Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Raffaldini Vineyards and Winery

What a beautiful last day of September we're having!  I've just come in from walking Himself, Mr. Duncan, and he was feeling his oats.  :)  The sky is so blue and the sunlight is clear and warm...and thank goodness for retractable leashes.  ;)  Duncan was able to dash all about, and I could walk at a (mostly) sensible pace without having to run to keep up with him.

Back on the very first day of this month, we visited a local winery called Raffaldini.  It was a gorgeous day, just like today, and we had a great time walking around snapping pictures and enjoying the amazing views there.  It was crowded that day, so obviously, a lot of other people had the same idea we did.  :)


Hal and I first visited this winery back in 2003 or 2004, and I thought it was pretty then.  I was even more impressed on this visit.  The building and surrounding gardens and walkways are beautiful, and the views are spectacular.




One of my favorite things about this visit was that the grapes were fully ripe and still on the vines.  Was that perfect timing or what?  We've visited many of our local wineries over the years, and usually in the fall, but we've always arrived too late to see the grapes on the vine.



Here's a view of the winery and tasting room from the side.


The Knockout Roses were all blooming that day.


The Raffaldini family's origins trace back to the 14th century in Mantua, in northern Italy.  The descendants of those early Raffaldinis planted their vineyards and built a winery in the Swan Creek area of the Yadkin Valley in North Carolina.


Isn't this a charming building; it has a real, Old World feel about it.











Hal and I didn't do a wine tasting; we just strolled around the grounds and went inside for awhile to cool off.  I enjoy a nice glass of wine now and then, but my favorite thing about visiting our local vineyards is the architecture of the buildings, the landscaping, and the mountain views.


The Yadkin Valley viticultural area was born out of a need to find a new crop.  Tobacco has been in decline here for many years now, and farmers needed to find a more profitable way to utilize their land. The mixture of clay and loam soils provide excellent drainage, and the area has long, warm growing seasons and mild winters.  A perfect combination for growing grapes for wine.  The Yadkin Valley now has its own wine appellation, as does the Swan Creek area, where Raffaldini is located.


Do you have local vineyards in your area?  This is not something I grew up with here.  The wine industry has really just taken off in the last 20 years or so, and North Carolina is currently home to over one hundred wineries -- some small and some not so small.


I hope you're having a beautiful day where you are today.  Thanks so much for visiting, and I hope you'll stop back by on Thursday for an Italian-themed tablescape and a giveaway.  Until then, have a great week!

I'm linking this post to next week's Mosaic Monday party, hosted by Judith at Lavender Cottage.

Denise

14 comments:

  1. The Raffaldini Winery is really very pretty - like the buildings. The views are wonderful and i bet when the fall foliage is in full swing it is stunning.
    My brother-in-law married a Gemelo who has a winery in Northern CA. Mr Gemelo sold it and I don't know what name it goes under now. I have been down to Visa, CA to the Calaway Winery and hit most of the ones in Napa. My son loves wine and is always trying new ones. Will have to check into the NC wines.
    Thanks for sharing. Bet Mr. Duncan is growing up fast.
    Mary

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  2. Looks like a nice relaxing beautiful place to visit Denise! Glad to hear Mr. Duncan is keeping you hopping and I can't believe tomorrow will be October-enjoy:@)

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  3. The grounds are beautiful and the buildings are picturesque. Glad you got to visit while the grapes were still on the vines. We have several beautiful wineries here in Washington State. We've enjoyed visiting Ste Michelle Winery and Columbia Winery. We still need to go over the mountains and visit the wineries in Eastern Washington...

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  4. Just beautiful.
    We did a vineyard tour on our anniversary trip this year, and I loved it. I had never been to one. It just just stunning all the way around, and we had a wonderful lunch there, too. We are just getting vineyards in north Georgia, too. On the tour, they mentioned the popularity of the NC ones. They said that years of tobacco growing had given the soil there its own unique blend, and the wines were reflective of that.

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  5. The vinyard certainly is beautiful. Love seeing the grapes on the vines. Here in Colorado, vinyards are replacing the fruit orchards on the western slope--the other side of the Rocky Mountians in the Grand Junction area. So often the peach crop gets and early freeze that destroys the fruit, so vinyards seem to hace been a good replacement. Duncan must have enjoyed his walk. I dare not walk Boone. He'd pull my arm off. Wonderful photos today. Love the statue of the little girl. Have a great day.

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  6. Such a pretty vineyard. The statue of the woman carrying grapes is beautiful. Your photos of the grapes positively glow with life. We do have vineyards in our area but we've never visited even one of them. We went on a 4 hour wine tour in Provence that was very informative and I'd like to do something like that again.

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  7. What a beautiful vineyard to visit, Denise. I loved seeing the gorgeous grounds and I especially liked the statue of the woman holding the grapes.
    Rich and I visited Sonoma several years ago and had a wonderful time there going to wineries. We stayed in a garage that had been transformed into a small house that was on the owner's property. They actually had a small vineyard and bottled their own wine. What lovely memories you've just stirred up in me. Hugs and blessings sent to you.

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  8. Oh, what beautiful photos! If the photos are this good, the real thing must have been pure heaven!!! My goodness...just breathtakingly gorgeous!

    You have the iron will of a Buckingham Palace guard to have not actually tasted any wine while you were there!!! I understand that the ground are beautiful, but geez.....I don't think I could have resisted!

    We have many Missouri wineries that produce some pretty good wines. There are a couple of them within a 20-minute drive. I love going out there and, like you, just strolling the grounds or sitting to watch the sunset. So pretty!

    I hope you're having a good weekend. Enjoy and take care!

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  9. The stone building (and walkways) are nice and grapes hanging like that just make you want to pluck one to try.
    Our big grape growing region is Niagara, Ontario and I've toured and tasted some wines which are very generous glasses when poured. Thank heavens I was on a bus trip!
    Thank you for linking to Mosaic Monday.

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  10. Thank you for the tour of Raffaldini Winery. What a gorgeous spot! I would have been walking and looking and not tasting, too! Wonderful that it is a wildlife habitat. I think vineyards are gorgeous ... usually rolling hills and the stone buildings must be a must for a winery ... old world look. Your images are lovely. I want to visit!

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  11. Absolutely beautiful series of photos!

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  12. The winery looks beautiful, the landscaping and the buildings are all lovely.. We have some local wineries nearby, some are now serving a light meal.. Wine tasting is becoming very popular.. Your photos are gorgeous, thanks for sharing your visit.. Have a happy week!

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  13. We enjoy some beautiful wineries (and wine) here in Oregon, but this one is absolutely stunning. Wonderful tour. Thank you.

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  14. Wineries are always such beautiful spots...love the images here and the old world feel.

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