Winery tours, tastings beckon tourists to North Georgia

Once upon a time, if you were sipping a wine made in Georgia, your beverage most likely was made from fermented peaches, apples or blackberries. If it were made from grapes at all, scuppernongs or muscadines would have been the fruit of choice.

My, how times have changed.

The North Georgia mountains are now home to more than 20 wineries crafting cabernets, sauvignon blancs, merlots and chardonnays from vinifera and French-American hybrid grapes, at least 40 percent of them grown in Georgia soil.