A Bollen Road farm operation will soon get additional use and will be another potential tourism draw to Polk County with approval of a winery operation and tasting room that Scott Dodson is soon to start construction on in 2021 and beyond.

Dodson and family sought permission from the County Commission first for a permit to have a Special Land Use Permit to operate a farm winery – approved without issue by the commission during their December 8 regular session on Tuesday – and then got approval for the multi-use building he wishes to have on his property to operate the winery and tasting room in a downstairs commercial operation, and live in a 1,400 square foot home above it.

He and his family plan to move into the upstairs home once construction is completed to ensure smooth on-site operations, Dodson explained to Commissioners during back-to-back hearings over his dual requests on December 7. The operation will be a first of its kind in Polk County, operating also as a farm with plenty of room for the already present cattle, and for expansion of the vines.

“We will continue to plant,” he said. “We typically plant in spring, we did in 2019 and this past spring. We were planning on breaking ground (on the new facility) in October, but COVID has made everything crazy. We will probably break ground in the spring, and with that we probably won’t do both.”

He added the process of planting is labor-intensive, but that he has help from his family to do much of the work in caring for the crop.

The grapevines are already on the property and providing 2 tons worth of harvest on two acres of land – one acre each split between white and red wine varieties that are French-American hybrids – with plans to expand and do more.

He’s also had volunteer help to plant what is already on-site, and in the latest harvest and plans to incorporate additional hands as he goes along with the potential need for hired staff. They’ll for now have a small distribution area in the facility, a tasting room, and the winery equipment in all new construction.

“We are raising cattle on the property, and we will continue to raise cattle on the property so that we are farm winery in the true sense of the term,” he said.

The winery is well off the beaten path on Bollen Road, situated south between Rockmart and Cedartown near the Haralson County line near Yorkville and in the Vinson Mountain area. He expects to expand to further acreage as they grow in the coming years, but in small stages.

That may be part of its attraction as a hideaway from the hustle and bustle of city life and a growing amount of agritourism opportunities in and around Polk County. Wineries in specific are growing in Georgia, with the state hosting more than two dozen wineries so far according to information available on the Winegrowers Association of Georgia site. Most of those are situated in North Georgia and toward the mountain regions, with a concentration around the Dahlonega area.

Farm wineries in specific are defined as those that produce much of their product on property, and their grapes have to come from Georgia as opposed to a commercial winery, which could get their wine grapes on the market from anywhere.

Commissioners were thankful to Dodson for choosing Polk County to do business.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to meet Scott earlier, and they chose Polk County to do this,” said Commissioner Scotty Tillery. “They chose Polk County to do this. For that I appreciate you, and Polk County appreciates you.”

Commissioner Linda Liles was excited for the new venue, and so was Commissioner Gary Martin. He jokingly asked whether Dodson was seeking a full-time taster position yet. He did have serious questions about operations and wanted to understand the liability concerns around working in the operations and having a residence above.

Planting parties have attracted volunteer help, and Dodson’s distributing the harvest to other wineries for use until his facilities are up and running and able to produce his own product. They chose to have a multi-use facility instead of several buildings to save room for keeping cattle and not take up too much room.

The facility will be at least 1,000 feet from his closest neighbors. They’ll be able to host weddings and parties as well.

The board approved both requests from Dodson for the land use permit and the allowance of the multiuse facility on his property without issue.