“Would you consider us better than Napa, equal to, or…?

I was so impressed at the boldness of Lana’s question – and I’m happy to say that my answer wasn’t lip service – the wines we tasted are comparable to young vines of Napa and some of the Italian wines I’ve tried. Maybe 10 years ago I visited parts of North Carolina’s burgeoning wine scene in the Yadkin River Valley, and it wasn’t that great (to my taste).  Having started my obsession with wine by drinking French wines in France as a student, I was a bit of a snob. But each area has a speciality, and it takes time to find your strengths. In the 60’s Napa Valley hadn’t made a global impact, but in the mid 70’s…the world took notice. It also had a passionate marketer in Robert Mondavi whose mission was to make the world pay attention.  

Jay Raffaldini happens to be Italian (as was Mondavi) and he chose the Yadkin River Valley as the home of his Raffaldini winery, where Lana is a tasting room attendant.  As I learn more about Italian grapes and the unique ways they make wines, going to a “local” source was incredibly helpful. I tasted classic Italian varietals and learned that they are actually clones of the originals since they cannot directly import the foreign root stock (some laws?). We had a sparkling Vermentino, a still (non-bubbly) Vermentino blend with Pinot Grigio, and a beautiful free run (juice that runs under the weight of the grapes, no pressing) rose made from Sangiovese and Montepulciano. There were blends of reds (Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Petit Verdot, and Sagrantino) that ranged from light and tannic to spicy with leather. Aged oak kept things from being too much vanilla or wood, and added the right amount of depth.

The Italians have a unique process called Appassimento to create some of their wines. At harvest they take the grape bunches and tie them and hang to dry or lay them on racks. At Raffaldini they use the rack method. Once the grapes lose up to 60% of their water content, they are ready for pressing. This makes the remaining juice highly concentrated, and also results in a lot of sugar. More sugar equals more alcohol when allowed to ferment all the way. So you either have sweeter, low alcohol wines, or dryer and higher alcohol. You can really taste the cherry and jammy flavors in the appassimento styled wines. Pretty fun. And there is 1 tour they’ll let you go on in November where you can actually see the grapes in process!  

Half the fun of going to a vineyard is the experience, and Raffaldini has nailed it. The gardens and views of the rolling hills are beautiful, and the wrought iron tables are the perfect spot to enjoy a bottle after you’ve completed your tasting and a tour of the vineyards. I almost joined the wine club…but I’ve decided to save my budget and keep trying new wines. They have loads of events too… I highly recommend Raffaldini!

As a quick aside, next door is a little winery started in 2010 called Piccione Vineyards. They have a beautiful selection of Italian wines as well, plus some live music on the veranda.  

Since they are pretty new, the vines have a way to go before they fully develop the flavors, but it’s definitely worth checking out while you’re there. And the staff was very knowledgeable about the wines and the growing wine community in the valley.