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

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.

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. 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.

-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.