ou know a young wine region is coming of age when it begins to define and delineate smaller appellations within larger ones. The seven counties that make up the Yadkin Valley AVA, North Carolina’s first, now have a new appellation tucked in the southwest corner: Swan Creek, officially designated on May 27, 2008. Named for the creek system that is a tributary to the Yadkin River, which forms its northern boundary, the Swan Creek region is situated some 40 minutes west of Winston-Salem, straddling Highway 421 as it crosses Interstate 77 and winds northward into the Blue Ridge Mountains.