Photo credit: Chateau Elan Winery and Resort
Château Élan is the Most-Awarded Winery on the East Coast
Château Élan is the Most-Awarded Winery on the East Coast and we were invited to a tour and wine tasting. Yes, you read that correctly – in Georgia. When most people think of wine, Georgia is not typically the first area that comes to mind. However, I believe that Château Élan is changing people's perception of wine produced in the Southeast.
Oddly enough, even though I have lived in Georgia for over 20 years, I had not been to the winery and resort before. To be honest, I didn't think I would like the wine as I thought it would be too sweet. Wines produced in Georgia are mostly made from muscadine grapes which have high sugar content. When I think of muscadines, I think of Muscato Wine which is extremely sweet. I like my wine to be more on the dry side.
I was pleased to find out the type of varietals the winery is known for include Muscadine varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and various blends. Château Élan is located in Braselton, Georgia.
Château Élan Duncan Creek
The wines we tried:
Château Élan Sauvignon Blanc Reserve
Château Élan Chardonnay Reserve
Château Élan Duncan Creek
Château Élan Brut Reserve
Château Élan “Nancy”
Château Élan Pinot Noir Reserve
Château Élan Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Château Élan Les Petits
Château Élan Dolce Rosso
Château Élan Port Reserve
Wine Favorites
I truly enjoyed all of the wines. However, my top three choices in no particular order are:
Château Élan Chardonnay
If you are looking for a smooth, fruity, oaky chardonnay – this one is worth a try.
Château Élan “Nancy”
Nancy is the first addition of super premium white wine to their “Fingerprint” collection. It is the most elegant wine yet created by Simone Bergese and it is named after Château Élan founder Dr. Nancy Panoz. It is dry with a slightly fruity taste.
Château Élan Les Petits
If you love bold red wines – this one is the one for you. A blend of Petit Verdot and Petit Syrah. It is deliciously rich and textured wine.
Photo credit: Château Élan
Château Élan Wine Box Subscription
Château Élan just announced their new Chateau Elan Wine Box pick-up subscription experience for wine lovers who live within 50 miles of the most-awarded winery on the East Coast.
Simone Bergese
Simone Bergese
Simone Bergese is the Executive Winemaker and Director of Winery Operations for Château Élan Winery & Resort. Simone is originally from Alba, Italy, and holds a degree in Oenology and Viticulture from the Turin University in Northern Italy. Simone has worked as Assistant Winemaker and Chief Winemaker for several wineries across Italy, Australia, and the United States before joining Château Élan Winery & Resort in 2013.
Upon Simone's arrival, he directed a complete overhaul of the Estate Vineyard. The winery had been struggling to keep the grape vines they were growing in peak condition. At Simone's direction, all of the vinifera vines and other vines that were deemed unworthy were removed from the vineyard and replaced with muscadine vines that are unique to the Georgia climate.
Château Élan produces all of their wines at the winery. In addition to the grapes grown in their vineyard, they source and transport grape varieties from top vineyards in California.
Simone also infused specific winemaking techniques at the winery that he honed over his 20 years of winemaking across the world. Since joining Château Élan in 2013, his wines have won over 150 awards at prestigious wine competitions and he has brought the wine offerings to over 20 styles of wines.
Photo credit: Château Élan
The Ultimate Destination
Château Élan makes for ideal for weddings and meeting destination. It has four ballrooms, 12 conference rooms, and an auditorium. In addition to the winery, the property's grounds also include a golf course, tennis courts, and a full-service spa. According to guests, the Château Élan packs quite a punch with the amenities it provides. There are seven restaurants that offer a variety of types of food – literally everything from French cuisine to traditional Irish pub fare.
The guest rooms at the resort emulate elements of a French country estate. Very posh indeed.
Photo credit: Château Élan
About Château Élan Winery & Resort
Donald and Nancy Panoz are the visionaries and founders of Château Élan in Braselton, Ga., USA. The luxurious resort is the first winery of its kind in the region since Prohibition. With numerous expansions over the past 14 years, Château Élan is now an award-winning winery and resort with an inn, conference center, four golf courses, eight restaurants, a European-style health spa, residential community, wine market, equestrian show center, and tennis center.
Come on out and experience for yourself the place where European Luxury meets southern hospitality!
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We hope that you loved this “Château Élan is the Most-Awarded Winery on the East Coast” post.
We were hosted by Château Élan Winery & Resort and not compensated to write this post.
As always, the views expressed in my post are my own.
42 Comments. Leave new
Mmmmh, nice tips about winery and wines. Thanks for sharing.
I am a huge wine lover and I live in the South so I want to check this place out. I’m also a wedding photographer and would love to shoot a wedding there, it looks so pretty!
Lovely winery! Your favorites sound like I would love them too!
This place looks like an absolute luxurious dream! I would love to visit here myself one day and experience the resort for myself. Georgia is on my must-see list!
Georgia is a wonderful place to visit!
Thanks for sharing! Looks like a great getaway! Love the way the room looks. Very posh indeed! Hope i get to visit it one day!
I hope you do as well!
I am not the best when it comes to wine but I would certainly give that Château Élan Chardonnay a go (:
It is really good! Thank you for reading.
Looks like a great place to visit. I’ll definitely go here one day with my family. This is truly a bucket lists material.
I love wine. I lived 45 min outside of Napa and became obsessed with wine once I learned all about the process and after taking some wine tasting classes. I was not aware that there was a winery in Georgia, this is new to me and it is very cool. I would love to try this wine. thank you for sharing this with us.
I wish I lived close to Napa! So jealous!
Honestly, I can’t really define how beautiful this place is, this place is really beyond the words amazing and beautiful. I love to be at their winery and their wines look really delicious.
Thank you! It really is a wonderful place to visit!
We are wine drinkers and wish we had more local wineries.
The world needs more wineries. LOL! Cheers!
Haha! I don’t really like wine, but I will drink muscato because it’s so sweet! I didn’t even think about wineries in Georgia until your post!
The more you know… LOL! Thank you for stopping by!
Wow! This place is truely like something out of a movie. Amazing!
Thank you Stephanie!
Wow, the resort looks beautiful. I’m not a huge fan of wine but this sounds wonderful for someone who is into wine.
It really is a cool place. Thanks for stopping by!
wow! the place looks absolutely fantastic! So welcoming and very stylish. I’d so stay there!
It looks like you’ve been transported overseas. What a glorious destination for a getaway in Georgia. My husband and I are narrowing down choices for our anniversary, and this would be lovely.
Phuket is amazing. I hope you have a happy anniversary!
So beautiful! I love visiting wineries and wine tasting. Many places are part of a program called “harvest hosts” and you can park your RV there for a night and visit.
I didn’t know that! Thank you for sharing. I’ll tell my neighbor who has an RV.
What a beautiful place – the grounds and the resort. I’m not a wine drinker, but my adult daughters are, and they often go to wine tasting events in New Hampshire.
I would get along well with your daughters! LOL! I love wine.
This place is amazingly beautiful and looks very welcoming. I would love to go there to relax and to taste their delicious wines.
It really is an amazing place to visit!
Wait Georgia? That was my exact thought. I would have thought the south of France but I was way off. The surrounds and the rooms are lush and stunning
LOL! It really is a wonderful place to stay.
As soon as you mentioned muscadine wines, this sounded like the place for me. I need to plan a trip because this isn’t that far from me.
You definitely should stop by for a glass of wine! Delicious!
This looks like so much fun! It is beautiful, too!
This looks like an amazing place to visit and sip a few glasses of wine. Didn’t know they had wineries in Georgia!
The wine is really good at Chateau Elan!
This resort looks amazing! I love the idea of all the wine too!! Yum!
Thank you!
As a wine loving Mama who is 37 weeks pregnant, this sounds absolutely DIVINE! The Château Élan Les Petits sounds delicious 🙂
LOL! You’re almost there!