A Fork in the Road

Step through a gate in Atlanta and you enter the bamboo-filled world of Kara O’Brien’s Atlanta Alpaca Treehouse, where rescued llamas, alpacas, and guanacos share the property with a one of a kind treehouse retreat. In this episode, we explore how a place built for friends grew into a destination for overnight stays, llama yoga, and animal rescue, all while giving visitors a rare escape into nature without leaving the city.

Travel with David into the mountains of Rabun County to explore Terra Incognita Vineyard, where Georgia wine, mountain trails, and a sense of adventure come together. You will meet Torsten Ernst, UGA viticulture specialist Dr. Sarah Lowder, and winemaker Alaqua Crawford as we follow North Georgia grapes from the vineyard through the winemaking process and into the tasting room.

In Ellijay, Georgia, fourth-generation farmer Joshua Aaron is carrying more than 80 years of family history into the future at Aaron Family Orchards. We explore the old apple house, Ellijay’s close-knit orchard community, new high-density apple plantings, and Joshua’s plans to keep a North Georgia farming tradition growing for another generation.

Follow David to the University of Georgia’s Food Product Innovation and Commercialization Center in Griffin to meet ILA Nutrition founders Amy Saleh and Eileen Brantley as they develop energy bars made with adaptogenic herbs and carefully selected ingredients. You will see how UGA FoodPIC, food scientists, and entrepreneur Keith Kelly help transform an herbalist-inspired concept into a product designed for commercial production.

Join David Zelski on a visit to Stonewall Creek Vineyards in Tiger, Georgia, where Mark and Sandi Diehl are helping shape North Georgia wine one harvest at a time. This episode explores how grapes, including Cabernet Franc, Petit Manseng, and Traminette, grow in the mountain climate, then follows the winemaking process from hand harvesting and fermentation to barrels and the tasting room.

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Travel with David to Terrapin Beer Company in Athens, Georgia, to trace its roots in Georgia’s early craft beer movement and see how beer moves from grain to glass. You hear from Terrapin leaders about Hopsecutioner IPA, the brewery’s Grateful Dead-inspired identity, the science behind brewing, its Terraprint sustainability work, and its connection to the Athens community.

A Fork in the Road is back for Season 8, with new stories celebrating the people, places, and traditions behind what Georgia grows, makes, and eats. This season, David Zelski visits the apple orchards of Ellijay, a hidden alpaca and llama rescue in Atlanta, North Georgia wine country, and a South Georgia pitmaster putting peaches, blueberries and pepper jelly to work in his barbecue. We’ll also hear the story of Athens craft beer pioneer Terrapin and meet Georgia entrepreneurs finding new ways to turn homegrown ideas into something uniquely their own.

What happens to used cooking oil after a restaurant closes for the night? Join David on a visit to Clean Energy Biofuels in Monroe, Georgia, where used fryer oil and grease trap waste are transformed into renewable fuel. Along the way, we meet the welders, plant managers, engineers, and recycling experts working behind the scenes to reduce landfill waste, support restaurants, and help power a growing biofuels industry across the Southeast.