Carolina Wine Country Comes Into Its Own
The rolling vineyards of the Yadkin Valley have quietly matured into a serious wine region, complete with the tasting rooms and inns to match.
Mention Carolina wine and you may still draw a smirk. The vintners of the Yadkin Valley have grown used to proving skeptics wrong.
A region matures
The rolling foothills of the Yadkin Valley have developed into a genuine wine region, their soils and climate suited to varietals that thrive in the mid-Atlantic. The wines have earned real recognition, and the region has the tasting rooms, restaurants and inns to support a proper visit.
The Tuscan comparison
Visitors often reach for European analogies, charmed by the landscape of vine-covered hills and stone tasting rooms.
The vintners themselves prefer to be judged on their own terms — as a New World region still discovering its identity.
For the traveler, the valley offers the pleasures of wine country without the crowds or prices of its famous cousins, a Carolina secret still early enough to feel like a discovery.
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