Surry Business

North Carolina’s 2007-09 state budget includes $1 million for viticulture (growing grapes) and enology (winemaking). The budget, approved Tuesday, appropriates $500,000 for the N.C. Center for Viticulture and Enology at Surry Community College in Dobson. The money may be used for equipment, staff and building operations.

The college is planning a $7.5-million viticulture and enology center that would provide training, advise growers and winemakers, conduct research and host conferences.

An additional $500,000 was appropriated in the N.C. Department of Commerce budget for the N.C. Wine and Grape Council to promote viticulture and advance the viticulture industry.

North Carolina has 61 wineries according to one recent count (10 more are on track to open within the next 12 months). Many are in the Yadkin Valley American Viticultural Area that includes Surry County. The state also has nearly 440 vineyards with more than 1,350 acres of vines. Those operations employ more than 5,600 people. Source: N.C. Commerce Department