This is the second in a series of profiles of Georgia wineries. Subsequent profiles will appear when the writer feels sufficiently motivated to do them ... or when his editor yells at him.

Craig Kritzer, known to his wife Cydney as a "Renaissance man," doesn't waste time.

In 2001, the semi-retired mergers and acquisitions attorney from South Florida released the first wines bearing his then-new Frogtown Cellars label.

In 2002, the upstart winery owner sent three of his bottled infants to the rigorous San Francisco International Wine Competition, where every June thousands of wines from around the world vie for recognition.

"We took two silver medals and one bronze," he said, a hint of a smile flashing across his face. Craig Kritzer is not a big smiler.

Since then Frogtown Cellars, whose winery building crowns a green hilltop in Lumpkin County between Dahlonega and Cleveland, has hauled home scores of medals, prizes and critical acclaim.

During a recent visit to Frogtown Cellars, my bride and I were greeted by Cydney - who does not miss Miami one little bit. She showed us through the winery building with stone-decorated walls, an eye-catching old bar used for tastings and a vaulted ceiling.

"Craig designed this building," she said, "and the vineyards, too." Frogtown's 42 acres of plantings sprawl away from the winery and behind a sheltering grove of trees. Although his education and background are in the law, Craig immersed himself in architecture, viticulture (the growing of grapevines) and viniculture (the making of wine). He planted 20 varieties of grapes - most vinifera, or classic European wine grapes - in places where they would grow best, according to sun exposure and soil.

Renaissance man, indeed.

Frogtown Cellars shatters the image of Georgia wineries of "the old days;" places that churned out muscadine wines for folks who liked their wine sweet and redolent of pungent fruit.

Today, wineries in Northeast Georgia - among them Frogtown Cellars - are cranking out top-shelf juice, primarily from vinifera grapes. What types? How about cabernet sauvignon, tannat, viognier, sangiovese and chardonnay. Craig and Cydney even grow a grape they were told would not grow here - sauvignon blanc.

Sauvignon blanc, Frogtown style, resembles the famed Loire Valley white, Sancerre. It is somewhere between the crisp, citrussy New Zealand style and the lush fruity California wines. It's exposed to neutral oak, to preserve the nature of the grape.

I rated that wine among my favorite whites, along with the 100 percent viognier, with light, peachy aromatics. Another fave is the winery's Inclination, a proprietary blend of chardonnay and viognier, along with a French-American hybrid grape, vidal, fermented in French oak. It is unique, with distinctive flavors; a nice, dry food wine, and one that wins many awards for the Kritzers.

Among the reds, I really enjoyed Frogtown's sangiovese, made from the primary red-wine grape of Tuscany. It does well here, and this edition boasts rich berry fruitiness with just the right amount of tannins to give the wine body to stand up to hearty dishes.

High marks go to another proprietary label, Frogtown's Convergence. It represents Craig's battle to persuade other Georgia winemakers to tell consumers the whole story of what's in the bottle - 100 percent identification. Some area wineries blend West Coast (mostly California) fruit or juice with their local grapes; state law does not require them to say that on their labels.

But Convergence's label tells you this is an East Coast-West Coast blend; 66 percent California cabernet sauvignon, malbec and merlot; and 34 percent Frogtown cabernet franc. It is a lively red with a lot of flavors. I see this one with steaks sizzling right off the grill.

Another "big" red is Frogtown's Shotgun, a blend of tannat, cabernet franc and touriga nacional, the primary grape used in Portugal to make Oporto (Port).

The Kritzers are big boosters of this winemaking area. The prestigious Wine Report, Craig says, rated Northeast Georgia as one of the most up-and-coming wine regions in the country.

"Northeast Georgia has it all over any other area on the East Coast," he says. "We have a longer growing season than, say, Virginia. We're making great wine here."

Randall Murray is a Gainesville-area resident. Have a question about wine? He can be contacted at murrwine@aol.com. His column runs on the first Wednesday of the month.