berry, cherry and apple flavors of a region of Georgia known for its fruit growing.

Tiger Mountain Vineyards is nestled on a hillside high up in Rabun County, on the rocky, sunny slopes of the North Georgia Mountains. Our vineyard is small, the vines individually tended, and the grapes hand-picked for quality. Our red wines are barrel-aged 18 to 24 months. Visit the vineyards and enjoy barrel-room tastings!

Tiger Mountain’s fine dry wines reflect the rich berry, cherry and apple flavors of a region known for its fruit growing. Our winemaking philosophy is to enhance the natural characteristics of the grape itself, to interfere with its distinctive aromas and flavors as little as possible. That is one reason why most of our wines are varietals - more than 75 percent a single grape. (Thumbnail photo at right is Martha Ezzard, left, and Leckie Stack with harvest grapes. Photo below is Dr. John Ezzard, right, with former winery partner Bill Stack).

Dr. John Ezzard and former winery partner, Bill Stack, after a year of experimentation, began making wine in 1999 with the seven unusual varieties of European vinifera - and the American Norton - that Ezzard selected to plant after much study about east coast viticulture. Recently, Dr. Carl Fackler, who has studied wine making in California and is contributing grapes from his new Stonewall Creek Vineyards in Tiger, added his expertise. With the addition of wine consultants, Tiger Mountain wines are certain to reach a new level of distinction. Winery manager Jabe Hilson, who joined Tiger Mountain in January of 2008, is known for his precision and spends long hours of tedious topping and monitoring in the barrel room to help perfect the aging processes.

After crushing, the grapes begin fermentation in open-top tanks where the grape skins, “caps,” rise to the top and are gently punched down by hand with wooden paddles. After several weeks, the grapes are pressed, and the fermented juice is transferred to oak barrels for aging. Red wines are aged 18 to 24 months in a temperature controlled barrel room before bottling. The white wines undergo cold stabilization and are aged up to six months in neutral French oak.

Tiger Mountain Vineyards takes great pride in its handcrafted wines, adhering to the belief that winemaking is as much an art as it is a science.

Links:

• Read more about Tiger Mountain Vineyards.

Georgia > Northeast > White County > Sautee-Nacoochee

Yonah Mountain Vineyards new tasting room in Sautee-Nacoochee is open and welcoming the public.

Yonah Mountain Vineyards is located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains at Yonah Mountain between Cleveland and Helen. While the vineyard itself is not open to the public, the tasting room in Sautee-Nacoochee is.

Combine a visit to the new Yonah Mountain Vineyard tasting room with a driving tour of other North Georgia mountain vineyards.

Links

• Read more about Yonah Mountain Vineyards
• Take a driving tour of North Georgia mountains vineyards.

The Vineyard at Frogtown Cellars. Frogtown Cellars is one of 10 wineries and vineyards on this do-it-yourself driving, tasting and shopping tour of northeast Georgia wine country.

Georgia has a long and colorful history of vineyards and wineries dating back to the 1800s and before. But state and national prohibition laws shut down the industry in the early 1900s, and it’s only in recent years that it has started to make a comeback.

The Wine Growers Association of Georgia produces a Georgia Wine Highway map available on the Georgia Wine Country website that inlcudes wineries and vineyards all over the state. It allows you to create your own driving tour to 10 or more wineries in the scenic northeast corner, including Blackstock Vineyards, Chateau Elan, Crane Creek Vineyards, Frogtown Cellars, Habersham Winery, Montaluce Winery, Persimmon Creek Winery, Sharp Mountain Vineyards, Tiger Mountain Vineyards and Wolf Mountain Vineyards.

Links

• If you like this Georgia Wine Country Tour, chances are you’ll want to read about the driving tour of Folk Potters of Northeast Georgia in the same Georgia Travel Region.