| The Company |
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It was in 1971 that the history of Azienda Agricola Teresa Raiz began, in that magnificent heartland of white wines, Italy’s northest area of Friuli, astride the route that leads from the splendours of Venice to the majesty of the Dolomite mountains. With my oenology studies finished at Conegliano Veneto, I decided to give full vent to that passion which had excited me for years, the desire to produce premium wines, believing firmly as I did in the nobility of a profession that shaped and crafted wines and was able to accept the stimulating challenge that each year presents anew with the close of its harvest. 
I was able, with humble gratitude, to take up the thread of a venerable family tradition, begun by Teresa Raiz, my maternal grandmother. She was the indirect inspiration for my passion, so much so that our winery bears her name. As is so often the case, our first steps were not easy ones, since enthusiasm needs tempering by experience. The first four hectares were planted in 1972, with two to the refosco grape and two to pinot grigio, on parcels in Marsure di Povoletto, at the foot of the mountains in eastern Friuli, not far from Udine. I trained the vines to a fairly dense Guyot system that I had seen in France, on a visit to a dear friend, Titta Bidoli, whom I will always cherish as an exquisite taster and as the second fount of inspiration in my beloved profession. Even in those early years I was convinced that a dense vineyard layout of 5,000 vines per hectare would yield grapes of far better quality than could be obtained from layouts of about 1,700 vines, a density traditional in Friuli at that time. With the help of a talented French nurseryman, I began the plantings, taking great care to match clones to appropriate climates. Pride of place went to pinot grigio, a wine I love dearly, and chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, and refosco were planted as well. Today Marsure comprises 13 hectares under vine, all in the DOC zone of Grave del Friuli, and the vineyard shows the area’s typical rocky soils. Campeglio has an additional two and a half hectares, and Montina five, in the DOC zone of Colli orientali del Friuli.
Important advances in winemaking technology have taken place over the years, referring here largely to white wines. In our early production, in the mid-1970s, I was using hyperoxygenation, then progressed in 1985 to partially reductive fermentation, which then gave way in 2000 and later to a rigorously reductive process. This latter technique brought greater aromatic richness and longer wine life, results truly exciting. No less important was updating winemaking equipment, in 2004-5, with our refrigeration plant representing a giant step forward; it can instantly chill the grapes brought into the cellar and can ensure the most precise range of temperatures for the must. We designed and had built maceration tanks for sauvignon blanc and ribolla that, during the maceration process, avoid fragmenting the grape skins, a very important factor in the eventual quality of the wine.
I consider Pinot Grigio an exceptional expression of our local land, our terroir, to the point that this wine represents 70% of our winery’s production. But Sauvignon Blanc, with its unique bouquet, is important as well, since it performs so well in Friuli. Our red wine, Decano rosso, has received universal plaudits. Originally a classic blend of cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot, it saw a dramatic reduction, in 2002-4, of cabernet franc to 2-3%, and merlot now predominates, a grape that together with refosco is, in my opinion, the best-performing red variety in our Friuli. Azienda Agricola Teresa Raiz reached its 35th anniversary in 2005, and altered its ownership structure to comprise the entire family: my wife Paola and our two sons Alessandro and Riccardo. It has been precisely their invaluable contributions that make me view the future as even more exciting for us than the past.
Our wines are now appreciated and distributed in Belgium, England, Italy, the Philippines, Japan, Germany, the United States, and Switzerland: the most prestigious award for our tenacious commitment.
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