The people of Raffaldini wines have managed to bring a part of Italy to North Carolina. The beautiful countryside is reminiscent of the rolling hills of Tuscany.
Nestled near the Yadkin River and Blue Ridge Mountains, the rolling hills and gentle slopes of the 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.
With this understanding and deep respect for the land, they began to carefully sculpt and shape the property according to its natural contours and aspects. Over time twenty-seven acres of classic Italian and some French varietals were planted. Then in 2004, an additional ten acres of central and southern Italian grapes were planted, and three more acres in 2005. Eventually more Italian varietals have been added upon their release from quarantine from the California repository of vines. Some of the varietals, like Vermentino, are so unique that the Raffaldini family was not only the first and among the only vineyards on the East Coast to plant them, but also the first in the United States.
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