Did you know that there are 3 vineyards within a reasonable drive from Americus, Georgia?
We set out on several day trips to check them out, just for you.
The first one we visited was Still Pond Vineyard Winery and Distillery.
It was a beautiful drive through the country to reach Arlington, Georgia, about an hour or so from Americus.
We passed acres upon acres of farm fields.
Finally, we came upon the sign for Still Pond Vineyard, just 1.5 miles ahead.
The minute I stepped out of the car, this dragonfly landed at my feet. I took that as a sign that this was going to be a really good day.
The entry way is charming and we were greeted by Charles Cowarth, the owner and winemaker (and distiller...) who gave us a tour of the facility.
This machine harvests the muscadine grapes.
This is the machine that actually presses the grapes to extract the juice.
This is where the magic happens, turning the grape juice into delicious wine.
These tanks are enormous.
Besides making wine, Still Pond is also distilling alcohol.
The entire distilling process is really fascinating.
They are producing vodka, brandy and Moonshine at Still Pond.
Legal, moonshine, to be clear.
Here you can see the brandy is aging in barrels, not yet ready for consumption.
Now for the tasting room. The first thing you notice is the number of awards that have been bestowed upon so many of their wines.
And, the most amazing part of this experience is, your first 7 wine samples are FREE!
You might try the blackberry bliss.
or the gold limited reserve
or the Farmhouse white
or AppleShine
or how about some mead? I did not know that mead is wine made from honey. Did you?
So, after all that tasting, we had a hard time deciding what to buy.
We decided to take a walk around the vineyard and check out the pond on the property. Of course, I was totally distracted by the dragonflies.
A few of them posed for a photo.
It's amazing how many different species there are.
I discovered my new favorite dragonfly, the halloween pennant.
The pond was beautiful with Spanish moss covered trees nearby.
Truly a picture perfect day.
After learning about the muscadines and how they are harvested,
we took a closer look at how they are planted.
You can just imagine how much work it would be to harvest by hand.
They weren't ripe yet when we visited, but, they sure were pretty.
So, the next time you visit us in Americus, consider staying an extra day to visit our friends at Still Pond Vineyard and Winery.
Stay tuned for our next blog post on Vineyard Winery #2!
Thanks for visiting the Americus Garden Inn Bed and Breakfast blog. Check back soon for the next installment of Daytripping from Americus.
