By WTF?

December 20, 2007 8:46 AM | Link to this

I think “Southern whine” is a lot closer to the truth. But no, I have not had a wine from the south that was all that great.

By Little

December 20, 2007 8:46 AM | Link to this

Yes: Inclination, a really nice blended white from Frogtown Winery in Dahlonega.

By lovelyliz

December 20, 2007 8:56 AM | Link to this

I thought Sweet tea was Southern wine.

By Lee

December 20, 2007 8:59 AM | Link to this

Actually, I quite enjoy the Riesling made at the Vanderbilt mansion in Asheville, NC. And the Carlos wine of Eastern NC ain’t bad, neither.

By Todd

December 20, 2007 9:19 AM | Link to this

“Had anything from the South that’s worth buying again?” Certainly not the commie lib AJC. That is what little there is worth reading online.

By Atlanta Pearl Girl

December 20, 2007 9:49 AM | Link to this

Tiger Mountain Vineyards!

I love this quote:

‘My mother used to always say Southerners are just like everyone else…just more so.”

By Don Panoz

December 20, 2007 10:01 AM | Link to this

“Southern wine” is not an oxymoron, but whoever wrote that headline is a plain old moron. When grapes rot wine is formed, so the swill marketed by Chateau Elan et al. is most definitely wine. It’s just not good wine. Anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of viticulture can tell you why the south is unsuitable for producing a superior product. It doesn’t take an oenologist to find fault with the soil and climate. Chateau Elan has few acres in cultivation, and the grapes produced are few in number and low in quality. IOW, the place is a complete fraud. It’s merely a tourist trap for golfers, lunkheads and snobs.

By Shawn D.

December 20, 2007 10:07 AM | Link to this

I’m really a beer guy, but I do like what Three Sisters Vineyard has to offer. I’ve made a few trips up there to attend their little festivals and to buy gifts for folks. I especially like that the proprietors (Sharon and Doug) don’t run a snooty operation.

By Eric

December 20, 2007 10:13 AM | Link to this

Reds from extreme climates are actually better for you than anything that comes out of the South. Grapes that have evolved to flurish in extreme climates produce many different compounds that protect them from the extreme sun that they are exposed to. These compounds are extremely heart-healthy (anti-oxidants and related compounds).

Wines from extreme regions of South America (Chile in particular) contain more anti-oxidants and heart-loving compounds than anything you will get out of the United States.

By Dawg4 life

December 20, 2007 10:26 AM | Link to this

Sweet Tea is Southern Table Wine!!

By South 40

December 20, 2007 10:59 AM | Link to this

I’m a native Georgian who had the pleasure of living in the Northern California wine country for a time.

I can say I’ve had some good wines made in the South. But for the most part I like my wine from the West Coast, my beer from the Midwest and my whiskey from the South.

By Don Gill

December 20, 2007 11:11 AM | Link to this

Americans at large are not wine conoseurs. And to appear sophisticated they often pay too much for their wines. In 1976 I worked on 2 “cheap” wines for the purposes of advertising. Widmer (NY State)and Gallo. You would be surprised at how well they tested against much more expensive wines when their labels were not revealed (in hundreds of tests). America’s largest selling wine at the time was “Blue Nun”, a consensus poor wine by wine experts. Research shows that a number of excellent table wines have been produced in America in the last few decades. Often competing well against much more expensive wines. I haven’t tried GA wines but I wonder how well they would do if their labels weren’t revealed. Eropeans, especially the French, drink many inexpensive and good “table wines” that are cheap by price standards. But they know the difference. The question is, “How much of the difference is in our heads?” We, Americans, are more sophisticated now than in ‘76. But how many of us can really tell the difference?

By bevino

December 20, 2007 1:23 PM | Link to this

Sounds like some of you need to visit some wineries before you pass judgement- First of all,they are fun and so much cheaper than Oregon and California. $5-10 for tastes of multiple wines and in many cases you get to keep the glass! Now as for the vinyeards Blackstock- their chard is good for newbies- unoaked and more like a sav or viognier in body Three Sisters lower end wine I am not too crazy about but the people there are the best. Their are so friendly and fun, not pretending to be something they are not. Tiger Mountain has some very good reds and the proprietors are very kind as well and Frogtown, their Cab Franc and some of their blends are wonderful and are showing a complexity that rivals Coppola Icon or their Pinot For all you people who snob Georgia, just remember there are millions who snob you for drinking California

By td

December 20, 2007 1:33 PM | Link to this

Tried the Chateau Elan wine once. NEVER AGAIN. The climate in Georgia is all wrong for growing wine grapes. Why vineyards even try to make wine in Georgia, I have no idea.

Oregon wines, however, are amazing.

By bevino

December 20, 2007 2:06 PM | Link to this

visiting oregon vineyards was disappointing and the pinot pinot pinot was exasperating. The French still do it best. Well the people who own the vineyards in France do it best (i.e. Rothschilds…german jewish banking family)

By Alan

December 20, 2007 2:28 PM | Link to this

I have several GA wines in my collection. Overall, they are what you would expect from a GA winery - good but not great. I think the best part of GA wines is the ability to drive a few hours and tour/taste at the wineries. Some of the wines can be a little pricey and not necessarily worth it. Others are. One grape that grows well here is Cabernet Franc. Check out wines with this grape when you visit some of our wineries. You might be surprised!

By Jeff

December 20, 2007 2:36 PM | Link to this

I humored some friends on a trip to N.GA for a “wine tasting”. I was blown away with the improved quality. Google “Georgia Wine Highway”. Visit Three Sister and Frogtown (next door), Wolf Mountain (excellent brunch in addition to wine. And if staying over night, check out Mountain Laurel Creek Inn, Bed and Breakfast.

By lovelyliz

December 20, 2007 2:42 PM | Link to this

The deep South produces many good things, but a consistently good wine is not one of them. The weather isn’t favorable long enough. Too hit and miss.

By ron

December 20, 2007 3:10 PM | Link to this

By lopro

December 20, 2007 3:57 PM | Link to this

I’m with ron; Nevermind what anyone else thinks. Try it for yourself. If you like it then great. I’ve had some good Georgia wines and some poor ones and some good French, Californian, Oregonian, Chilean, South African etc. wines and some poor ones.

I think in Georgia the extremity of the weather plays the biggest role in taste making each year’s vintage fun to try.

BTW, I’ve had a great Reisling from Habersham Winery and several varieties from Wolf Mountain.

Saying all Georgia wines are poor is pure snobbery, probably from our newer inhabitants of the “so wonderful I had to leave it” North.

By BPJ

December 20, 2007 4:50 PM | Link to this

I’ve had good wines from two Georgia winemakers: Tiger Mountain and Habersham. Nothing great yet, but good. The best southern wines I’ve tasted were from Virginia. We will see continued improvement in this region.

By Jim

December 20, 2007 5:15 PM | Link to this

I sit on a curb and drink cheap read wine.

I admit I have no culture but I do draw a line when it comes to Southern wine. I have not had one drink of Southern wine that I felt tasted good.

Carlo Rossi has a wonderful red wine that he calls Pisano. Now, that is a really great cheap red wine. It even beats Two Buck Chuck.

By dranger

December 21, 2007 12:24 PM | Link to this

I am no wine expert by no means, but if you enjoy drinking it that is the most important thing. My wife and I have just started drinking wine in the past 2 1/2 years and are finding out by trial and error what we like and dislike. We have done tastings at several Southern vineyards and bought wines from them. The Applewood Winery in Sevierville Tennessee, the one down the street in Pigeon Forge that has Mountain in it, we purchased Apple, Peach, Blackberry, Apple Strawberry and Muscadine wines from them that we enjoyed and also add a little of them to desserts that we make to give them that little extra bit of background flavor. The Chateau Elan wines are good, more for dessert wines, such as their Summer wine, but their Muscadine wine is good also. The Biltmore I enjoyed also, more as a tour. Also you have got to keep in mind guys that the most popular wines in California are coming out of a little place called Trader Joe’s. THAT’S RIGHT!!! TWO BUCK CHUCK!!! I buy it to both drink and cook with. Also keep in mind that one of the most popular cooking wines is also one of the cheapest, Marsala, available for $4.99 or so at your local grocery store. So keep you snobbery to yourself.

By granda

December 21, 2007 12:35 PM | Link to this

I agree about the chateau elan swill. It is the worst I have ever tasted anywhere in the world. In my opinion, grapes fermented in oak or other wood barrels are wine. Those fermented like Chateau Elan in steel barrels are kinda forced wines. they do not taste natural and should be given some other name, just not wine. How about moonshine? oh hang on, that name has been taken. The only difference is that moonshine is distilled, Chateau Elan just skipped that step

By Lucille Willoughby

December 21, 2007 1:49 PM | Link to this

I think the South could be the center for what I call “folk” wines. Our ancestors made a wide variety of wines, not just the standard reds & whites. Elderberry, dandelion, peach, apple, strawberry—-all these have their places. Just TRY and find elderberry wine (at least labeled as such), much less dandelion. If microbreweries can bring back old beer/ale recipes,I see no reason why mom & pop wineries can revive “folk” wines.

By Mark

December 21, 2007 3:09 PM | Link to this

The best wines come from the finger lakes region in upstate NY. The only wines with high sales in the south are Thunderbird, and night train.

By jeed

December 21, 2007 4:44 PM | Link to this

LMAO @ Mark’s comment.

By BNUTS

December 24, 2007 9:03 AM | Link to this

For those who think Georgia doesn’t have climate for grapes, I guess you must be right…or are you? Consider that best remembered wines are those that don’t come every year like California. Anybody can make wine there. The true art is found in less hospitable climates. Tuscany has red clay like Georgia. They just deal with it. That is why they plant on slopes. Sure it is humid, but that is why they plant on southwest facing slopes…to get breeze and sun to dry quickly. Wine is in its infancy in Georgia. For its short time it is doing pretty well and as new wineries come online it will prosper.