When Yuri Kato set out to build her peach-flavored vodka, she had no idea it would take her to Augusta.

Kato wanted to align her business with Georgia’s birthplace of peach culture. After four years of research into the history of Georgia peaches, she found herself in Augusta – once home to Fruit­land Nurseries, which was among the largest horticulture sites in the Southeast from 1858 to 1918.

Through her research, Kato discovered that Belgian horticulturist and nursery owner Prosper Julius Alphon­so Berckmans, dubbed the “father of peach culture,” put Georgia peaches on the map in the late 1800s and served as a central agricultural figure across the South. The nursery grounds now serve as Au­gusta National Golf Club.

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