Dahlonega — It seems this historic gold rush town has gone from country to cool.

Day-trippers still make the 70-mile ride up Ga. 400 to gorge on fried chicken and family-style Southern fixings at the legendary Smith House, ogle the nuggets in the Gold Museum and cruise the shops around the Public Square. But there's no need to rush back to Atlanta once the sun goes down.

Dahlonega Convention & Visitors Bureau (ENLARGE)

The Wolf Mountain Winery in Dahlonega has the most picturesque setting of the areas six wineries.

Three Sisters Vineyards and Winery (ENLARGE)

The Three Sisters Vineyards and Winery hosts an annual Georgia Wine Country Festival, this year June 7-8.

Chris Hornaday / Special (ENLARGE)

Montaluce Winery & Estates is open for tours and tastings Tuesdays through Sundays.

RELATED LINKS: • See photos of the wineries • Alabama starts winery tour • More places to go in the Southeast

Musicians entertain locals and tourists most every night at Wylie's, the Crimson Moon Cafe and Shenanigan's Irish Pub. Dahlonega restaurants can serve beer, wine and liquor seven days.

Next year, you will be able to sip a pre- or post-gorge brew at the Smith House's planned pub.

If you're not up to the Smith's belt-busting home cooking, dig into the fruits of the sea at the Back Porch Oyster Bar or the continental and American cuisine at the Corkscrew Cafe.

Oysters in the mountains! However did they get here?

"When I moved here from the North Carolina coast, there wasn't any seafood," said Trish Creef, who opened the Back Porch Oyster Bar with husband Lee, a former charter boat captain, in 2003.

"I grew up on seafood, and I missed it," Trish explained on a busy weeknight in March at the snug upstairs dining room and bar, with a back porch deck that could've been airlifted, intact, from Key West, Fla., or the Outer Banks. A sea breeze seems to be the only thing missing. "So my husband and I opened this place as a kind of hobby in a former antiques store. At first we were just open Friday and Saturday night. ... Now we're open Wednesday through Sunday, and reservations are a good idea on Friday and Saturday night.

"All our oysters are from cold waters in Canada and New England," she added. "We don't serve any from the warm gulf."

Other menu items as rare as trout's teeth in mountain country are sushi, ahi tuna seared and tartare, tilapia tacos, cioppino seafood gumbo, soft-shell crab, calamari, sesame seaweed salad and fried grouper, shrimp, oyster and crab cake sammies with Trish's tangy Trashy Sauce.

A few steps off the square, the Corkscrew Cafe and Holly Theater are a tandem night on the town. Theater patrons who come for pre-performance dinner at the Corkscrew — New Zealand rack of lamb with curry orange glaze, pork loin with wild mushroom cream sauce, trout scampi, blackened or sesame-crusted tuna, New York strip or filet mignon, duck or lump crabmeat salad, with Georgia and California wines — return for après-curtain gelato, crème brûlee or ginger apple bread pudding.

From opening to closing, Rob Rutunno (a former New Yorker who owns the restaurant with wife Coleen) circles the dining room, suggesting dishes and wines. A vegetarian colleague raved about Rob's suggested eggplant medallions sautéed with mascarpone cheese, over linguine and tomato Alfredo sauce.

"We're Buckhead without the Buckhead prices and attitude," Rob told a table of first-timers.

The Holly Theater is the carrot attracting many artists and other talented people to the town of 5,000. Built in 1926, the art deco movie house was saved from destruction by a community campaign in 1990 and now hosts a year-round schedule of live theater, concerts and films.

"The principal reason for the Holly's restoration was to provide a place for our kids to be exposed to the performing arts and have a place to do their own performances," said Hal Williams, director of the Dahlonega-Lumpkin County Convention and Visitors Bureau and a Holly board member and actor-singer. "In January, our children's theater was named the nation's No. 1 children's theater at the National Performing Arts Competition. We educate over 300 young people a year. Several are now on Broadway and off-Broadway."

The lodgings picture is also looking up.

The Park Place Hotel, which opened last year in a two-story former professional building, is the first hotel right on the square. Large rooms and two-room suites are furnished with pillow-top mattresses, flat-panel TVs, Starbucks coffee and hot chocolate, Wi-Fi, fridges and wet bars. Guests receive a complimentary bottle of wine at check-in and room service breakfast or breakfast across the street at Twinkle's Cafe.

The Smith House has updated its nine guest rooms, which are a few steps from the dining room's boardinghouse tables. New amenities include flat-panel TVs, high thread-count sheets, pillow-top mattresses, modern bathrooms and comfortable contemporary furnishings. During the renovations, the Welch family, proprietors since 1946, uncovered a 30-foot 1800s gold mine shaft and a raft of artifacts, now on display. An addition of 30 guest rooms, scheduled to open in about 18 months, will include a pub with a full bar, separate from the restaurant.

"No," general manager Chris Welch said, "you won't be able to have a beer with your fried chicken. We're keeping the family tradition in the dining room."

Two other inns, Pura Vida Wellness and Yoga Retreat and Mountain Laurel Creek Inn & Spa, a few minutes outside town, offer the full range of spa treatments and luxury accommodations.

With five wineries and a sixth coming online, Dahlonega and Lumpkin County are "Georgia's New Napa."

"Wine is the new gold rush," said Doug Paul, whose 184-acre Three Sisters Vineyards and Winery is Dahlonega's first family farm winery.

"My wife, Sharon, and I found this property in 1995," Paul said. "We planted our first grapes in '98 and had our first harvest in 2000. We produce about 3,000 cases a year of chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, pinot blanc and pinot noir on our 15 acres, and we don't truck in grapes from elsewhere."

Each winery has its bragging rights.

"We're the most awarded Georgia winery," Frogtown Cellars vintner Craig Kritzer said as he poured for tourists tasting their way along Lumpkin County's Wine Country Trail. Frogtown has won 20 of the 22 medals awarded to Georgia wineries in California competitions, he said. "We have the only gold medal given to a Georgia winery, and eight silver medals."

Wolf Mountain Vineyards claims the most picturesque setting. An outdoor patio overlooking the mountains and vineyards is a popular venue for the winery's elaborate Sunday brunch, paired with Wolf Mountain's European-style dry red and white wines.

Blackstock Vineyards' covered deck, with mountains views, is a popular venue for weddings and corporate retreats.

Montaluce Winery & Estates is the newest and most elaborate Dahlonega winery. Atlanta developer Rob Beecham's romantic vision of Tuscany is built around a 23,000-square-foot hilltop winery and restaurant reminiscent of a centuries-old villa. The winery overlooks 40 acres of vineyards and "villages," with an eventual 300 Tuscan-inspired homes priced from $400,000 to $1 million or more. Tours of Montaluce's Spring Show House, Villa Rossese, will be conducted Thursdays-Sundays through May 11; proceeds benefit the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the Holly Theater in Dahlonega.

Habersham Winery, based in Helen, has a tasting room on the Dahlonega square. All Dahlonega wineries are open for tastings and tours. Because wineries are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, they're the only places in Georgia that can sell bottled wine on Sundays.

Despite all the new development around Dahlonega, the town retains the country heart that charmed tourists in the first place. You'll see some of that in its festivals.

Coming up is the Bear on the Square Festival, Friday-April 20, that features bluegrass music, Appalachian crafts, a street dance, children's activities and food vendors. The Mountain Flower Art Festival, May 17-18, has juried fine arts and crafts from regional artists, the Master Gardeners of Lumpkin County's indigenous plant sale, a wildflower display and wildflower walk, and a Garden Expo with workshops.

Later in the year, the Old-Fashioned Fourth of July Celebration is a family affair, and Gold Rush Days (Oct. 18-19) celebrates the town's heritage with a parade, gold panning contest, hog calling, buck dancing, gospel singing and other entertainment.

IF YOU GO

Getting there

Dahlonega is 70 miles north of downtown Atlanta via Ga. 400 and Ga. 60, about 1 hour and 15 minutes by car.

Where to stay

• The Smith House, 84 S. Chestatee St. Room rates, $139-$250. Family-style lunch and dinner, daily except Mondays. Ages 13 and older, $13.99-$16.95; ages 10-12, $9.95; ages 4-9, $7.75. 1-800-852-9577, www.smithhouse.com.

• Park Place Hotel, 27 S. Park St. Rates, $99-$180. 706-864-0021, www.parkplacedahlonega.com.

• Cavender Creek Cabins, 200 Beaver Dam Road, has eight one- to three-bedroom cabins with full kitchens, wood-burning fireplaces, Wi-Fi, gas grills and hot tubs, on 25 wooded acres with a stocked fishing pond and recreation lodge, four miles from town. Rates, $125-$250. 1-866-373-6307, www.cavendercreek.com.

• Lily Creek Lodge, 2608 Auraria Road, is a European-style mountain chalet, with 13 guest rooms. Decor is from Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Old West and the Antarctic. Swimming pool, hot tub, boccie court and adults' treehouse. Full breakfast, with rates of $115-$225. 1-888-844-2694, www.lilycreeklodge.com.

• Pura Vida Wellness and Yoga Retreat, 400 Blueberry Hill. Rates start at $90 per night and include breakfast. 1-866-345-4900, www.puravidausa.com.

• Mountain Laurel Creek Inn & Spa, 202 Talmer Grizzle Road, a luxury bed-and-breakfast. Rates start at $145 per night. 706-867-8134, www.mountainlaurelcreek.com.

Where to eat

• Back Porch Oyster Bar, 94 N. Public Square. Dinner from 5 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays; from noon Saturdays-Sundays. $11.50 for fried seafood sandwiches to $23.99 for blackened grouper, ahi tuna and crabcake entrees. 706-864-8623.

• Corkscrew Cafe, 51 W. Main St. Lunch and dinner daily except Mondays. Entrees from $15.95 for chicken breast stuffed with spinach and cheese to $28.95 for rack of lamb. 706- 867-8551, www.thecorkscrewcafe.com.

• Crimson Moon Cafe, 74 N. Park St. Breakfast, casual lunch, dinner, live acoustic music. Open daily except Tuesdays. 706-864-3982, www.thecrimsonmoon.com.

What to do

• Dahlonega Gold Museum State Historic Site, 1 Public Square. It tells the story of America's first gold rush, in 1828, with nuggets, coins from the Dahlonega Mint, a new film and other exhibits in the 1836 courthouse. Open daily. Adults, $4; children, $2.50. 760-864-2257, www.gastateparks.org.

• Pan for gold at Crisson Mine, 2736 Morrison Moore Parkway. 706-864-6363, www.crissongoldmine.com.

• Pan and tour the underground tunnels at Consolidated Gold Mines, U.S. 60, south of Dahlonega. 706-864-8473, www.consolidatedgoldmine.com.

Area vineyards

• Three Sisters Vineyards and Winery, 439 Vineyard Way. Seventh annual Georgia Wine Country Festival, June 7-8; check calendar for other events. 706-865-9463, www.threesistersvineyards.com.

• Frogtown Cellars, 700 Ridge Point Drive. Check for special events. 706-865-0687, www.frogtownwine.com.

• Wolf Mountain Vineyards, 180 Wolf Mountain Trail. Sixth annual Awakening of the Vines and Bluegrass Brunch, today and April 20 and 27; check calendar for other events. 706-867-9862, www.wolfmountainvineyards.com.

• BlackStock Vineyards and Winery, 5400 Town Creek Road. Check calendar for events. 706-219-2789, www.bsvw.com.

• Montaluce Winery & Estates, 501 Hightower Church Road. Opening gala was April 5. Montaluce Spring Show House, Villa Rossese, Thursdays-Sundays through May 11 (tickets $15); Sunday Jazz Brunch every Sunday through October; check calendar for other events. 706-867-4060, 1-866-991-8466; www.montaluce.com.

• Habersham Winery tasting room on Dahlonega's Public Square, 706-864-8275.

Information

• Dahlonega Convention and Visitors Bureau, 1-800-231-5543, www.dahlonega.org. The Welcome Center is open daily.