Raffaldini Vineyards Among America’s Best: Double Gold and Best of Class Wins at East Meets West
Raffaldini Vineyards delivered an impressive showing at the 2025 East Meets West Wine Competition, earning a Best of Class honor, a Double Gold, and a Gold Medal. Our acclaimed 2024 Vermentino Superiore received a 96 point score, the 2022 Grande Riserva secured a 94 point, Best of Class honor, while the 2024 Girasole received a 91-point Gold, underscoring the winery’s consistent excellence across vintages and varietals. These results further affirm Raffaldini’s place among the top producers in the Eastern United States.
The East Meets West Wine Competition combines the legacy and expertise of two of America’s longest-running regional contests—the International Eastern Wine Competition and the West Coast Wine Competition—bringing together decades of judging excellence. Its panels are composed of highly credentialed winemakers, sommeliers, and industry professionals who evaluate wines blind, ensuring impartial results that highlight true quality. Because it pits top producers from both coasts against one another, earning high marks here signifies that a wine can stand among the very best in the country—making it a benchmark competition worth consumers’ attention.
2022 Raffaldini Grande Riserva (94 points, Gold and Best of Class) Swan Creek Estate Grown, Produced and Bottled. Juicy, big, rich, plum skin.
2024 Raffaldini Girasole (91 Points, Gold) Swan Creek Estate Bottled & Produced. Cranberry and crunchy red fruits; rich fruit
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Featured Event
Assemblaggio!
Grande Riserva Blending Trials
Select Dates in November | 1pm - 3pm
$50 General Admission | Club Members Discount Applied at Checkout
Seats Filling Up Fast!
 We are excited to unveil the first taste of our much heralded 2023 vintage, our greatest we have ever produced. After careful aging, these rich, dark reds are ready for blending and we need you to help us determine the blend for the Raffaldini Grande Riserva, our most powerful red wine!
Assemblaggio is a two-hour educational wine experience led by Owner Jay Raffaldini and winemaker Chris Nelson in our winery barrel room. Each blend you create will be carefully analyzed, sampled and help inspire our new vintage of Grande Riserva.
This is an opportunity to hone your winemaking knowledge and ability, learn more about grape varietals, and make a few new friends in the process. Blending trials will be held in the barrel room allowing you to experience the winery during the winemaking season.
Read more.
Available Dates (click for more info or to purchase):
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Cocktails: Southern Style
Saturday October 25th | 1pm-3pm
Join Barbara Raffaldini as she welcomes Chef Belinda Smith-Sullivan, while she demonstrates how to turn your favorite Raffaldini wine into a delicious wine cocktail.
Chef Belinda will also tell us more about her recently released book – Cocktails, Southern Style: Pours, Drinks, Sips, and Bites; which explores the deep-rooted cocktail traditions of the South, combining history, techniques, bold flavors, and Southern hospitality.
The price of the ticket includes a copy of her book, specialty wine cocktails, and light bites. Tickets will be $57.50 for General Admission and wine club member discounts will be applied at checkout.
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Wine Club Member Spotlight
Leigh and Ashley Cox
Meet Leigh and Ashley Cox! Leigh is a native North Carolinian and excited to see the growth of wineries in the state. She has also lived in California, where Ashley was born and lived until the age five. Their joint foray into North Carolina wine tastings began at the vineyard whose name shall not be spoken lest Jay kick them both out of the wine club. Leigh’s first career was with California airplane manufacturer McDonnell Douglas as a financial analyst working with Northern Europe airlines. Her second career was teaching and showing students why math is important in the real world. Ashley has an online store where sci-fi geekdom meets faith, which allows her to travel to comic cons as a vendor and meet like-minded people. Dogs are a passion and they currently own three rescued dogs between them. Leigh and Ashley have been Wine Club members since 2017, Riserva Level.
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Family Days
Friday, October 31 - Halloween
Monday, November 10 - Veteran's Day
(Raffaldini is closed on Tuesday, November 11)
Friday, November 28 - Holiday Cheer
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November Events
🍂 Fall Italian Baking Class
Sunday, November 2 | 1pm-3pm
Join us for a cozy and delicious afternoon of seasonal Italian baking! Learn how to make two classic autumn desserts: Apple Crostata (Crostata di Mele)—a rustic, golden tart layered with sweet apples—and Calabrian Walnut Cake (Torta di Noci), a beautifully simple cake enhanced by the rich, earthy flavor of walnuts.
Chef Nguyet will provide fun step-by-step demonstrations and you will receive recipe cards to take home as well a tasting of the delicious desserts and of course, wine. Whether you’re an experienced baker or simply love Italian sweets, this class is the perfect way to embrace the flavors of fall.
Tickets include:
• Live baking demonstration
• Recipe cards to take home
• Two glasses of wine
📍 Event Details:
• Location: The Fattoria
Space is limited—reserve your spot early!
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🍫 Cioccolato Class
Sunday, November 23, | 1pm-3pm
Join us for a decadent afternoon celebrating one of Italy’s most beloved indulgence—chocolate! In this fun class, you’ll explore three classic Italian chocolate desserts: Torta Caprese, a rich flourless chocolate and almond cake from Capri; Chocolate Budino, a silky, pudding-like treat; and Chocolate Gelato, luxuriously smooth and deeply flavorful.
During with class you will receive step-by-step demonstrations from classically trained Chef Nguyet, recipe cards to take home, and a tasting of each paired with delicious Raffaldini wine. You do not want to miss this sweet experience just in time for the holidays!
Tickets include:
• Live baking demonstration
• Recipe cards to take home
• Two glasses of wine
📍 Event Details:
• Location: The Fattoria
Space is limited—reserve your spot early!
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Food Trucks
October
Saturday, October 18 – Chrissy’s Kitchen
Sunday, October 19 - Dogs R Us
Saturday, October 25 – Dogs R Us
Sunday, October 26 - Cafe Rosé
November
Saturday, November 1 - Dogs R Us
Saturday, November 8 - Southern Noodle
Saturday, November 15 – Cannoli Man
Saturday, November 22 - Dogs R Us
Friday, November 28 - Dogs R Us
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Beyond the Vines...Into the Community
Raffaldini Proud Wine Sponsor of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci: A Carnival of Tragedy
An immersive opera experience at the Millennium Event Center, Winston-Salem, NC
For the first time in its history, the Millennium Event Center opens its doors to an opera that takes over the entire space. Gone is the traditional divide between stage and seat. Instead, you step into the world where the building becomes part of the unfolding story.
Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci begins—but you’re inside the world and under the tent.
The audience moves within the opera. You're not just watching Canio—you can see the sweat on his brow as he spirals into madness. You’re just feet from Nedda and Silvio as they plot their escape in hushed tones. When the performance within the opera begins, you are part of the jeering, laughing crowd—until the laughter stops.
This production of Pagliacci marks a bold new chapter in Piedmont Opera’s 49-year history—blending classical opera with site-specific performance to create an event that’s immersive, intimate, and unforgettable. It’s not just a night at the opera. It’s a living opera in a living space.
November 8th at 7:30 PM, November 9th at 3 PM and November 11 at 7:30 PM
Tickets start at $25 at PiedmontOpera.org or 336.725.7101
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🍇 Join La Famiglia Raffaldini Online! 🥂
We invite you to join the vibrant La Famiglia Raffaldini on social media! Connect with us online to receive daily updates on new releases, exclusive offers, and upcoming events. Share your Raffaldini moments with us by tagging your posts with #Raffaldini.
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Raffaldini Wines Now Available Across NC
We understand that you can’t visit Villa Raffaldini every day, so we have partnered with a wholesale distribution firm that connected us with owners of boutique wine shops and restaurants all over North Carolina that will share our story as well as our wines with you. Click here to find restaurants and wine shops carrying Raffaldini wines near you:
Don’t see your favorite wine shop listed? Please email me directly and I will work with our wholesale partner to get our wine in a store near you.
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Planning a Visit?
We encourage you to read our visitor experience guide. Your cooperation will help us provide the best possible experience for all our patrons.
We have partnered with Tock to provide a reservation system for tastings and flights at the Villa and on the Piazza. Our continued goal is to provide the best experience for you, our valued customers and friends. While walk-ins are welcome and a reservation is not required, we believe that making a reservation will enhance your visit.
As a general reminder to all our guests, to provide a safe, relaxing, and intimate experience for our guests, all visitors must be at least 21 years of age. Infants and children are no longer permitted at the Tasting Room, except on holidays and specially designated family days when we can appropriately staff and have child-friendly activities available. Please see our calendar for a full list of Family days.
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Oct 15, 2025 at 1:42 PM
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