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Harvest time and the sipping is ... busy?

At many North Carolina wineries, this time of year is slammed with grape picking, crushing, pumping, fermenting. So a winery visit now might find winemakers checking final sugar levels, dropping tank temperatures, clearing lines, cleaning tanks, assessing oak barrels.

But in all that hurly-burly, it's a good chance to see the down and dirty of the Yadkin Valley's next vintage.

From Greensboro, the nearest grape cluster west -- about 45 minutes away -- is the Lewisville-Mocksville-Yadkinville area. There, find RayLen Vineyards, Hanover Park Vineyards, and Westbend Vineyards, all 15 minutes from each other.

Westbend is the pioneer, introducing traditional European grapes to Tar Heel soil back in the 1970s. Hanover Park and RayLen followed suit. All do well by traditional vinifera. If you go, be sure to check out RayLen's Yadkin Gold, Hanover Park's Vin d'Orange, and Westbend's Lilly B.

Go west

Further west is a more ambitious tour de force. Wineries are clustered close -- you'll see lots of grape signs -- off Exit 267 from U.S. 421 (just past the I-77 exit). The wineries are all 10-15 minutes from each other.

En route to Raffaldini's sprawling Tuscan estate, offering Italian style wines (Pinot Grigio, Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Vermentino), you'll see the sign to quaint Laurel Gray. which does well by Viognier and Chardonnay.

Buck Shoals is all about family, too, with Italian heritage in the mix. Check out various blends amid familiar varietals. Another cool fact: There's an Amish community right down the road and a must-see Amish general store. Pick up your picnic there and grab baked goods to take back home. Drive slow: Don't hit the horse and buggy clippity-clopping ahead.

Nearby Shadow Springs shows a nice touch with Seyval Blanc, Viognier and Cabernet Franc. For the adventurous, check out its chocolate-infused Cabernet Sauvignon, Dark Shadow.

All four are part of the Swan Creek appellation. Interested? Visit www.swancreekvine yards.com.

Around the next bend

In and around Elkin, four wineries align as the Upper Yadkin Wine Trail.

In Elkin proper is Brushy Mountain Winery, a mom-and-pop shop with varietals and odd blends (Bugaboo Creek, Booger Swamp).

Ten minutes outside town are Elkin Creek and Grassy Creek vineyards. Elkin Creek, settled alongside the surging Big Elkin Creek, includes a partially restored, turn-of-the-century grist mill.

Nearby Grassy Creek is home to the hunting lodge/vacation hide-away of a storied North Carolina family: Hanes. As in all things underwear. The tasting room is an old horse barn, the winery an old dairy barn.

Nearby is McRitchie Winery & Ciderworks. It offers top-notch varietals, and hard ciders and fruit wines with elegant restraint. Winemaker Sean McRitchie is also the silent guiding hand behind a handful of other Yadkin Valley wineries.

Last hurrahs

After harvest, final festivals and fall events hit North Carolina and Virginia, including:

Sept. 11-12 -- Virginia's Great Grapes Wine Festival, Reston, Va. www.uncorkthefun.com

Sept. 18 -- Summer Concert Series, featuring The Tams, Shelton Vineyards, Dobson. www.sheltonvineyards.com

Sept. 18 -- Italian Festival, Raffaldini Vineyards, Ronda. www.raffaldini.com

Sept. 24-26 -- N.C. Wine & Food Weekend, Bald Head Island. www.ncfoodandwine.com

Oct. 2 -- Harvest Festival, RayLen Vineyards, Mocksville. www.raylenvineyards.com

Oct. 2 -- Great Grapes Wine Festival, Symphony Park, Charlotte. www.uncorkthefun.com

Oct. 9 -- The Black Dog Wine & Beach Festival, Chateau Morrisette Winery, Meadows of Dan, Va. www.thedogs.com

Oct. 9-10 -- Harvest Festival at Shelton Vineyards, Dobson. www.sheltonvineyards.com

Oct. 16 -- Yadkin Valley Grape Festival, Yadkinville. www.yvgf.com

Backroads Guilford

Recently had a chance to re-visit Guilford County's two wineries and made some fun discoveries. Stonefield Cellars near Stokesdale just released a 2008 Malbec, the grapes sourced from a vineyard in Summerfield.

Stonefield winemaker Robert Wurz joins Shelton Vineyards as only the second N.C. winery to craft a standalone Malbec, arguably the signature grape of Argentina. Stonefield's Malbec ($22) struck me as a lighter-styled interpretation, both in color and weight. But it's a worthy first effort -- and worth a visit to sample this rarity.

Two Stonefield wines that also caught my attention were the 2007 Barrel X (a blend of Syrah, Barbera and Mourvedre, $25) and the 2006 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($30). Each had lusciously layered dark fruits and good tannin backbone.

If you want to take your wine experience beyond the tasting room, Stonefield's Robert Wurz is teaching "Advanced Winemaking" at the winery. I like the required course materials: "sturdy shoes and clothes that can get stained."

The six-class semester runs Sept. 20 to Nov. 15 and includes hands-on work in the winery. Class hours: 7-9 p.m. Cost: $150. Registration deadline: Sept. 17. Information: 644-9908.

At Grove Winery near Gibsonville, winemaker Max Lloyd gave a sneak peek at the 2009 Sangiovese and the 2009 Merlot, both very tasty and both to be released this week.

I also enjoyed getting reacquainted with three reds rare to North Carolina: 2008 Tempranillo, 2008 Nebbiolo and 2008 Norton. I like how Lloyd is taking chances, assessing North Carolina's interpretation of varietals that are world-famous elsewhere.

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Ed Williams is public information director for Alamance Community College. This column publishes the first Wednesday of each month. If you have news of an event, send it to williamsonwine@gmail.com