American Viticultural Areas (AVAs)
Only areas that are home to distinctive climates, soil, and elevations earn the prestigious designation of an American Viticultural Area. North Carolina is home to 7 AVAs. When you sip in these regions, you know you’re experiencing something singularly exclusive to the spot you’re standing.
Crest of the Blue Ridge AVA
Crest of the Blue Ridge in Henderson County is named for the Eastern Continental Divide, which runs diagonally through the AVA. Its defining features are climate and elevation. Warm days and cool nights during growing season produce ideal conditions for cultivating European vinifera and French-American hybrid grapes. The average elevation is 2,362 feet, marking a distinction from the rolling foothills to the east and south, and the taller, rugged mountains to the north and west.
Tryon Foothills AVA
The Tryon Foothills AVA sits within a unique climatic phenomenon known as the thermal belt. Here, warm air lingers on the slopes while cooler air drains to the valleys below, creating an unusually stable environment for grape growing.
The thermal belt delivers grapes with balanced acidity, concentrated flavor, and distinctive character. This terroir has drawn pioneering winemakers to Polk County for over a century and now underpins the identity of the Tryon foothills AVA. Wines from this region carry the signature of their landscape—elegant, expressive, and a true reflection of where the Blue Ridge meets the Piedmont.