Cantina Rauscedo | Friaul

Cantina Rauscedo | Friaul | Buy at Gerardo

In 1951, a community of winegrowers in San Giorgio della Richinvelda joined together to form the Rauscedo Winegrowers' Cooperative. The aim was to collectively process the grapes grown by the members into high quality wines of good value for money. The Rauscedo Winery is not a purely commercial enterprise but a cooperative strengthened and held together by people and their ideals. Social cohesion is promoted by the fact that Rauscedo represents the mission, income and life's work of numerous families and winegrowers who, over the years, have created a solid and authentic wine production.

For sixty years Rauscedo has been committed to wine. This is also why wine is the only credo of the members, in the village guests are greeted with the words 'Rauscedo - the roots of wine'. In its architecture, the Rauscedo winery combines the discreet style of the post-war period with the requirements of our modern times. Large rooms from other times house the steel barrels for the wine and the processing of the grapes from a total of 900 hectares of vineyards. Friuli is not only synonymous with lush plains, Alps and coasts: the Rauscedo wine-growing area is located in the alluvial plain to the south of the Friulian lowlands, marked by the Tagliamento, Meduna and Cellina rivers. The emblem of the area is the so-called 'clap', which means stone in the Friulian dialect. This type of soil, together with the microclimate that prevails here, provides the best growing conditions for vines. However, not only the soils are important, but also the air: pure air in which the alpine breeze combines with the mild sea currents. And water also plays an important role in viticulture: in the form of rain, which falls abundantly in Friuli throughout the year. Through this interaction, the stones provide the soil with minerals, which in turn are absorbed by the grapes, which in turn give the wine its strong aroma.

Over 200 winegrowers, with a lot of love, have built over time a direct relationship with the vines. They know how to wait, and know that the vine determines the optimal time for harvest: Man's job is to match that moment. The winemakers and oenologists of the community winery work with something 'alive' and have the ability to match the ideal moment when the work and waiting of a whole year come to an end. Constant control and pruning for a healthy, lush vine. The vineyards are checked daily and pruned for the purpose of selecting the best shoots. This is because a vine can only bear a certain quantity of grapes if the quality is to be maintained. And after the harvest, it is again the person who must decide which shoots to preserve so that the vine will be productive again the next year. The professionals, through their knowledge, ensure healthy and high-yielding vines. - Gerardo [TS06/22]