About Appalachian Kitchens - the Vineyard Gourmet

Small batch hand crafted jams jellies sauces conserves infused with wine, beer, mead, moonshine, hard cider and spirits for wholesale to wineries, specialty and gourmet shops. Catering for small groups and house parties. Appalachian Kitchens was founded by Janice Walters-Taylor in 1995. She attended Florida International University School of Hospitality Management, and studied the same at Oxford Brookes University in Oxford, England. She has always found joy in hospitality, and ran a successful catering business in South Florida for a number of years. After a bout with cancer, losing the ability to work full time, and being driven to find something to occupy her recovery time, she found solace in the homespun jam making skills of her matriarchs. Gardening, foraging, and preserving were skills she learned at an early age in upstate New York where she was born and raised. She wanted to set herself apart in the new endeavor, and after much thought and recipe development decided to inspire her jams, jellies, conserves, and sauces, with spirits. She started out with wine, and has since has added, beer, mead, hard cider, moonshine, and hard spirits. Her international travels during her US Army enlistment permitted her to sample cuisine from all over Europe, a value add in product development. She was always a hit when on field maneuvers as she would use any spare time to forage in the woods for nuts and berries, and partner with the mess hall to create interesting fare for the soldiers. Starting in a small canning kitchen in the basement of her home, and concentrating on small batch hand-crafted offerings, her business has expanded to a 2000 square foot production facility in Blairsville, Georgia. Her early days found her attending local craft and food shows to hawk her wares; these days she finds herself concentrating on a burgeoning wholesale business with many of her clients being wineries and specialty grocery stores in the Georgia Mountains. Appalachian Kitchens, and member of Georgia Grown, is GREEN Certified, recycling nearly 100% of the packaging in which her raw materials come. Her products have ribboned at the America’s Mart Gourmet Food Show, the annual statewide UGA Flavor of Georgia contest, demonstrated at Afternoon in the Country put on by the Atlanta Chapter of Les Dames de Escoffier, and has been offered as a “best pic” in USA today. Appalachian Kitchens is a 100% woman and veteran owned business and you may see a short list of her offerings at www.appalachiankitchens.com or contact Janice at 706.745.8660.