Butterducks Winery, Lane Southern Orchards Store, Fort Valley, GA

It is unusual to find a winery in a Georgian peach orchard store. But Butterducks wines have been offering tastings at the back of Lane Southern Orchards' store for some time. Lane sells peaches to Butterducks (Guyton based) for wine and in turn Butterducks sells wine in the Fort Valley peach store.

Lane Southern Orchards, location of Butterducks
Winery store, Fort Valley, GA

This year they have a new wine called Red Decoy. It is made with fifty percent grape juice, twenty-five percent blueberry juice and twenty-five percent blackberry juice. It is a pleasant, medium-bodied, semi-dry red that goes well with chocolate.

They also have old favorites from dry wines to super-sweet dessert wines. They use vinifera bunch grapes, muscadine grapes, and different types of berries and peaches to make their wine.

There are many places in Georgia to buy their wine according to their website.

For more information you can visit Lane Southern Orchards at 50 Lane Rd, Fort Valley, GA or go to www.butterduckswinery.com

 

Le Vigne Restaurant, Dahlonega, GA: Local Gourmet Food

Le Vigne Restaurant at Montaluce Winery & Estates, Dahlonega, Georgia, is a gourmet food destination. It is under the culinary leadership of two amazing chefs: Austin Roconni (27) Chef du Cuisine, and Sean Fritchle (23) Sous Chef. 


Montaluce Winery's vineyard, Dahlonega, G.A.

The restaurant grows a lot of produce in an organic garden, just minutes away from the dining area. They also use some local and regional ingredients.

My husband and I went in to share brunch. We ordered a $12 Flight (wine tasting) to go with our meal. We chose four whites and one dessert wine.

 

Summertime beet and greens salad, Le Vigne Restaurant,
Dahlonega, GA

We ordered light salad ($12) with marinated pink beet, earthy red beet sorbet, and a spring lettuce mix topped with peppery nasturtium leaves, sharp Crater Lake (GA dairy sourced) blue cheese, and champagne vinaigrette. The plate was finished with a drizzle of sweet orange blossom honey coriander emulsion. 

We drank the 2010 Montaluce Primo and Primaluce white wines with the dish. The Primaluce had a mild orange peel nose and citrus taste. And the Primo smelt of honeysuckle and had a spicy taste. Unfortunately their flavors overpowered the salad.

Springer Mountain Farm chicken dish, Le Vigne Restaurant,
Dahlonega, GA

For the main course we ordered a Springer Mountain (GA farm sourced) chicken breast dish ($20)with broccolini, yellow zucchini, golden raisins, and fingerling potatoes. The chicken was surprisingly juicy, the broccolini was earthy, the potatoes creamy, and the sauce drizzled about tasted of teriyaki sauce mixed with smoke, black pepper, and sesame oil.

We drank the 2009 Montaluce Chardonnay and Viognier wine with this dish. The Chardonnay had a unripe pinapple nose mixed with citrus. It was a bit bitter at the beginning of the sip but it finished nicely with a tart citrus flavor. The Viognier had a slight vanilla nose mixed with ripe pineapple. It tasted sweeter than the other wine, and had a slightly bitter citrus finish. Both wines went well with the chicken.

Vanilla Mascarpone pannna cotta dessert, Le Vigne
Restaurant, Dahlonega, GA

For dessert my husband ordered a vanilla mascarpone panna cotta ($7.50) with peach (GA sourced) sorbet in a chilled peach soup. It was a wonderful combination of sweet creaminess to tart cold floral soup.  

Blackened garlic ice cream with chocolate torte,
Le Vigne Restaurant, Dahlonega, GA

I had blackened garlic ice cream with a bitter-sweet chocolate tart ($7.50) on a buttery shortbread crust. I loved the slightly grey colored ice-cream with its smoky mild garlic flavor. It went beautifully with the chocolate and candied hazel nuts.

We drank the sparkly mead with both desserts. It smelt like wildflower honey mixed with tropical ginger flower. But it was surprisingly dry with a slight vanilla, mangosteen, and caramel flavor. It went beautifully with the panna cotta and garlic ice cream.

Le Vigne Restaurant on Montaluce Vineyards exceeded my expectations. The flavors are bold and bright with very little salt. And the Food, wow it was amazing. It was a lovely brunch by some fabulous chefs in a gorgeous location. I look forward to the next time I am in town.

To find out more about the winery and Le Vigne restaurant, you can go to www.montaluce.com or visit them at 946 Via Montaluce, Dahlonega, GA 30533   Phone: (706) 867-4060
They are closed on Mondays.

Dogwood Hills Farm, Weaverville, NC: Medicinal Herbs Future

Dogwood Hills Farm is locally known for its sorghum syrup and u-pick grapes, apples, blueberries, and blackberries. But in the next four to five years they plan to transition to Chinese medicinal herb growing.

Farmers Jenny and David Fridlin, Dogwood Hills Farm,
Weaverville, NC

There is a lot of demand for medicinal herbs in Weaverville, N.C., according to farmer Jenny Fridlin. Jenny is a whole body work therapist who works with local acupuncturists. She came to this 10-acre farm five years ago with her husband David a, Swedish born, retired European Chef.

Chinese medicinal herb garden at Dogwood Hills
Farm, Weaverville, NC

Jenny took me on a tour of her herb garden, located just steps away from her house, "I enclosed it to keep the chickens out," she said with a smile as she pushed the gate open. We walked past bright purple Echinacea flowers and aromatic German Chamomile.

Buckwheat and sweet potato growing side-by-side in
keeping with permaculture practices, Dogwood
Hills Farm, Weaverville, NC

They use organic growing methods on the farm. And permaculture practices in the garden. "I grow buckwheat next to sweet potatoes because the buckwheat captures phosphorous and the sweet potato captures nitrogen," she said.

Guinea Fowl chicks being raised by a chicken, Dogwood
Hills Farm, Weaverville, NC

They also have a fowl organic bug control system. Ticks were everywhere when they first arrived on the farm. But with the introduction of Guinea Fowl, the tick population went down to almost zero.

 

Unfortunately female Guinea fowl make terrible mothers, according to Jenny. And so all the Guinea chicks are raised by chickens.

I originally went to Dogwood Hills farm to buy sorghum cane syrup. In Florida, most of the sorghum is used for green energy fuel.

"We hand-planted and harvested it," Jenny told me, placing two jars, filled with sticky brown syrup, on an outside table. "We've been told by locals that our syrup has an old timey taste to it," she said. To get that flavor they use a horse powered machine to crush the cane. Then the juice is wood fired, by a local mill, down into a syrup.

There was no crop this year so syrup supplies were limited. Next year they hope to get at least a half-acre planted.

I didn't know what sorghum syrup was supposed to taste like but I fell in love with theirs from the first teaspoon. It had a sweet and sour flavor with a light smokiness.

To find out more about the farm you can call 828-645-6286 and leave a message.