Yonah Mountain Vineyards: Carefully crafting award winning wines
Sometimes destinies are stumbled upon, sometimes they take some searching out and sometimes it's a little bit of both; as is the case of how Yonah Mountain Vineyards began.
It would hardly seem that a career in the financial services industry and not being big drinkers would lead to opening a vineyard, but for Bob and Jane Miller, that's exactly what happened.
Their growing appreciation for good wine and a childhood of farming lead to the decision of finding the perfect spot in North Georgia to plant a vineyard. After searching high and low, consulting with a team from Napa Valley and the University of Georgia and working with the White County Extension Service, the Millers found a 197-acre piece of land in White County that was perfect for their vineyard during 2005.
More research found that the Chardonnay grape, as well as several reds which produce Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Sangiovese would all thrive at Yonah Mountain. A few short years later have found several of the wines from the vineyard to be award winning, thanks to the hard work of the Millers and their small staff. Yonah Mountain Vineyards now currently produces 1,800 cases of wine a year, but their goal is to up the amount to 5,000 within five years. Overall they want to keep quantity relatively small so that quality is kept up at the highest levels.
Visitors are welcomed once a month to take tours of the vineyards and winery (check the website for exact dates), but the tasting room is open 7 days a week.
"A first time visitor to our tasting room in Sautee can expect a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere with a friendly staff that will visit with you about our wines," Bob Miller said. "We provide a free four wine taste and a ten wine taste plus our wine glass for $10."
The vineyards are about one hour north of Atlanta. Yonah Mountain Vineyard staff ask that guests contact them in advance of their visit.
Posted by Christine Foster
