The Yadkin Valley Wine Region in the northwest Piedmont Triad is one of the nation's newest American Viticultural Appellations (AVAs).

There are more than 40 grape growers and 20 wineries in the region, including Surry Community College in Dobson, N.C., which has one of only two two-year degree viticulture programs east of the Mississippi River, and which actually has an on-campus vineyard.

There is already a natural tourism tie-in with the Yadkin Valley AVA, withthe nearby Blue Ridge Parkway and Appalachian Mountains -- and Mt. Airy, boyhood home of actor Andy Griffith and inspiration for TV's "Mayberry." Mt. Airy is located in the heart of the Yadkin Valley and boasts a downtown co-op winery. Mt. Airy is also in the heart of a region that bore and still nurtures a form of roots music called “Old Time Music,” which was influenced by early immigrants from Europe and Africa and which was featured in such movies as “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and “Cold Mountain.”