Tag Archives: Georgia wine

A New Wine Vineyard in Elbert County

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Elberton, GA |

Once the sixth largest wine producing state in the country, Georgia has really seen an industry resurgence over the past decade with new wineries opening up every year. And one of the newer ones is Blue Cielo Farms in Elberton. It’s a business idea that came about while tending to some land on a completely different property.

“One day we were spraying the tree farm in Commerce and we came across some grapes. And it was a really hot summer day, and I was getting really tired of spraying these weeds and what not on the tree farm. And so, when we came across these grapes, I said ‘wow, why are we getting rid of these grapes? Let’s just grow them,'” says Cassandra Wiseman, owner of Blue Cielo Farms.

That was the beginning of the Wisemans journey into grapes, which eventually lead to the purchase of this property ten years later. And while there was some initial hesitation to expand their business, it was an opportunity they just couldn’t pass up after speaking with the owner Helen Lyman, who was looking to continue her late husband’s dream of opening up a winery in Elbert County.

“We just really bonded with her and just had a sort of kinship and, it sounds a little bit trite, but I just felt that there was a connection and that maybe this is what we were really supposed to do was to take over this property as she was furiously searching for someone to take it over and continue her husband, Dale Lyman’s dream rather than turning it into pasture and just building houses,” says Cassandra.

In February of 2023, that dream officially became a reality as this thirty-three-acre farm, which grows eleven different varieties of grapes, was opened to the public. It’s a labor of love that doesn’t come without plenty of hard work and patience.

“Really, the weekends I’m spending in the vineyard on Saturdays and Sundays really tending to the vines. It’s a lot of fun, but it is a lot of work and it’s very gratifying going from pruning right through to harvest. They come with challenges. Muscadines grow easiest I would say, here in Georgia. On the hybrid side, the viticulturists and specialists have done an amazing job of coming up with varieties; hybrid vinifera that grows well here in Georgia. We have a lot of red clay here on this property. It holds the moisture, the Ph levels are pretty decent, but with the right vineyard management program you can grow grapes very successfully that produce wonderful wines here in Georgia,” says Gary Wiseman.

Those wines are on full display here at Blue Cielo Farms, along with a relaxed atmosphere and plenty of views. It’s a little slice of heaven that inspired the name, which is an homage to Cassandra’s previous job as a Spanish teacher.

“So, I wanted to bring that with me into my new career. That’s where I came up with the name Cielo. Cielo means sky or heaven, and so, that’s why we call it Blue Cielo. We believe that Cielo means tranquility, optimism, and serenity. So, that’s what we try to carry in our brand and at our winery,” says Cassandra.

By: Damon Jones

Georgia’s Growing Wine & Muscadine Production

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Acworth, GA |

It’s long been said that preparation is the key to success. And with so many different factors to consider both in and away from the field, that certainly applies to starting up your own winery. It’s why the Georgia Wine Producers put on this New Grape Growers Symposium twice a year in order to give those interested both the information and confidence to make that leap.

“Definitely do it, but get an education first. Know what you’re heading into. Know the laws and rules and regulations in your locale before you even put a shovel into the ground,” says Jane Miller, President of the Georgia Wine Producers.

“Local legislation is always important. How cooperative is your county or it’s not so often how cooperative they are, it’s just how much do they actually know? A lot of times, our wineries will have to introduce the idea of what we’re doing to the local legislatures. As soon as they see what we’re actually doing and how we’re impacting the community, then they’re really open to it most of the time,” says Bill Cox, VP of Georgia Wine Producers.

That planning also applies to which varieties you are hoping to grow, as both the climate and soil conditions will go a long way in determining which grapes will be most successful.

“One of the things that can be a downfall as we all are learning this process is if you plant stuff in the ground and then start researching what you need to do for that, a lot of the times the soil can be a very big difference. If you already have your grapes in the ground and you already have your trellis system in the ground, you can’t adjust your soil very much. We have a lot of acidic soils, a lot of compact soils that if you do not break that up and mix in some Lyme in order to make sure it’s a little bit more conducive to what the grapes need, you suffer on the long term,” says Dr. Sarah Lowder, UGA Viticulture Extension Specialist.

Despite all the work that goes into educating yourself, that hasn’t stopped a growing number of people from fulfilling their dream of opening up a winery, as they can now be found all over the state.

“Now, there’s almost a hundred wineries. We’re not quite sure. There’s around a hundred wineries in Georgia growing everything from vinifera, muscadine, fruit wines, Norton and Linus, Blanc to Blanc, some of the so called Native American grapes and we have wineries from Blairsville at the top of the state to Valdosta at the bottom of the state. So, it’s really an interesting time to be in Georgia,” says Miller.

That’s good news not just for the agricultural industry, but for the entire economy as well, with many rural areas of the state now becoming a destination thanks to its growing popularity.

“People want to go to a winery, but they want to go to five or six wineries in a weekend a lot more. So, if we can get more friends into this and more people involved, then all the supporting things also come with it, nicer hotels, restaurants, bed and breakfasts, all this other really cool stuff. So, when people come out to the wineries, they get to enjoy all of that and the whole community benefits,” says Cox.

By: Damon Jones

Wine & Grape Producers Discuss Assessment Vote

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Ellijay, GA

Recently in Ellijay, wine producers from across the state gathered for their annual meeting – a time of fellowship, learning, and business. This year, growers were able to learn about and discuss a ten cent per liter assessment on wine produced and sold here in Georgia that will be voted on in the coming weeks – something Eric Seifarth, Board Member for the Georgia Wine and Grapes Commission says is not a tax, but an opportunity that would help advance the industry.

“This is an opportunity for a commodity, in our case, the wine production commodity to generate income that is exclusively for our own use, and that money is derived by a cents per liter assessment for each and every producer of wine in the state, and that assessment would go to a fund that could be used by the entire industry to do things they want,” says Seifarth. “Our desire is to create a advisory board that would be under the commodity board, and that would be the, the basically where it would connect to all the growers within the state.”

Producers last voted on the assessment back in 2021 but was voted down nineteen to thirty-one. However, Seifarth believes it’s time to try again, as he says the industry can’t continue to grow without it.

“Georgia is still a new wine growing region,” says Seifarth. “There are still plenty of people in the state, and particularly in large urban areas who may vaguely know about the Georgia wine industry or know nothing about the Georgia wine industry. So, we’re looking for opportunities to market it and make that even clearer; that not only are we a wine region, we’re a wine region that’s making very high quality wines and is certainly an option when the Georgia buyer has to make choices of what they do with their entertainment money and we’re there for them to provide that.”

As a grower himself, Seifarth believes the most important argument for the assessment is so they can fund research that would help improve the industry – something he says has been needed since he started his operation more than two decades ago.

“When I started, there was nothing in the state of Georgia to support a wine grower,” says Seifarth. “There was no research, there was really no academic backing to it, no information pool that I could go to. So, what did I do? I had to scrounge from neighboring states and their information pools, and their research, which may or may not be exactly applicable to what we’re doing here in Georgia. Research can be very, very expensive. Universities or organizations are hesitant to do critical research unless an organization is willing to put up some money themselves. In Georgia, we have a plethora of issues that affect our growing of wine grapes; be they pest, be they climate change, whatever they are and we need help from academics to figure out how to best go forward.”

The vote for the assessment is set for sometime in Mid-March.

By: John Holcomb