Best of Dahlonega - Our Take

The people have spoken...at least those who voted in the Dahlonega Nugget's BEST OF contest. The newspaper released Wednesday a list of those people and businesses that were voted Dahlonega's Best of...

While D&B agrees with a number of Best of Picks, we have a few of our own:

• Best Real Estate Agent - Sandra Williams of Sellers Realty. She patiently showed us dozens of homes before we found our new home in Dahlonega. She was savvy and definitely knowledgeable.
• Best Coffee - It's not Starbucks. The best coffee in Dahlonega is at the Picnic Cafe and Dessertery on the square. Our favorite is Hazelnut. YUM! 
• Best Appetizer - In our opinion, the crab cake appetizer at the Backdoor Porch Oyster Bar is the best in the city. The chef doesn't use breading, so the crab cake has LOTS of crab.
• Best Photographer - Well this is a no-brainer. Lamar Bates of Lamar Photography. A photo volunteer for the Lumpkin Chamber of Commerce, he's doing a fabulous job capturing the fun events in this area. 
• Best Sunday Brunch - This honor has to go to the Bourbon Street Grill. Eggs Benedict, beignets, coffee with chicory and eating on the porch overlooking the town square. Can't beat that.
• Best Chicken Pot Pie- This is definitely one of the most popular dishes at Yahoola Creek Grill. After you've eaten the first bite, you will know why.
• Best Hamburger - When we took friends to Shenanigans Irish Pub and we all ordered the pub burger, one friend announced, "This is the best hamburger I've ever eaten." Yes, their burgers are that good.
• Best Dog Groomer - PeeWee Grooming wins this award. D&B's Scottie came home with the best cut/trim she's ever had. PeeWee definitely knows their doggie cuts.
• Best Wine Vixen - That has to be Vicki at Naturally Georgia tasting room in The Bleu Gallery on the downtown square. Vicki serves up wine from two North Ga. wineries, adding a bit of personality with each glass she pours.
• Best New Wine - According to Mr. B, Cavendar Creek Vineyards and Winery's 2010 vintage of Petit Manseng is fabulous. For a taste test, visit the vineyards' tasting room, 12-5 Friday and Saturday, 1-5 Sunday. Tastings are free.

Stay tuned to Dahlonega and Beyond for more of our Best Of's.

Dahlonega's Newest Winery

 

Open less than a year, Cavender Creek Vineyards, with its donkey branded wines, is no longer one of the area's best kept secrets. Located oddly enough just off Cavendar Creek Rd., the 15 acre winery is producing some memorable wine that D&B predicts will be winning gold medals soon.

For owners Raymond and Donna Castleberry, both retired Gwinnett County school teachers, Cavendar Creek Vineyards is a dream-fulfilled. Several years ago, the couple purchased the Cavendar Creek property, planted three acres of grapes, and began creating their own line of Georgia wines. Then this spring the couple began marketing their hand-crafted wines to the public, opening a tasting room at the vineyard.

A week ago when D&B stopped in at the winery, the tasting room's bar was crowded and the parking lot filled with cars bearing out-of-county and out-of-state tags. We were there to sample Cavendar Creek's newest release, Petit Manseng, made from the rare petit manseng white grape. Vintner and owner Raymond Castleberry describes his newest wine as "springtime in a bottle, full of delicate floral notes with crisp clean finish that lingers just long enough to make you want another sip." 

Obviously we liked our sample, since we promptly purchased a bottle. While Cavendar Creek fans love the winery's best sellers - Donkey Hotie Red and One-Eyed Jack - one local taste tester we know says that Petite Manseng stands ears above the label's other wines. 

Like all of Cavendar Creek's wines, the Petit Manseng wears a printed label with a drawing of a white nosed donkey. The donkey labeling, according to Castleberry, is in honor of the Castleberry's rescue donkeys, which you can view from the winery's large back deck. 

You'll have to go there to do your own taste test and see why our tester loves the crispness of the Petit Manseng white wine. After sampling the winery's red and white wines, you'll be buying your own bottle, as well as a bottle or two of the other labels.

Cavendar Creek Vineyards is five miles east of Dahlonega. The tasting room is open 2-5 Friday and Saturday and 1-5 on Sunday.