142 SouthernDistinction.

Com
7025 South Main Street, Helen, GA 30545
www.habershamvineyards.com
(706) 878-9463
R
ome wasnt built in a day, and neither was Habersham
Vineyards & Winery, Georgias oldest winery. Proudly
perched on South Main Street in Helen, the winery is
open daily for tastings and tours, but success was hard fought.
Some start-up businesses worry about loans. Others worry
about advertising. Habersham Winery was worried about the
law.
Te Georgia law was set up for a three-tiered system, which
meant manufacturers of wine, beer or whiskey had to sell only
to wholesalers but not retail and couldnt sell to a consumer,
says owner Tom Slick. Tis meant that he and every other
winemaker had to sell their product through a distributor, who
would in turn, sell it to restaurants and stores. But wine makers
were low on the list of priorities for distributors.
Tere was no demand for Georgia wine at the time, it was
really a joke, Slick says. Distributors job was to get California
and French wine and take it to the supermarket, then liquor stores,
and we knew that local restaurants would carry our wines but we
couldnt get a distributor to take our name and give us representa-
tion. And according to the law, manufacturers were only allowed
one distributor; even if he wasnt helpful, the law forbade fnding a
new one. So after Slick purchased the land to start growing his vine-
yard, his very next step was working on changing Georgias laws, but
he faced much opposition.
Te distributors were dead set against us being able to sell
to anybody but them, Slick recalls. If spirit manufacturers were
allowed to sell directly to retailers, distributors would lose large
accounts, particularly whiskey and other proftable liquor. Tey
By April James
143 SouthernDistinction.Com
had a large amount of money at stake whereas wineries couldnt
aford lobbyists. Tat is, until a little vineyard called Chateau Elan
came along in early 1983.
Chateau could aford lobbyists, Slick says. Te owners recruited
the Georgia House of Representatives appropriations chairman Bubba
McDonald, and soon enough, farm wineries earned the right to sell
product to retailers and restaurants directly. But that wasnt a victory
for Habersham Vineyards.
Te expression location, location, location could not be more
important to Habersham Vineyards at this time. Again, it would
take a legal battle to for Habersham Vineyards to become a proftable
establishment, but rather than the war being fought in the state, the
concern this time, was local.
In order to be a farm winery, the winery had to be located on
the same property where the wine grapes were grown. A simple solu-
tion would have been to build a winery on the property, but in 1983,
Habersham, like most north Georgia counties, was a dry county.
What Slick and many others needed, was for a farm winery to be
defned as one owned by the same people who made the wine, that
way he could have a winery in a diferent county and avoid working
through distributors, and shortly that necessity materialized. Now
what was needed was the perfect location.
Chateau Elan was lucky enough to have its vineyard and winery
on Interstate 85, a well trafcked area. What Slick needed was a loca-
tion that would see lots of passerby and be geographically ideal, since
proper elevation is key for growing the best grapes. It appeared that
Slick had lucked up when the county commissioner said hed grant
him a winery license right before the frst crush. He and his team got
work and had a building framed and septic tanks installed when sud-
denly the commissioner backed out. Tis sent him on a hunt for land.
I had to look for a place in Baldwin, which was wet for beer
and wine, Slick says. But he ended up expanding his search to
Clarkesville and other places that were already allowing wine
sales. He even made the front cover of the Sunday New York
Times that year. Tis led to a big breakthrough for Slick.
Some guy had property of Highway 365, so we took it and
built a crummy little wooden barn, he says. Although the place
wasnt ideal, he was desperate for somewhere to begin selling his
wine. It was just what you wouldnt want to sell yourself as a
quality wine producer, he says.
Habersham has come a long way from its crummy little
barn. In 1994 thanks to a man named David Harris, White
County ofcially became wet. And that turned out to be great
not only for vintners, but the city of Helens economy as well.
Tere were studies that Helen was attracting tourists with
money and were willing to spend it, but folks werent seeing
anything but t-shirt shops and funnel cakes, says Slick. Once
it became wet for beer and wine, it became an oasis for students
in Athens and tourists alike. So he got to work setting up shop.
He had a winery on Edelweiss and a tasting room Main Street
but he learned it wasnt enough to just be in Helen. In order to
gauge trafc, Slick says he had his children stand outside at both
locations and count the cars that drove by. Tey saw twice as
many pass the tasting room, which Slick believes contributed to
its success.
We sold more wine at the tasting room than the winery,
he says. And thats wine that would have otherwise gone down
the drain. At one time, before the tasting room was open, Slick
had to get permission from the county to pour out gallons upon
gallons of unsold wine.
Now Habersham has two vineyard locations and its winery
is still thriving along South Main Street, so stop by for a sample
or two and get to know the rich history that comprises North
Georgia wine.
Check out our Website and Facebook
for Upcoming Events!
With over 20 wines on our wine list, we have
something for everyone!
From Merlot & Chardonnay to White Muscadine,
we produce some of Georgias fnest wines.
Open Daily for Complimentary Wine Tasting

Mile South of Helen, GA in the Historic Nacoochee Village
706-878-WINE Habershamwinery.com