Photographs, heirlooms, years of work and treasured memories all were burned to ashes in a matter of minutes on Wednesday, Jan. 22, after a fire tore through Sweet Acre Farms Winery in Alto. Established in 2016, Sweet Acre is known as the first winery established in Hall County.
While the cause is still under investigation, Hall County Fire Rescue determined the wind and a supposed lack of access to a viable water source were the two primary reasons the business was a total loss.
On Thursday, the three-story structure on the couple’s 46-acre farm was reduced to a heap of rubble – still smoldering with smoke 24-hours later – as owners Matthew Vrahiotes and his wife Lindsey Vrahiotes assessed the devastation.
“To see the place go up in flames, it’s just the worst thing that could happen,” Matthew said. “When you have something that means so much – in a building that personifies the affection people have for you – I always try to carry that on forward. I valued every person that walked through our door over the years.”
The beginning
Sweet Acre Farms Winery was first conceived by Matthew and his wife Lindsey in 2016, as the establishment became the first winery in Hall County with the help of Matthew’s father-in-law, William “Jackie” Crumley.
None of it likely would’ve happened without Jackie, according to Matthew, who described Jackie as a father figure – his “hero,” as he described a man that guided him well into his adult years.
Before that, the conception of the winery sprouted from blackberries that grow naturally on the land. Matthew said the whole thing started as something of an experiment, crushing peaches and other fruits to ferment into wine, then the idea took hold. Together, Matthew and Jackie steered bulldozers and with other equipment they cleared and leveled land that had been only forest before.
“I started investigating what it would take to start a winery,” Matthew said. “Before I knew it, (Jackie) was over here pushing out the dirt and leveling out the ground and we were just moving forward. He believed in me. And he just said: ‘Keep going.’ And he helped me build it all.”
The winery would see success in the years ahead, Matthew said, as he witnessed the business grow to welcome up to over 100 people on any given night in the spring and summer months.
“It was a lot of blood, sweat and tears that went into it,” Matthew said.
There, in the building now reduced to ruins, Matthew and Lindsey’s daughter took her first steps. His uncle, an Ohio State fan from Toledo, would sign a dollar bill reading ‘Go Bucks,’ which lay behind a counter for years as a reminder – another one of the many memories.
When Jackie died in May of 2024, Matthew and Lindsey saw a turning point: It was time, they said, to live anew in 2025 in his honor. Then, just yesterday (Jan. 22), the unthinkable happened before their eyes.
The blaze
On Wednesday, Matthew had just finished a sales call when he took another call from a neighboring property owner.
The building on Sweet Acre Farms was ablaze, soon to be fully engulfed in flames. Matthew had a fire extinguisher in hand when he arrived, but the blaze already was so far out of control that he knew right away any efforts would be futile or even dangerous.
He turned, saw his wife, Lindsey, kneeling in the wake of the fire, and together, the couple watched the place burn.
Hall County Fire Department was on scene within nine minutes, but the structure was already nearly destroyed. Habersham County Fire Department would later bring in a tanker truck to extinguish the blaze.
When they broke the news to their children, Matthew said his 6-year-old son brought him his “life-savings” – about $30 total, which he offered to his father as a donation in the aftermath of the fire. “It was touching,” Matthew said. “He’s a good boy.”
What’s next
On Thursday, Jan. 23, as he stared at the remnants of his family’s business, Matthew said he’s thankful for all the support he’s seen from patrons over the years.
“You receive the love you give,” Matthew said. “I feel like we’re getting a lot of that back. What the future holds for us – I don’t know … I’m sorry to our customers. I still value every single one of them. I wish this wouldn’t have happened, but thank you for being there – through every year and every dollar that was sold. It means a lot to me and to my family.”
Matthew said he’s uncertain whether or not he could rebuild the winery, though he’s not ruling it out. For now, he said, the plan is to evaluate the situation and adapt as a family – together.
“My wife and I are going to sit down and figure it out,” he said. “It’s still a lot to digest.”
For those who wish to support the business during the off season, Sweet Acre Farms Winery still has a Helen location on South Main Street in White County.
A GoFundMe also has been set up here.
