Places
You've
Never
Been
and why you
should go there

By Carla Jean Whitley

I consider myself a city girl, so much as anyone can be in Alabama. When I plan vacations I focus on bustling metropolises, not restful beach towns. I love walking through downtown—downtown Birmingham, downtown Nashville, downtown New York, heck, even downtown Tuscaloosa—simply soaking in the ambiance and people watching.

But the longer I’ve lived in Alabama, the more I’ve discovered that I have a soft spot for this state and its rural communities. When airfare and gas prices cancel my far-flung plans, there’s plenty to explore within an easy day’s drive.

If the itch to get out of town competes with your desire to cut back on gas money this summer, discover the charm of Alabama towns you’ve never visited. These aren’t your typical tourism locations. You’ll find gift shops and brochures at a few, but mostly this list is about knowing your state better—and having a little fun in the process.

Whether it’s for a few hours or a few days, we’ve searched out places in Central Alabama that offer a ready excuse to escape the city.

“You put Alabama on a bottle of wine and people don’t take you seriously,” Charles Brammer Jr. says during a tour of Morgan Creek Winery. Adding muscadine to the wine’s description doesn’t improve matters, but Brammer doesn’t mind the underdog position. Everyone has a homemade muscadine wine story, he says, but no one does it commercially.

But then there’s Charles and Mary Brammer, Brammer’s parents and the winery’s owners.

Morgan Creek produced 6,000 cases of wine in 2001. This year, they’re looking at 15,000 cases. That’s not half-bad for an operation that the younger Brammer describes as “a hobby that got out of hand.” Morgan Creek is a winery for the “antisnob;” wine neophytes—like me—need not be afraid to take advantage of this little jewel just down the road.

The Brammers walk visitors through the wine making process, from vine to bottle. You’ll learn the differences between how they make white and red wines, why it’s so cold in the warehouse and more. And then there’s my favorite part—the wine tasting.

Morgan Creek offers nine wines, and they’ll lead you on a journey from the driest (Cahaba White, a dry but fruity, flavorful wine, and my personal favorite) to the sweetest (Sweet Blueberry, which tastes just as it sounds). The family’s eight-acre vineyard supplies about 5 percent of the fruit necessary for their wine production, and they also draw visitors with u-pick blueberries.

“A lot of people, when they travel, they want to see the local winery,” Brammer says. Don’t miss the Alabama product in your own backyard.

Next I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5

Best in Birmingham Survey
 

This Week...

Dinner For 4 at the Bright Star Restaurant!!