I learned recently that Downtown Lavonia has an interesting, somewhat undiscovered gem – the Southern Alpaca Connection, a small shop on Main Street located next to the gazebo. It’s in the old Mac’s Donut Shop location, in a building more than 100 years old. Another interesting fact I learned, the brick facade is from bricks that are also more than 100 years old from an old demolished building in Canon which was owned by Monroe Brown, Owner of Blue Haven Bee, a place where I spend a lot of my cheese time.
George and Judy Dick with their daughter, Dawn, own Southern Alpaca Connection which as you might guess, is a shop specializing in clothing made from alpaca fibers. Much of the yarn in the shop comes from Judy and George’s herd of seventy-four alpacas which they keep on their farm in Canon, Georgia. Their yarns proudly bear the “Georgia Grown” logo and come in several gorgeous hues. The store features, sweaters, capes, socks, jackets, scarves, throws for your sofa or bed and coats, all made from alpaca fibers.
I own an alpaca shawl coat that I bought at least twenty-five years ago, which is still my favorite coat and as beautiful as the day I bought it. It’s 100% alpaca and soft as a cloud or baby’s bottom. Luxury and durability at its best. Tip from Judy: beware when buying alpaca products on the internet or other brick and mortar establishments – many alpaca products are now mixed with wool, to keep the price lower, but the alpaca-wool blend is not the same; it’s not as soft and cuddly and can be scratchy. If you’re going to buy an alpaca product, buy the real thing, not a blend. And, if you take care of it, it will serve you well for decades. I know this to be true.
And while their alpaca clothing is delightful, the gem of which I write today is tucked down the hall in the back – a wine and coffee bar. The coffee is freshly roasted at their Canon farm from green beans imported from primarily Peru and Bolivia. Interesting bit of trivia that George shared: a South American coffee survey found that the majority of women in the survey preferred coffees from Bolivia, while men preferred the coffees of Peru. George had no idea why or what it meant but an interesting bit of trivia to share with your friend.
This is family with diverse interests… caring for their herd of seventy-four alpacas and roasting coffee beans for the coffee they sell. You can buy small bags of ground coffee and larger bags of whole beans. Like cheese, George suggests you buy smaller amounts of coffee more often to ensure freshness and peak taste.
In addition to their own roasted coffee offerings, they offer a selection of wines from local wineries, most of which are within a one-hour drive of Lavonia. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the Dicks host wine tastings from 1pm to 7pm in the wine bar. For $10, you can taste five wines from the featured winery which includes a logo wine glass. The Man and I dropped in for the tasting which this week was a selection of the fine wines from 12 Spies Vineyard. 12 Spies is located in Rabun Gap, Georgia which is a few miles north of Clayton, almost in North Carolina. (When you play in the World Series of Poker Circuit events at Cherokee, you almost drive through Rabun Gap… not that I would know that…)
The wine tasting menu offered seven wines from 12 Spies: two whites, a blush, a peach wine and three reds, including a sweet red. My choices included 12 Spies Signature Chardonnay; Lordy Mercy, a blend of Seyval Blanc and Petit Manseng; a Cabernet Franc; Barefoot Blush; Front Porch Peach and Holy Moses, a sweet red.
The Chardonnay was oaky with a hint of apples on the finish. I’m not a big Chardonnay fan, but enjoyed this one.
Lordy Mercy was a sweeter white with hints of apricot and honey. This was one of my two favorites of the entire five-wine flight.
Next up I chose 12 Spies Cabernet Franc which Dawn served slightly chilled, a nice touch. The cherry notes were prominent and the finish included vanilla. A nice Cab Franc.
Barefoot Blush was light and sweet, reminding me of a pleasant afternoon at the beach watching the surf roll in with its papaya and fruity notes.
The Front Porch Peach is a wine made from Georgia peaches and as you might expect, its notes were peachy and refreshing.
I finished my flight with the Holy Moses Sweet Red, which was my other favorite of the five I tasted.
Dawn offers a respectable pour of each and if you want, they also provide a nice selection of Cabot cheddars to enjoy with your wine.
There are not a lot of places in Lavonia to sit and enjoy a glass of wine in a pleasant setting, but this one is tops in downtown. If you live in the area and haven’t stopped in… shame on you; you’re missing a gem of a place for wine and if you don’t drink, stop in for their farm-roasted coffee. We brought home two small bags and had one this morning… better than what we normally brew here at the manse.
George, Judy, Dawn and I are working with the Lavonia Chamber of Commerce to organize an “After Hours” event for Chamber members that will feature a cheese grazing table and the local wines served in the charming wine bar at Southern Alpaca. Details are being put together now and will be announced once we have them. We are hoping to have an event in place to celebrate America Cheese Month which is October and celebrated throughout the US in cheese shops, wine shops, restaurants and other venues. For more information on American Cheese Month, visit the American Cheese Society.
In addition to being an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional, I am a Certified ServSafe Food Production Manager with certifications that also include ServSafe Certified Instructor and Proctor. I am available for cheese events, cheese program development, cheese training, food safety training and 3rd party food safety auditing. See my About Me and Resume pages for more details or call me at 360 921 9908 to discuss availability.
Pardon our dust… we’re remodeling the website and over the next few weeks, you will see old files moved to new places and some old files may be gone. If you can’t find something you need, just send me an email and I’ll locate it and send you a link… the new site should be complete by end of September to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the website. (Marcellathecheesemonger at gmail.com)
Latest updates and additions include: Updated About Me page, a new Availability page, Cheese Menu, Cheese Education Index, Cheese Index, Recipe Index pages. (All of these pages are still “under construction” and will be completed in the coming days.)
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