Wine Events
By the Bottle – August 8, 2024
RAFFALDINI VINEYARDS
There is an old Italian proverb that says, “the land the farmer rejects is the land that the vineyard accepts.” This implies that the less fertile and more rocky the land, the more superior the wine will be as the grape vines struggle for survival by digging deeper into the soil in a never-ending search for water and life’s minerals.
Nestled near the Yadkin River and Blue Ridge Mountains, the rolling hills and gentle slopes of the Raffaldini vineyard are blessed with mild breezes that constantly freshen and circulate air. Unique to the vineyard is an abundance of broken granite and schist which provide for excellent soil drainage and trace mineral extraction. This gives the grape a certain terroir, or sense of place. Moderate elevation levels of 1200 feet and colder facing aspects allow for temperature variation during the growing season which slowly builds acidity and complexity. Most importantly, the vineyard possesses an indescribable sense of totality and energy that only comes from a complete union of spirituality, energy, and historic legacy.
Raffaldini is the foremost practitioner of the Italian Appassimento drying process in the United States and continues to dry more fruit than any vineyard in the country. As they further develop the use of this ancient technique, they are able to refine the drying process to be more specific to the grape varietal and now dry all of their grapes, including their whites.
