When we first started A Friend Afar, “research” took us on day trips from Atlanta to North Georgia to go vineyard hopping and share with you in this post. We’ve since returned to the North Georgia mountains again and again to discover new places to taste wine. It’s the perfect way to spend a Saturday with the girls, a date, a family outing, and celebrate special occasions. Actually, any reason will do! Here are five more of our favorite North Georgia wineries to visit from Atlanta!
Since Lookout Mountain and Chattanooga are only two hours away from Atlanta, it makes the perfect weekend getaway! Whether you’re looking to be active, relaxed or to experience culture, this area has a ton of great options. For a beautiful, relaxing place to stay, look no further than the Chanticleer Inn, a charming Chattanooga area inn on Lookout Mountain!
Stephanie and I love living in Atlanta for many reasons. We have so many great opportunities for activities in town, from art museums to historic sites, and there’s always a new international restaurant to try. We’re also close to so many great places in the outheast that we have a huge variety of day trip and long weekend options. This time of year, we love taking as many trips as possible to the mountains in Northeast Georgia to see the changing leaves. While we’re up there we always stop by some of the vineyards and orchards. October is the perfect time for apple picking, and we can never get enough apple goodies!
Mercier Orchards is one of the best orchards for apple picking that we’ve ever been to! In fact, we’ve visited year round for strawberry and blueberry picking. It’s located in Blue Ridge just an hour and a half north of Atlanta, and visiting in the fall has become a tradition for us. They have almost forty different apple varieties. Their bakery and shop is just as impressive as their expansive orchard. We always come home with a gallon or two of their fresh cider and at least a dozen of their fried pies. Try their blackberry and pecan pies as well as the classic apple pies!
Mercier Orchard is really, really busy on the weekend, so you might want to get there early. I love pulling up to their orchard in the morning when the fog is still lifting and the sun is starting to shine on the farm. It’s especially magical once the leaves start to change!
Stephanie’s family recently visited BJ Reece Orchard in Elijay, just a little closer to Atlanta. Here’s what her oldest sister, Melissa, had to say about their gorgeous fall day of apple picking.
“BJ Reece Orchard has ‘pick your own apples’ during the week. Carey [Stephanie’s niece] said Reece had the best petting zoo she has ever been to. It had baby cows, lots of goats, kittens, puppies, rabbits, and pigs. It was $3 for the petting zoo and $2 for the apple picking, plus whatever you picked. You can do the activities a la carte or the have packages, too. We really liked walking through the orchard and picking the apples knowing they were fresh. They had jams, jellies, cider, apple pastries, veggies, pumpkins and of course apples at the store.”
They also visited Hillcrest Orchard in Elijay. It was similar to the first two in many ways, but it also had amazing apple slushies!
There are so many great destinations for day trips out of Atlanta, and picking apples is so quintessentially fall. Have you been apple picking? What are some of your favorite orchards to visit? What do you make with the apples you get?
We know what you’re thinking. Wineries in North Georgia? Really? But yes, friends, North Georgia has been in the vineyard scene for a while now, and the offerings are quite impressive. While we haven’t been to all the wineries here yet, these are a few of our favorite North Georgia Vineyards that we’ve visited and would recommend as a day trip from Atlanta or a short weekend getaway.
This Dahlonega vineyard has one of the most picturesque views from its outside patio. You can lunch on delicious paninis from the Bistro Café while looking out on the vineyard and lake with the mountains in the background. The tasting is $15 for a flight of 7 white or red wines.
I love the name of this vineyard first off since I’m one of three sisters. It’s just around the corner from Frogtown Cellars but has a totally different, more country feel. I have a wine glass at home from a tasting that says “Thar’s wine in them thar hills” which perfectly describes the vibe of Three Sisters. My favorite wine is the Fat Boy Red but Blood Mountain Red is a close second especially paired with Cheetos! You can taste 4 for $10. They always seem to be having events and live music so definitely check out their calendar beforehand. They also have wine slushies and beer on tap.
We’ve only been to this vineyard once but we enjoyed the rustic feel, laid back tasting room, and live music on the patio outside. You can taste any four wines for $5 and mix reds and whites. We loved the informal atmosphere and that the symbol of the winery is a cute donkey (#donkeywine on Instagram).
Wolf Mountain Vineyard
This vineyard is a favorite of ours to eat at. The WMV Vineyard salad and fig, prosciutto, and pear pizza lunch menu items at the Vineyard Café are to die for and the $30 Sunday brunch is well worth it. Make sure you check the website for the monthly theme of the brunch and make reservations since they’re required! The tastings cost $15 for 6 pours and we recommend taking home the Chantelope.
Hightower Creek Vineyards
Meagan’s parents helped their family friends start this vineyard, and it’s located in her beautiful hometown of Hiawassee. They’re about to celebrate their three year anniversary next week and wines like Deliverance and Chatuga White are definitely worth celebrating! Plus, they have delicious wine slushies and offer live music and wine dinners as special events.
We used Southern Living and the Dahlonega Wine Trail page on Dahlonega’s site to plan our trip!
