BY: ERIC J. WALLACE
FORTY-TWO YEARS AGO, GABRIELE RAUSSE received a phone call from a childhood friend who told him he had to “drop everything and come to America.” The phone call was from one viticulturist to another. Rausse was 30 years old and working on a French vineyard. (He had been working in Australian wine, but his visa was revoked on a technicality.) His childhood friend, Gianni Zonin, was president of the Italian winemaking company Casa Vinicola Zonin.
The two had grown up together in Italy’s Veneto wine region, and their phone call forever changed the U.S. wine industry. Together, Zonin insisted, he and Rausse were going to establish the first Virginia vineyard to have commercial success growing Vitis vinifera, the species of grape responsible for fine wine. “I was worried,” says Rausse. “All I could think was, ‘My God, he’s gone insane.’”
SOURCE: https://www.atlasobscura.com
The Wine Consortium of Romagna, together with Consulate General of Italy in Boston, the Ho...
Wine has a long, rich history as a cooking liquid. One of the early "cookbooks," compiled...
Italian brakes maker Brembo will build a new foundry in Michigan to expand its manufacturi...
How has Italy influenced the world of Jewelry? Join us for a special lecture on the a...
Il mondo di Luciano Pavarotti e la sua grande carriera di cantante lirico rivivranno il 23...
Saturday September 19, 11 AM/5 PM - Raffaldini Vineyards & Winery - 450 Groc...
Saturday, August 1 - 12.30 EDT / Valenzano Winery - 1090 Route 206, Shamong, New...
The President of the Italian Wine & Food Institute cordially invite you to celebrate:...