Dahlonega and Beyond: Music and Wine in Northeast Georgia

The mockingbird was looking straight at me and running through an impressive variety of calls. I’m not sure if he was mad at me or just showing off, but I got the message. “This tree is mine, buddy. Find your own!” Nearby a mountain laurel (that was definitely showing off) played host to a few inquisitive bees as the local creek took its time in flowing by. I didn’t come to northeast Georgia to fish but I’d heard that these waters were packed with biggies and for some reason I imagined them telling each other jokes as they swam by. “Hey, what’s for lunch?” “You are!” I guess maybe the fresh air was making me giddy.

The northeastern part of Georgia is a blessing for anyone who enjoys the outdoors. The area’s mountains, lakes and streams provide ample opportunity for every type of recreation and the scenery has for decades enticed couples to come here to tie the knot and honeymoon. There’s a mild “micro-climate” here that’s surprisingly suited to growing grapes and many area vineyards contribute to a burgeoning Georgia wine scene. There are bears in the area too although most of them are not wine drinkers. But every once in awhile one of them pulls a “Yogi” and stages a raid on the grapevines. Occasionally a bear will hike into town to people-watch; it’s happened in Dahlonega, the small city that is the gateway to northeast Georgia. The townsfolk were so thrilled with the cubby’s antics that they decided to honor their furry little guest by naming an annual festival after him. Southern hospitality is the name of the game here and visitors of the non-bear type will also find that they’re welcomed warmly.

Meet Me on the Square
Dahlonega’s downtown square is the town’s center of activity and this is where I started my adventure. At the very center of the square is the Dahlonega Gold Museum that chronicles the area’s very significant gold mining history. It’s difficult to say exactly when gold was first discovered here since the Cherokee knew about it for generations (the name Dahlonega is derived from the Cherokee word for “yellow money”) but a deer hunter named Benjamin Parks stumbled across a nugget in 1828, setting off a gold rush that pre-dated the famed California gold rush by two decades. The museum takes you through all the history, including the 1838 opening of the Dahlonega branch of the federal mint. Lots of photos and old mining tools are housed here but if you’re like me you’ll spend a good portion of your visit admiring the display cases full of the sparkly stuff itself---coins, flakes, dust, nuggets and more! Surrounding the museum are the four streets that form the square which are set up to be pedestrian-friendly while still allowing traffic to pass through. So there’s no problem traversing the area on foot and there is a surprising amount of shopping and browsing to be done here. Dahlonega is very fond of art and several of the stores lining the square specialize in works that range from folk art to modern design. There are antique stores, an amazing old-time general store (with lots of inexpensive hard candy) and of course places to grab lunch or an ice cream. These are all independent businesses; there are no chain stores on the square. It’s a good idea to make your first stop on the square the Dahlonega Visitor’s Center. The staff there is very knowledgeable about everything that goes on in the area and they’re happy to give you maps and tips on your area travel plans.  The square is also where a good portion of Dahlonega’s musical entertainment happens and I wanted to be near that, so the folks at the Visitor Center suggested that I get a room at the Worley Bed & Breakfast Inn, just a short walk up Main Street. There are regular hotels in Dahlonega a little further out but they can’t offer an experience like you’ll get at the Worley. The building is over 150-years old and is owned by the Mauldin family and Frances Mauldin makes sure that you start your day off properly. Frances cooks a delicious breakfast every morning that she serves to her guests family-style, offering up generous helpings of everything you could want---pancakes, eggs and bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, oatmeal and of course grits. And just about every morning Frances makes one of her many specialty dishes too. For me, the next stop after the breakfast table wasn’t very far away---just out the Worley’s door to the front porch. The porch faces the campus of North Georgia College and University and has a terrific view of the Price Memorial Building with its steeple that proudly glistens in the morning sun---it’s covered with Dahlonega gold! And as if that’s not enough to kick a morning into high gear, there’s also a daredevil squirrel that lives in the area who likes to perform a high-wire act on the power line in front of the inn. Wow, breakfast and a show!

Music Please!
Georgia has many areas known as music hot-spots; Macon, Athens and big Atlanta among them. Surprise! You can add Dahlonega to the list! You would expect Dahlonega to have a certain amount of music going on since it’s a college town, but the folks here truly love music to the point where it is more than just entertainment---its something that brings the community together. I started out just making the rounds of some of the places on or adjacent to the square that feature live music, the most prominent of which is the Crimson Moon. The ’Moon is a local favorite for lunch and dinner or a convenient stop for a hot coffee, cold beer or a glass of wine. One wall of the eatery is lined with Crimson Moon souvenirs that are for sale while on the opposite wall hang some home-made musical instruments that reflect the area’s “mountain music” heritage. Ever seen a diddly-bow? Feel free to seek out Dana, the ’Moon’s proprietor, and she’ll tell you a bit about the quaint instrument. There’s live music at the Crimson Moon just about every night and when I stopped by Atlanta favorites Tom & Julie were playing an acoustic set of oldies like Stephen Stills’ “Change Partners” and Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away.” The pair perform a disparate set of ’70s tunes; besides the “hits” mentioned above I heard a couple “album tracks” that I hadn’t heard for a couple of decades. And if you happen to catch the pair playing “Anticipation” you’ll hear that Julie does a dead-on Carly Simon. A couple of blocks away Wiley’s was packing them in to hear Kurt Thomas covering Jimmy Buffett and many other “feel good” acts while Mike Glean was the one-man-band at Irish bar Shenanigan’s. Glean put out a full sound to the Guinness-loving crowd by backing his electric guitar playing and singing with tracks he had stored on his laptop computer. These venues are the main places to hear music on a nightly basis but you can enjoy everything from jazz to hard rock in Dahlonega at any given time---just ask around.

Festivals and More Music
Remember the curious, sightseeing bear I referred to earlier? Well the little fellow came right into town and climbed up a tree on the square and made himself right at home. Today there’s a carved wooden bear affixed to the same spot on the same tree to commemorate the visit but more importantly Dahlonega celebrates the incident each year with the Bear on the Square Mountain Festival, an affair that brings a hoedown to town every April courtesy of groups like Red Mountain, the Native Heart Band, the Biscuit Burners and the James King Band. There’s the annual bluegrass festival in October during Gold Rush Days and every Saturday from April through October there’s an Appalachian Jam right on the square. I had the pleasure of attending one of these and it is great fun! Guitars, banjos, fiddles and mandolins galore as the musicians sit in a circle playing their favorites or audience requests. The jam is open to anyone so if you visit Dahlonega on a summer Saturday and have your diddly-bow with you, stop on by! If you keep in mind that Dahlonega’s population is only about 20,000 it is very surprising how much social activity revolves around music. At the Holly Theatre they tape the Mountain Music & Medicine Show, a music and sketch comedy revue that is also broadcast on PBS. Acts like multi-instrumentalist and singer Tim Quigley put out locally-recorded CDs (featuring Dahlonega’s unofficial music ambassador, Hal Williams, on harmonica) right along with Dahlonega resident and nationally-known performer Spencer Durham. Shawn Mullins came up through the Dahlonega scene and the city is totally geared to nurturing young musicians through its Georgia Pick & Bow after-school program for 4th through 12th grade students. Another surprising thing about the music scene in Dahlonega is that everyone seems to be like family when it comes time to play---egos and agendas are set aside to let the music flow. Kind of makes me wish I could carry a tune without using a bucket!

On the Wine Trail and…Kangaroos?
  This part of Georgia is where the state’s vineyards and wineries are and there are four of them right in Dahlonega---Blackstock Vineyards & Winery, Frog Cellars, Three Sisters Vineyards & Winery and Wolf Mountain Vineyards & Winery. All offer wine tasting and some also sell food that ranges from quality cheese and other munchies to sandwiches to the big Sunday buffet at Wolf Mountain. Making the rounds is easy since they’re all located within about 7 miles of each other and maps of the wine trail can be found all over the area. These are great places to enjoy more local music too---there’s nothing quite like a glass of wine and a view of the vines to enhance listening enjoyment. The folks at the Three Sisters Winery are big music supporters (the proprietors are musicians themselves) and they host an annual event called the Georgia Wine Country Festival where there is always plenty of live music. They also have a selection of local CDs for sale in their tasting room including Sight Unseen by the Lisa Deaton-fronted LD and the Blind Dates, one of the area’s top bands. If you like music by artists like Allison Krause and Nickel Creek you really should give Sight Unseen a spin. Good stuff! And the really neat thing about these places is the people who work there---they’ll make you feel welcome even if you’re not a wine drinker and just came to look around or learn a little about how wine is made. Now, I know what you’re going to think when I tell you this next thing. After visiting the wineries I saw kangaroos. I saw lots of kangaroos. You’re thinking, “uh huh; kangaroos in Georgia! Obviously he drank a little too much Chestatee Red.” Well I don’t blame you. But there really are kangaroos in Georgia and they are at the Kangaroo Conservation Center in Dawsonville, about a 15-mile drive from Dahlonega. This place started out as sort of a “rescue center” for kangaroos but it has now grown to be one of the area’s favorite attractions. The guided tour starts off with a lesson on how to throw a boomerang and you can toss a couple of those if you like before you go in to see the animals. Next you’ll experience the “Billabong Encounter,” an enclosed area where you can actually walk among exotic birds and other small Australian critters. This is really fun since some of the animals camouflage themselves pretty well---you can be standing right next to a “what the heck is that?” and not even realize it. After that you climb aboard a “Kanga Ranger” for a ride through the “Georgia Outback,” the place where all the ’roos are kept. The Center houses the largest population of kangaroos anywhere outside of Australia so you’ll see plenty of them hopping all over the place, including mama with her baby “joey” in her pouch. Just when you think things couldn’t possibly get any better, it’s time for the grand finale, the Wild Australia Animal Show. Here you’ll sit on bleachers in a small enclosed arena and be introduced to a variety of ’roos and wallabies who’ll demonstrate their personalities for you in return for small treats from their keepers.  You’ll meet a wacky kookaburra too who parades around on the rope that separates you from the animals. If you buy a souvenir at the gift shop you’ll be contributing to the animals’ good welfare since profits go back into their upkeep. At any rate just think of what a good conversation starter you’ll have then, and no one will mind if you exaggerate a little. “Did I ever tell you about the time I wrestled kangaroos in Georgia?” Before you leave the Dahlonega area, try to visit the Forrest Hills Mountain Resort & Conference Center. If you’re not lodging at a bed & breakfast this is the place to stay. As the name implies, the setting here is woodland and the grounds are impeccably kept. And since the owners are horse breeders you can take a relaxing trail ride through the greenery if you want. And you’ll never believe who one of their horse trainers is---none other than well-traveled studio musician Les Straighter, who has played steel guitar with Jimmy Buffett, Ray Price, the Judds, Ray Charles, Loretta Lynn and even the great Percy Sledge. Les doesn’t play professionally anymore but he’s happy to tell stories about the old days and he loves to talk about horses too. Sometimes Les gives horse-drawn carriage rides around the property and that’s a good time to get to know him.

More Fun in N.E. Georgia!
How about some more wine? A bit south of Dahlonega in Braselton is the luxurious Chateau Elan Winery & Resort. This place is huge and gorgeous and has the look of a fancy French estate and things are done on a grand scale here---they have 8 restaurants, 2 golf courses, a 14-suite “spa mansion” and tons of other stuff to pamper their guests. Wine tasting here is often held outdoors near their fountain that features a statue of a young woman stomping grapes with her feet. One of the fun things you can do at Chateau Élan is cook your own gourmet breakfast under the tutelage of one of the resort’s chefs. They lay out the ingredients for you, set you up with a little gas cooker and lead you through each step. To top it all off you get to wear one of those tall white chef’s hats! If you want to do this you need to set it up in advance---ask about the “interactive cooking class.” In Helen, Georgia’s version of an Alpine village, you’ll find Habersham Vineyards & Winery. These folks also have a tasting room in Dahlonega but you’ll want to see picturesque Helen and maybe enjoy some jazz with your wine at Habersham. The winery occasionally grooves to live jazz and they also sell their own jazz compilation CD that features musicians like Dotsero and Steve Glotzer, quality acts out of Colorado. Further north in Young Harris you’ll find Crane Creek Vineyards & Winery---this is the place to stop when you’re on your way to do some boating on Lake Chatuge or visit Brasstown Bald, the highest peak in Georgia. If you like old-time country music (like Ray Price) look around up here for a CD by the Georgia Mountain Fair Band called Fifty Years of Fiddlin, Pickin’ and Singin’. These guys (and gal) are all veteran players and you can relive your trip to the mountains every time you play it. One last place to tell you about is the Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia in Sautee Nacoochee. The exhibits here allow you to better understand the mountain heritage and folk traditions of southern Appalachia but the place is a must-see even if you don’t want to learn about this culture. That’s thanks to the museum’s massive collection of face jugs, row after row of which stare out at you with their ugly faces. These jugs were traditionally placed on graves or if they were filled with homemade liquor the idea was that the face would scare children away from it. Some here are very old and some are newly made and the museum can direct you to potters who are making them available for sale---there’s a “folk potters” trail similar to the wine trail.

Dahlonega is about a 1-hour drive outside of metro Atlanta. For more information on Dahlonega and northeast Georgia visit www.dahlonega.org and www.georgia.org

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