Dahlonega is at the heart of North Georgia’s wine country, a region with award-winning wines and breathtaking mountain views. This small town has the highest concentration of wineries, vineyards, and tasting rooms in Georgia, with a total of 8 wineries and 12 tasting rooms.
Here are some of Dahlonega’s best wineries and tasting rooms.
Frogtown Cellars
Frogtown Cellars has a lush setting with a koi pond at the front entrance and a wide open tasting room that overlooks their vineyards and a pond. The vineyard was founded in 1998 in an area carefully selected for its quality wine grape production and its beautiful mountain views. The vineyard and winery complex sits on 57 acres at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains.
Frogtown is one of the most awarded wineries in the region: Since 2010, they have been awarded 2 Platinum, 36 Gold, 82 Silver and 92 Bronze Medals. They offer different red and white varieties from their North Georgia vineyard as well as Muscadines from their South Georgia vineyard. All of their wines are made under “French Rules” and do not add back any sugar to their dry wines.
Kaya Vineyard & Winery
Kaya Vineyard & Winery is the largest winery in Dahlonega. They have an incredible set up with a Tasting Room with 12-foot windows and a 2,000 square-foot covered deck overlooking its vineyards and the North Georgia Mountains. There are tables set up all around the property, so you can enjoy your wine anywhere you’d like, even among the vines.
Kaya’s wines are made from mostly estate-grown grapes. For whites, they grow Chardonnay, Viognier, Muscat, Albarino; and for reds, they grow Touriga, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. They hand-harvest their grapes and gently press them in their facility.
If you want to stay on the property, they offer Kaya Cottages that come with garden views and fully-equipped kitchens.
For more fun things to do in Dahlonega, check out this post.
Montaluce Winery
A visit to Montaluce Winery & Restaurant is like taking a trip to a Tuscan vineyard, without having to ever leave Georgia. A beautiful Italian-style villa with large windows overlooking their vineyards and pond houses their award-winning restaurant.
Montaluce chose this location in the North Georgia Mountains for the constant fluctuation and unpredictable weather, which provides a longer growing season, ideal for cultivating many complex flavors.
You can enjoy a meal and a glass of wine inside the cozy restaurant or out on their spacious 2-level patio with a vineyard view. They also offer villa rentals in beautiful Tuscan villas on the property.
Canvas and Cork Wine Tasting
Located just a couple blocks off of Dahlonega’s historic Square, Canvas and Cork is an art gallery that offers wine tastings, art classes, and wine and paint parties. Their wines come from Gin Creek Vineyards in South Georgia, which offers a wide array of tastes from sweet to dry using heirloom variety grapes as well as traditional Muscadines.
They offer a full menu of wines for tastings, by the glass, or by the bottle. You can enjoy a glass on their homey front porch or in their gallery where you explore the local artwork.
Dahlonega Tasting Room
Dahlonega Tasting Room on the Square is unique in that it offers not only wine tastings but mead tastings as well. This tasting room features wines from Habersham Vineyards & Winery in Helen as well as mead from Etowah Meadery in Dahlonega.
This place isn’t just for wine-lovers. They also sell cute honeybee home décor, garden decorations, drinking games, Braves and Georgia items, and wine accessories.
Grapes & Ghosts Tasting Room
The Grapes & Ghosts Tasting Room just off the Square serves wine from Georgia Winery and Vineyard in Ringgold. The tasting room is run by the people who do Dahlonega Walking Tours, which is known for their ghost tours, so you can enjoy a drink while you wait for your tour to start.
You can enjoy a tasting, glass, or bottle on their airy porch with a view of the Square or inside their ghoulishly decorated lounges. Many of their wines are sweet, made with Muscadines that thrive in the South.
Naturally Georgia Wine Tasting
Naturally Georgia at the Bleu Gallery on the Square offers wine tastings from multiple Georgia vineyards and boasts the largest Georgia Grown wine list in the world. You can choose tastings, glasses, and bottles from more than 40 local wines.
Their featured wineries include Engelheim Vineyards in Ellijay, Crane Creek Vineyards in Young Harris, Currahee Vineyards in Toccoa, Boutier Winery in Danielsville, High Tower Creek Vineyards in Hiawassee, and Paulk Vineyards in Wray.
You’ll find Naturally Georgia at the Bleu Art Gallery in the Hall House, one of Dahlonega’s most haunted buildings, which it shares with the Hall House Hotel and the Bourbon Street Grille. Maybe you won’t see any ghosts, but you will definitely see some amazing local art and have the opportunity to mingle with the 20+ resident artists who create everything from paintings to jewelry to wood work.
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