September 19, 2014
Good day to be on the road and I'm happy to be out again!I took 441 North and hung a left in Clayton onto Hwy 76. I highly recommend if the way you are ever traveling involves traversing a National Park that you think twice about the distance. No one rounds down distance like the National Park system.
This is the overlook on the way up. Nice place to stop and take a minute. Just up the road from here you still see the Georgia Wine Trail sign for Persimmon Winery, it is no longer in business, so don't bother going down those desolate roads.
Since it was so early I started at the winery furthest out and wound my way back.
Crane Creek Vineyards
916 Crane Creek RoadYoung Harris, GA
706-379-1236
http://www.cranecreekvineyards.com/
The clouds parted when I arrived and there was a nice autumn breeze blowing. No one else was visiting, but that quickly changed. For a Friday they had decent traffic.
There were a couple of dogs watching people come and go behaving like disinterested cats. Normally they would be serving tapas on Friday evening, but they were closing early this evening for a private event. It's a moderately sized elegant space for tastings and events.
Down to business. You can buy a souvenir glass with your tasting, which start at $5. This is that time of year when there's a lot of people out in the fields working and I almost feel guilty watching them work, almost.
Hightower Creek Vineyards
7150 Canaan Drive
Hiawassee, GA 30546
706-896-8963
There's a lot going on here! On the fourth Friday of each month during the summer they are hosting "Wine and Swine 'Til Nine" where they BBQ a pig and serve up beer and their wine. They also have live entertainment every Saturday.
Tastings are 5 for $5 or $1 each. They have a bunch of different products available which is why I have a photo of the "door of information."
They also have a cheese selection:
Flat Creek Lodge is a resort and cheese producer in Swainsboro, GA.
I was the only one here and really could have idled away the afternoon, but I was going to try for one more stop. Next up, Stephens County.
Couple lessons learned: 1) Despite the state issued sign still being up, Persimmon Winery is closed and has been for a long time. 2) Blackstock is being run by the bank, it was foreclosed upon, and will be producing wine again next year. 3) Monte Luce is being run by the bank too, but I couldn't tell when I was there. They occasionally put it up for sale, but no one has met the minimum. ***Update 10/31/2014, Monte Luce has been purchased and the developers are talking about adding a resort component***,
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