White County

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

We set out late for the Sautee area because Yonah Mountain, Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards, Habersham Winery, and The Cottage Winery had hours posted for Wednesdays.  Turns out only two of them were actually open.  This did not ruin the day because the weather and company were good.  Sam and Quip Peppers joined me which allowed us to test the family friendliness of the establishments.

Habersham Winery

7025 South Main Street
Helen, GA 30545
(706) 878-9463
www.habershamvineyards.com
also on Facebook and Instagram

When we were kids riding to our vacation spot in North Carolina this little cluster of white buildings meant we were almost in Helen and that was a sign of hope.  We may not have to spend eternity in the car and the candy shop was around the corner!
Today I brought Sam and "Quip", almost a year old, with me and there were eight other patrons here at noon.  My plan had been to get here at 10a.m. when they opened but when you travel with Sam you can't be tied to the clock and now that she has spawned, well, I'm lucky we made it.  Good news is she is excellent company and Quip was in a good mood. 

 Tastings are free for the first four.  The difference between Habersham Estate and Creekstone is that Habersham is aged in American Oak and Creekstone in Hungarian Oak.  Habersham carries wines from other wineries as well.  It's a large store and since we had a little one with us I did notice that there are no changing tables in the restrooms.  There was what looked like a large woven laundry basket that served the purpose.

After leaving here we went over to Sautee just to find that despite what was posted on their websites, Yonah Mountain and Sautee Nacoochee were closed.  Sam insists that I mention that there was a repair company van in front of Yonah, so they may have been having problems beyond their control.

The Cottage Vineyards and Winery

5050 Hwy 129 North
Cleveland, GA 30528
 34°38'12.29"N    83°49'47.66"W
706-865-0053
www.cottagevineyardwinery.com

I don't typically include the GPS coordinates but, due to the way that street addresses are numbered on Hwy 129, this is the easiest way to find it via GPS.   Beyond that, it is between five (map) and eight (Siri) miles north of the town square of Cleveland and is on the right.  If you are traveling north, we saw a sign with just a cluster of grapes on it just before the driveway.
This property has a lot of potential and the owners have a good deal of plans for the immediate future.  I will tell you though, if you are seriously scared of heights, this may not be the place for you.  I'll bring Mom up here in the near future and give it the litmus test. It's all new so it's shiny and smells like fresh cut wood.  There are Goldfish crackers on the bar and cartoons on the TV, happy kids, happy Mommy!  

Tastings are 5 for $7 and 8 for $10.  They also carry selections from Curahee Vineyards and "wine slushies."  This is a location where I could sit for days.  Great breezes and panoramic views make this a good spot to hang out. There's binoculars so you can look out over the fields and mountains.  And, yes, the bartender is literally seven feet tall.