Racina
The Story of a Grape
Racina is a Sicilian word that translates to “grapes”. The word is common in Racalmuto, Sicily, the birthplace of Gary and Lena Pillitteri. To celebrate the Racina or “grapes” that are needed to make all wines, the Pillitteri family commissioned a 12 foot grape sculpture and named it Racina. Forged by local blacksmith Ken Robertson it now hangs in the vestibule of the Pillitteri tour centre.
The sculpture is designed to illustrate the life of a grape. It begins with the first flowering bud to the full berry cluster. The life cycle and successful ripening of a grape is crucial to winemaking. Each year we are reliant on this cycle to make world class award winning wines.
Art and Science of Winemaking
The label of the Racina Series depicts both the original artistic sketches of the commissioned art and the visual representation of the finished sculpture. Through the use of art and science the sculpture came to life much the same way that art and science are used to craft wines.
The Racina series of wines are unique blends and rare styles that will vary from year to year. This wine series permits the winemaker and his team to freely express themselves, giving them artistic freedom to craft rare blends that may never be available again.
The wines will include Appassimento or partial Appassimento blends, small batch winemaking trials with the latest technology, unique, rare and never before blended wines. These wines will be an expression of the art and science of winemaking.
