Surry Business

Shelton Vineyards’ 2005 Family Reserve Chardonnay won a Gold Medal and three other Shelton wines won bronze; Black Wolf Vineyards’ 2005 Chambourcin won a silver medal; Raffaldini Vineyards’ 2005 Sangiovese and 2006 Vermentino won silver and bronze medals, respectively; and Grassy Creek Vineyard & Winery’s 2005 Merlot won bronze in the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Competition sponsored by the Vinifera Wine Growers Association.

Shelton Vineyards and Black Wolf Vineyards are near Dobson and Raffaldini and Grassy Creek are near Elkin; all are within the Yadkin Valley American Viticulture Area (AVA).

Three other Yadkin Valley AVA wineries, McRitchie Winery & Ciderworks just west of Surry County in Thurmond and Flint Hill Winery and Westbend Vineyards in Yadkin County, also won silver or bronze medals.

“Out of entries from over 100 wineries in 13 states, the … winning wines are an example of the rising quality and national recognition of the wines being produced in the Yadkin Valley of North Carolina,” said Gordon Murchie, president of the Vinifera Wine Growers Association.

The third annual Atlantic Seaboard Wine Competition invited all eastern wineries producing grape wines — including Native American, French hybrid, and Vinifera — to submit entries. About 450 wines came from 102 wineries in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.