Dobbins Creek Vineyards

Dobbins Creek Vineyards is located on Hemric Mountain with commanding views from our rustic log cabin tasting room, of the Swan Creek AVA (American Viticultural Area) with the Brushy Mountains to the west and Winston-Salem to the east. The Estate is comprised of 50 acres of which only 5 acres are planted with vines. The rest remains in its naturalized state for the enjoyment of our guests to escape from the urban life and to enjoy nature in its finest form. The headwaters of Dobbins Creek originate on the estate from a small artesian spring from which the vineyard takes its name. Dobbins Creek is one of the founding members of the “Swan Creek Wine Trail”.

Nature has endowed Hemric Mountain with a unique set of conditions that when combined, creates one of the most premier terroirs (climate, soil composition, water, slope and elevation) in the State of North Carolina. The mountain is a solid core of granite with the top portion of the dome decomposing helping to form the rocky, well-drained, mineral rich, loamy topsoil. The vineyard is planted on a north/south orientation to take full advantage of the sun as it tracks over the mountain during the day and to stay well drained when it rains. With all four exposures to the sun, we can plant our cooler climate varietals on the cooler east slope of the mountain with our red varietals enjoying the hotter west slope.

Rainfall is well balanced during the year with the estate enjoying a unique weather phenomenon that we call the “421 effect” where most summer storms are influenced by the Brushy Mountains before reaching our estate and causing them to track south of the vineyard paralleling U.S. Rt 421. This effect leads to a typically drier summer which helps to concentrate the flavors, acidity and sugar levels in the grapes. This effect can be seen from the tasting room deck during the summer thunderstorm season.

The microclimate in the vineyard is also heavily influenced by the Brushy Mountains which helps to moderate the temperatures on the estate with the cooling breezes coming off the peaks to help cool the vineyard during the high summer heat. Our nighttime temperatures will average a few degrees cooler than the lower lying areas around us which helps tremendously with the ripening process of our grapes. At our elevation of 1380 feet, we are neither too high which would cause our grape varietals not to fully ripen, nor too low which helps to lower the chance of killing frost in the early spring after bud break.