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Alamance County, NC - When you think of well-known wine regions in the United States, names like Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley come to mind.  Now Piedmont North Carolina has its own unique wine region to boast about.  

The Haw River Valley has been recognized recently by the federal government as a distinctive grape growing and wine producing area.  The Tax & Trade Bureau, the branch of government that regulates wine and other alcoholic beverages, allows the establishment of definitive American Viticultural Areas or AVAs.  An AVA is defined as a “delimited grape-growing region distinguishable by geographical features”.  These features include climate, soil, topography, and elevation that distinguish the viticultural region from its surrounding areas.

Using funds obtained through a Golden LEAF grant, the wineries of the Haw River Wine Trail compiled necessary information and submitted a petition to the TTB on December 15, 2006 showing that the Haw River Valley was a unique grape-growing region.  The petition process, which involves review by TTB personnel, posting in the Federal Register, and a public comment period, has been completed.  Now wineries that use grapes grown in the Haw River Valley region can include the AVA designation on their labels.

The Haw River Valley AVA is the third AVA in the state of North Carolina.  (The other two are in the western part of the state in the Yadkin Valley area.)  The Haw River Valley AVA covers approximately 868 sq. miles (555,508 acres), and encompasses all of Alamance County, and portions of Caswell, Chatham, Guilford, Orange, and Rockingham counties.  At the present time, the wineries in the AVA include Benjamin Vineyards & Winery (Saxapahaw), GlenMarie Vineyards & Winery (Burlington), Grove Winery & Vineyards (Gibsonville), Iron Gate Vineyards & Winery (Mebane), Silk Hope Winery (Silk Hope), and Wolfe Wines (Snow Camp).  Also included are over ten other vineyards with over 60 acres planted.


Forty years ago, California wines were relatively unknown in the US and the world.  Many people had doubts that the western US could produce wines that could compete with the wines of Europe.  However, today, California wines are winning major awards in international competitions and are recognized as some of the best in the world.  While the Haw River Valley is a relatively new region for commercial winery development, who knows, in the near future the name could be right up there with Napa and Sonoma Valley.

For more information go to http://visitalamance.com/