The Swan Creek AVA is an American Viticultural Area

American Viticultural Area

An American Viticultural Area is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States distinguishable by geographic features, with boundaries defined by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau , United States Department of the Treasury....

 located in the northwestern portion of North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, in the Piedmont

Piedmont (United States)

The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division...

 region. The appellation

Appellation

An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown; other types of food often have appellations as well...

 is distinguished by its loam

Loam

Loam is soil composed of sand, silt, and clay in relatively even concentration . Loam soils generally contain more nutrients and humus than sandy soils, have better infiltration and drainage than silty soils, and are easier to till than clay soils...

y soil with schist

Schist

The schists constitute a group of medium-grade metamorphic rocks, chiefly notable for the preponderance of lamellar minerals such as micas, chlorite, talc, hornblende, graphite, and others. Quartz often occurs in drawn-out grains to such an extent that a particular form called quartz schist is...

 and mica

Mica

The mica group of sheet silicate minerals includes several closely related materials having highly perfect basal cleavage. All are monoclinic, with a tendency towards pseudohexagonal crystals, and are similar in chemical composition...

. It is the second AVA to be established in North Carolina, as a sub-appellation of the Yadkin Valley AVA.

The AVA shares its name with the unincorporated township of Swan Creek, North Carolina

Swan Creek, North Carolina

Swan Creek is an unincorporated community in western Yadkin County, North Carolina south of Jonesville, North Carolina. It also shares its name with an American Viticultural Area region in the Yadkin Valley AVA....

.

Geography and Climate

The Swan Creek AVA has a slightly cooler climate than the rest of the Yadkin Valley AVA—average annual maximum temperatures are 0.6 °F degrees lower than in Yadkin, and average annual minimums are a full 2 °F lower. Rainfall ranges from approximately 44.4 inches (112.8 cm) to 57 inches (144.8 cm), with an additional average of 6.3 inches (16 cm) of snow per year, much less than surrounding areas.