Engelheim Vineyards

Here’s what… Regardless of the experience I may have shared, it does not account for the experience I had after sharing my review. I am highly impressed with the response I received from this business. It wasn’t your standard, come back and let’s make it right a/​k/​a come spend more money here and because we gave you something you’ll seem ungrateful if you complain. No, the response was thoughtful, appreciative of the feedback and not only addressed my experience but more importantly, the steps taken to right it for future patrons. I will return and not because I was given a freebie to lure me, I wasn’t. I will return because I was given respect and attention — a rare gem in today’s mentality of throw a bone at it and move on. High five!

With time to kill on a Saturday, I took a little detour from my business trip in Atlanta and headed north. I found signs posted along highway 515 for this vineyard and decided to give it a try. Off the beaten path, this little gem is tucked away in the Appalachian foothills. As I pulled up, a nice Bavarian-​style cottage greeted me with a backdrop of a few acres of grapevines. Once inside, they had live music playing, a cozy fireplace, and a beautiful wine bar with eager, happy faces behind it willing to serve.
It is run by a personable Navy veteran and his family (The Engels) and is ripe with a German feel. I did a 5-​wine sample ($ 10), moving from lighter white, through a few reds, followed by a muscadine blueberry. All were delicious and well-​crafted. Their red blend took me back a bit as it had an unusual smokey flavor to it… something I haven’t experienced with that much force in all of my wine-​drinking years. Once the initial surprise passed, I was able to really enjoy the uniqueness of the flavors imposed on the wine by the Hungarian oak barrels. The Merlot was about what I expected… clean with dark fruit undertones and a smooth finish. The Zinfandel was lighter than I expected, and while it finished longer than the Merlot, it was quite pleasant and I enjoyed it more than most Zins I’ve had. The muscadine blueberry was sweet and fruity… almost like a blueberry grape juice blend, so be careful. The muscadine flavor is present in the finish. It would most certainly appeal to sweeter wine drinkers and can get you over the hump quickly. I walked out with two bottles, Merlot and Zinfandel.
If you’re in the Atlanta area toward Jasper, Ellijay, or Blue Ridge, Georgia, I recommend stopping by and sampling what the Engel family has to offer.

We stopped in New Years Day and had the pleasure of being served by the owner. Excellent wines, we highly recommend the 3 estate varieties.

Had a good time here. Lovely tasting room and the staff was very friendly. Unfortunately we weren’t given any tasting notes on the wines, nor were were given paring suggestions. It’s just not the southern wine way, is it? Also, $ 10 to taste 5 wines is a little steep — maybe make it $ 10 for 8 wines?
Best wines were the whites and the sweet wines were actually drinkable and not too sweet. I didn’t love the red wines, they tasted as though they needed way more air than they’d gotten before we tasted (we got there right when it opened).
I think I’d love to come here with a group of friends to just buy a bottle to share over the afternoon and relax there. The best thing this place has going for it is the atmosphere and staff.

Decent wine and view but combined with the owner making an anti-​Semetic joke, I can assure you we will not ever go again. Hope the laugh was worth it.

Great experience. Staff so nice and welcoming. The owner Gary was awesome to meet. I really enjoyed their Sauvignon blanc, red blends were delicious. One of the two wineries where we actually purchase wine to take home!!! Don’t miss this fabulous lil spot!

Everyone was knowledgeable about the wines and very nice. We set outside with a glass of wine, enjoyed the weather and view. Owner came up and talked a bit with us. Will go back soon

What a neat find driving around Ellijay!
Thank God for the signs on 575 (515) or we would have never known this existed! Did the wine tasting, then drove 2 see their vineyards.

We recently visited while on vacation in the area. I love to visit vineyards so I was excited to stop by Engelheim. The girl who did our tasting was so nice and helpful. The wines were very good. We opted for the more expensive tasting– $ 12 for 5 wines and a souvenir glass. The glass is actually a stemmed wine glass that is quite nice (other glasses I’ve received from vineyards are stemless and on the thin side). At one point the owner came out and talked with us, very nice and gracious. The estate is beautiful, inside and out. Has a nice deck where a man was playing live music for warmer times, and a nice cozy fireplace with seating for the cooler times. They also serve a wine slushie that even non wine lovers will enjoy. Can’t say enough good things, def stop by if you are in the area! Added perk– they package up your bottles and glass so beautifully! I bought one bottle for a gift and they did all the work. They also have boxes they can package them in if you buy more than one bottle, which is awesome for traveling! I guess the one thing that is semi negative is that some wineries will discount a bottle purchase if you paid for the tasting, which they didn’t do here but that’s just minor. I think the bottles started at $ 18.