An Essential Book for Georgia Wine Lovers and All Who Own or Dream of Owning a Vineyard
Reviewed by Martha M. Ezzard
Georgia has long needed a professional and comprehensive look at its blossoming wine industry. At last, there is one!
‘Georgia Vineyards and Wineries, A Historical Guide to Modern Georgia 2016,’ by Wayne Crawford, has none of the dry catalog qualities of such a complete work, though as a wine writer, Crawford, has visited and recorded profiles of every single winery in Georgia — all 56 of them!
Rather, this book contains the storied history of the earliest Georgia vines, planted by General James Oglethorpe in his Savannah “Trustees Garden” as well as the unique attraction of graceful, southern muscadine plantations that arose in South Georgia prior to Prohibition and are now revived.
Crawford also explores the exciting new wine industry focused on European vinifera cultivated in the North Georgia mountains where the resulting fine, dry wines are bringing national acclaim and winning gold and silver medals in Los Angeles and San Francisco competitions — competing with Napa’s and Sonoma’s finest.
Those mountain wineries are bringing economic development and tourism to many a north Georgia town, to say nothing of preserving valued green space. As Crawford notes, today, Georgia’s statewide wine industry is a multibillion dollar economic benefit to Georgia.
The striking dimension of Crawford’s book is that he includes the stories behind the wineries, then and now — the pioneers and the modern – day vintners who have overcome the obstacles of grape diseases unique to a southern clime, arcane alcohol laws, and sometimes community skepticism. Wine is more than a drink — it is an experience and successful vineyards and wineries must offer an ambiance that is particular to their site or place of operation. Crawford obviously understands that key sense of place.
His book takes the reader on a Georgia wine journey from an historical perspective to a geological one. And then he escorts the reader on a region by region tour of wineries—from the Coastal Plains and the Piedmont to the Upper Hiawassee and the Blue Ridge.
Georgia is the largest producer of muscadine grapes in the world. Crawford explains the different types of muscadine South Georgia growers are producing and wines they are making. He explores the hybrids being tested in West Georgia and the ones that are being cultivated in many other parts of the state —easier to grow than vinifera, many winning awards in regional and national competitions. He notes the types of vinifera grapes that are popular with Georgia growers and the varieties of fine dry wine being produced— from the East Coast favorite of Cabernet Franc to the rare Petit Manseng, which has been called the new southern classic, a grape from the Jurançon of France that is ideally suited to a North Georgia terroir.
Crawford writes in carefully researched detail the state’s varied geology, from north to south. He even devotes a chapter to that elusive French term, Terroir, which includes elevation, climate, soils, topography and local wine making practices — what British wine guru Hugh Johnson calls “ the soul of the winemaker.”
Crawford’s book includes a handy glossary of wine and vineyard terms, as well as a guide to enjoying wine, “Wayne on Wine.”
I recall the first time Crawford visited my husband, John, and me to talk about the kinds of vinifera John had pioneered at Tiger Mountain, including Touriga, Tannat and Petit Manseng, and John’s comment after he left, was, “Finally, a wine writer with a truly professional background and an authentic passion for wine.”
Crawford’s credentials as a French wine scholar, a certified specialist of wine and a wine judge shine though in the pages of this book. More significant for readers, is his ability to weave into his research the colorful stories behind the wines, the pioneering growers, the winemakers and dreamers who have made the modern wine industry come alive in Georgia.
Martha Ezzard — Award-winning writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and former columnist. Martha is a writer, lawyer, and farm winery owner at Tiger Mountain Vineyards in North Georgia.