Their love of wine led to her husband making his own in their basement.
“My husband has always wanted to farm and we have loved visiting wineries around the country. Starting our own winery seemed like a lot of fun,” Green said.
Hightower Creek Vineyard has seven signature wines made on
site, ranging from sweet reds to tart whites. It's made from
3,200 vines with seven different varieties of grapes.
Green stressed the unique aspect of
her vineyard is it's a winery based off of family
values. “We want to give [our visitors] a sense of coming home and sitting on
the front porch with a glass of wine,” Green explained. “It’s a family
business. I’m the manager of the wine tasting, my husband is the manager of the
vineyard, my daughter does [public relations] for us, and my son helps make the
wine.”
Guests can take their glasses and enjoy the view of the Blue Ridge Mountains on a deck attached to the winery.
“The deck has picnic tables and chairs where [visitors] can take their wine and eat a nice lunch. We also have picnic tables on the premises. [The winery] has a park-like setting so that it is family-friendly,” Green said.
“The deck has picnic tables and chairs where [visitors] can take their wine and eat a nice lunch. We also have picnic tables on the premises. [The winery] has a park-like setting so that it is family-friendly,” Green said.
Since the Greens have lived in Hiawassee for over 18 years,
they decided to bring the wine country home to them.
“We own a Napa Auto store here in Hiawassee and have over 10 acres of land. For us it made sense to start our vineyard at home,” Green said.
“We own a Napa Auto store here in Hiawassee and have over 10 acres of land. For us it made sense to start our vineyard at home,” Green said.
Green hopes soon they will be able to expand
their business by offering different cheeses at wine tastings and having
special events twice a month.
“I would love to have a band or duo come out a couple of times a month and play as we have wine tastings. We would also offer hors d’oeuvres for our guests."
“I would love to have a band or duo come out a couple of times a month and play as we have wine tastings. We would also offer hors d’oeuvres for our guests."
Green said she is still in negotiations for finding a good, yet reasonable
cheese seller.
However, she feels that the future is bright for her fledgling winery.
Despite the hard work it takes to keep the winery running, she explained the
experience has been very rewarding, starting with buying and planting their own
grapes.
“Seeing everything come together and watching our grapes being turned into wine makes the whole process a real payoff,” Green said. “We love how we can meet new people and see them enjoy our wine.”
“Seeing everything come together and watching our grapes being turned into wine makes the whole process a real payoff,” Green said. “We love how we can meet new people and see them enjoy our wine.”
Hightower Creek offers a wine tasting tour for $5; adding a
souvenir glass to the wine tasting makes the total cost $10. Visitors can also
have wine by the glass for $6. One bottle of wine ranges from $14.99 to $23.99.
More information can be found at http://hightowercreekvineyards.com/.
The winery can answer comments or questions at info@hightowercreek.com
** Written for Southern Hospitality Magazine in June of 2012.
** Written for Southern Hospitality Magazine in June of 2012.
