November 2022
Features
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Climate change is on the ballot this November—and every elected official in Georgia has a role to play in fighting it
Despite another year of extreme heat, storms, floods, and wildfires, the climate crisis is still a neglected topic in electoral politics. But state leaders, from the governor on down, should be taking action.
Georgia wine is coming into its own (and no, it’s not all sweet)
“We’re finally coming around to this new era of Georgia wine where we’re venturing out and discovering some grapes that actually grow well here,” says Sean Wilborn, wine farmer and proprietor of Cloudland Vineyards + Winery in Buford.
Three trips to take through Georgia’s wine country
Here’s how to take a wine tasting journey through the Dahlonega Plateau, the scenic wineries of Northeast Georgia, and apple-icious Ellijay.
A blind tasting of North Georgia wines
We recruited Sarah Pierre, owner of 3 Parks Wine Shop in Glenwood Park, to do a blind tasting of wines we collected while exploring North Georgia’s wine country.
14 Georgia distilleries worth the drive
These craft spirits show there’s more to Georgia than wine and beer. Pick a spirit that interests you and hit the road—catch a tour, have a taste, and bring a bottle home.
Meet some of the folks that make up Georgia’s wine industry
Tyler Barnes became a winemaker by accident. Pamela Borgel is first (and only) woman to start a winery by herself in Georgia. La Tanya Eiland first became fascinated with winemaking as a student in the 1970s, when her grandmother sent her to visit Italy.
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The Connector
Georgia’s Gen Z voters prepare to step up to the ballot box
There are, at last count, more than 7 million registered voters in Georgia; roughly an eighth of them—more than 800,000—are between the ages of 18 and 24. The state’s youngest voting cohort, all members of Generation Z, is distinct from the rest of the electorate by several measures.
An Atlantan shares lessons learned while working the polls
One of the first things my mom had me do when I graduated from college was get registered to vote and sign up to work the election polls. I remember always going with her to vote. She made sure all her children—all nine of us—were exposed to the process.
TaB fans are putting out an S.O.S. (Save Our Soda)
In summer 2022, a hot-pink digital billboard popped up downtown near the headquarters of the Coca-Cola Co., bearing a series of paeans to the diet beverage TaB: “I’m saving a can of TaB to be buried with me.” “I spent more for my last TaB than I did on my wedding dress.” Here and in Buckhead, the billboards were paid for by the SaveTaBSoda Committee, which formed after Coca-Cola put a number of underperforming products, including TaB, on ice.
How the Krog Street Tunnel became a launching pad for a generation of artists
For a graffiti writer, the tunnel—a mishmash of graffiti art, tags, murals, and festival flyers—was the perfect canvas because the bridge provided cover and its concrete pillars framed the artwork. It served as a platform for young artists to prove themselves.
South of Savannah, gopher tortoises find an island getaway
In June, lightning struck St. Catherines Island 157 times, sparking massive fires on land already parched by drought. An uninhabited sea island south of Savannah, St. Catherines is privately owned and home to numerous wildlife conservation projects, with animal residents including ring-tailed lemurs, sandhill cranes, and sea turtles. Scorching more than 2,000 acres, the blazes threatened historical and archaeological sites including the remnants of a 16th-century Spanish mission—but some animals may have benefited.
The Bite
Review: One Flew South lands gracefully on the BeltLine
Todd Richards, Cedric McCroery, Allen Suh are back with this new location of the beloved Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport restaurant, serving creative Southern-meets-Asian dishes.
Atlanta Starbucks workers are still working toward formalizing a union
On June 23, Amanda Rivera and her coworkers voted 11–3 in favor of unionizing—a victory that turned out to be more symbolic than substantive, as Starbucks has refused to come to the table.
How Cloudland Coffee’s owner turned her roasting hobby into a career
A loud whirring fills the work area of Cloudland Coffee in Johns Creek. The noise is coming from a fluid bed roaster; inside it, moss-hued coffee beans hop around a field of hot air as their color darkens to a familiar brown. Standing around five feet tall, owner Kristina Madh handles 150-pound burlap bags with ease, scooping coffee beans into a bucket headed for the roaster.
Portrait Coffee is building on a West End legacy
As the Portrait Coffee team was looking for a space for their roastery, the family of the late Lottie Watkins was searching for a tenant to build on her legacy.
Our guide to Atlanta’s coolest coffee shops and finest roasters
A guide to the folks in Atlanta who are roasting artisan beans, serving delicious brews, or even doing both.
The Goods
5 Reasons to love Smyrna
In 1988, National Geographic called Smyrna a “redneck” town, spurring angry residents to reinvent their neighborhood, starting with a new town center, which also helped keep Smyrna’s identity from being swallowed by suburban sprawl.
Room Envy: A stunning home office in Grant Park
“I love living with different design eras,” says interior designer Laura Jenkins, whose circa-1905 Grant Park bungalow has 11-foot ceilings and original heart-pine floors to provide a great setting for her home office.
Miscellaneous
A love letter to the wine slushie
Some wines are born great, some achieve greatness, and some are thrust into slushie machines and emerge as frosé.
