From Apple Capital to Wine Country: How Vineyards Took Root in Ellijay

Ellijay has been the Apple Capital of Georgia for generations. But over the past two decades, a second crop has taken root in the same mountain soil — grapes — turning Gilmer County into one of the anchors of North Georgia’s growing wine country.

The first vines

The modern Ellijay wine story starts around 2007 with Cartecay Vineyards, widely described as the area’s first winery. Founded on a farm with a barn dating to about 1890 — rehabilitated into the winery’s Tasting Barn — Cartecay planted its first vines in 2008, brought in its first harvest in 2010, and opened to the public in 2011. Its annual Crush Festival, started in 2012, is now one of the season’s signature events.

Engelheim Vineyards followed close behind. Gary and Jan Engel bought their land in 2007, planted vines in 2009, and produced their first vintage in 2011. The name means “Angel Home” in German, and the estate later added a Bavarian-style tasting room; it was named Georgia’s Winery of the Year in 2018.

Why grapes grow here

There is a practical reason wine grapes took to these mountains. In Georgia’s lowlands, a bacterial scourge called Pierce’s disease kills susceptible vines within a few years. Above roughly 1,300 feet of elevation — the kind of ground Ellijay has in abundance — bunch-grape growing becomes feasible. Add well-drained, acidic mountain soils and cool air draining off the ridges, and the Blue Ridge turns out to be quietly well-suited to the vine, even if growers still work hard against the region’s humidity.

A growing cluster

Today a handful of wineries dot Gilmer County, including Ott Farms & Vineyard and Ellijay River Vineyards (established 2010), along with downtown tasting rooms on the square. (Some popular nearby wineries often grouped with Ellijay — like Chateau Meichtry in Pickens County and Mercier Orchards in Fannin County — are actually just over the county line.) Together, the orchards and the vineyards have made Ellijay a year-round agritourism destination: apples in the fall, wine all year.

Timeline

Cover photo: a vineyard in the North Georgia / Blue Ridge mountains, by Thomson200 via Wikimedia Commons (CC0). Sources include the University of Georgia, Atlanta Magazine, Explore Georgia, the Gilmer County Chamber of Commerce, and the wineries’ own histories.