California’s Napa Valley has long claimed to be America’s wine capital, but you might be surprised to know that North Georgia—with more than 20 vineyards scattered across the region—is developing into a surprising challenger.

“We started it back in ’99. I was 26,” Brannon Boegner said, describing the early moments of Wolf Mountain, the winery he and his father, Karl Boegner, have been raising on a steep Dahlonega slope for almost two decades.