The Atlanta Wine School Wine Barrels of Chardonnay

By Michael Bryan
January 9th, 2010 Visit

One of the first things I noticed about Montaluce is their support of Georgia Wine--ALL Georgia Wine producers. Anyone who knows me would attest to my evangelism of our industry, however, I will be the first to also say that the spirit of collaboration is missing between our vinous brotherhood. Montaluce not only provides articles about OTHER Georgia wineries on their website, they even poured (and sold) other Georgia Winery wines until they made their own wine. Admirable, coming from one of the most state-of-the-art wineries on the East Coast.

The man-on-the-scene is easy-going Rob Beecham, a custom builder extraordinaire who loved wine, and along with his father and brother, conceived a 400-acre, vineyard-centric development right out of Tuscany built around food and wine. And with an 11-year history in the seminary, one could say Rob's "hell-bent" on success.

I tasted the 2008 wines, the first crushed and made in the winery with grapes purchased from Blackstock Vineyards. All were sound, quenching wines. I started with a Sangiovese Rosato and some of their home-made Grissini breadsteaks. Then rolled into the Chardonnay with a local charcuterie platter. The round, yet acid-balanced Viognier and the glistening Kumamoto oysters were a nice match. I then tag-teamed my Merlot and Cabernet with the Springer Mountain Farms oven-roasted chicken. Planted in 2007, Montaluce's own 10 varieties will be ready for picking this year, and what a great variety--including (unusual for GA) grapes like Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Pinot Grigio.

Their winemaking team is high-powered, employing German Oliver Asberger and Italian Stefano Salvini. The restaurant, Le Vigne, is taking no prisoners as well. Executive Chef Steven Hartman was pulled from The Hermitage Hotel, a Five-Star, Five-Diamond, Nashville icon. Steven refers to his style of cuisine as "Southern Regional with Refinement."

So, make the trip up some weekend. Sit at the bar, by the indoor fireplace, or weather permitting, the outside patio with acres of vineyard vistas. Order a cheese plate, some charcuterie, and some wine. You will say to yourself, I can't believe this is in Georgia.
When I told Rob that I usually spent my Saturdays with my 4-year old Willa, he said "Just bring her along...my kids run all over this place!" Willa found a buddy in winemaker Oliver Asberger. Getting Willa inside an empty wine fermenter was easy; watching Oliver climb in was fun. The dining room at Le Vigne has a stunning vista of vineyards and rolling hills, all terraced down to a pond. If not for the drastic change in the economy in 2008, Rob Beecham, shown here, would already have their new hotel and spa under construction.

January 30th Update: The Wine Conclave

Rob Beecham 'gets' social media. Rob amassed 30 top regional food and wine bloggers for a "conclave," a day full of sharing, discussing, and idea-generating. He treated the group to a five-course wine lunch--Tuscan Style--so I enjoyed entirely new cuisine from the talented Steven Hartman. By the way, you can reach Steve (and his Sous Chef) on Twitter: @hogballs and @mountaindew, respectively.

An excellent idea to make overtures to the new guard of social media savviness. I think it will pay off for him.
I'm choosy about oysters on the half-shell, unless I know how fresh and where they came from. Chef Steven has some handy Pacific Northwest connections that allow these Kumamoto's, along with wild-caught Salmon, to be over-nighted.

And even in a down economy, people still get married. Montaluce's wedding bookings are chock-a-block, one after another.

Photo Credit: AtlantaBridal.com
       
Copyright © The Atlanta Wine School, 2004 | Company Privacy Policy