Jay’s journey began in 2001 when he acquired an abandoned farm in Wilkes County, NC, and began growing Italian grapes. Over 20 years later, Raffaldini Wines has planted more than 32 acres of Italian varietal grapes (many of which are unique and were the first of their kind on the East Coast). 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.

Jay Raffaldini is also a founding member and President of the NC Fine Wines Association. He commutes from his home in North Carolina to his offices around the world and enjoys managing both his hedge fund business and Raffaldini Vineyards.