1821 Vandiver Mountain Rd, Clarkesville, Georgia 30523 (Plug this in advance into your GPS or maps)
The best way to kick off a review of a wine tasting for our first time visit to this North Georgia winery is to share that we came home with 2 bottles! Read on to learn about our two favorite wines! We visited Terra Icognita on a Sunday in August 2025 and instantly we loved and appreciated the architecture and design of the tasting room built as a 360 degree compound so you have an all around view of the gorgeous mountain landscape. The look and design felt Mid Century Modern inspired! We learned from the charming, knowledgeable and informed gentleman Chris behind the wine bar that about 70% of the wine grapes are grown on their beautiful property and the rest are imported by other local area wineries. Chris had a charming and well behaved dog behind the bar and we saw another couple with their two dogs enjoying a day, so they are dog friendly! I had to put on my other hat as an art appraiser and dealer to view all the Abstract Expressionist large paintings by a local North Georgia artist that were for sale. North Georgia Culture always encourages business to utilize their walls for an art gallery as an investment in the local arts culture, and as a potential revenue stream. Now on to reviewing their fine wines; we opted for the most Dry choices although Terra Icognita offers a spectrum of wines from Dry to Sweet.
- Traminette White Wine – Perky, good for summertime, easy to drink and a great representation of North Georgia wines as it had hints of peach and grapefruit.
- Dry Blueberry Fruit Wine – Despite being a fruit wine it finishes Dry, and smells more like blueberry than it tastes. Tasted like a nice Red and in fact I forgot that it was blueberry.
- True North White Wine – Soft almost creamy in the mouth and tastes like an Off Dry blood orange.
- Compass Rose – A very fruit forward rose on the sweet side that would be ideal for a hot summer day.
- Cabernet Sauvignon – Grapes grown on property. Nice tannins, perfect for Fall with a nice amount of the Oak and other spices – Very Pleasant!
- Cardinal Direction Red Wine – Smoother than the Cabernet Sauvignon, but complexity deepens with each sip. Hints of currant and neutral mushrooms.
- Lux Clairet Red Wine – Very light in body and color. An experiment using Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels with a very playful result – this Red is boozy on the nose and tart in the mouth – Like Nothing we have Ever Tasted!
To recap we had a delightful first visit and tasting at Terra Incognita. When you visit, please ask the gentleman who is the proprietor about their works of art, and be sure to ask for the origin story of their VERY clever and cool logo that they display on all their merchandise. By the way, we went home with a bottle of the Cabernet Sauvignon and a bottle of the Traminette.
Be sure to tip 15-20% at each North Georgia winery, distillery, restaurant or bar you get to experience and enjoy and tell them you read about them on NorthGeorgiaCulture.com!
