VITA LA RAIA

November 2021 - Gavi, Italy

By Ross Belfer

If Napoli is known for its pizza, and Tuscany for its rolling hills, then Gavi should be known for its wine. And that’s exactly what one will find at Locanda La Raia, among other delights. The traditional Piedmontese tavern was converted into a boutique hotel by the Rossi Cairo family in 2017, who envisioned the 180-hectare property on which it sits as a biodynamic winery that rivals the world’s most reputable wine regions.

La Raia is itself a destination — encompassing an art foundation with Milanese galleriest and curator Ilara Bonacossa at the helm; a restaurant by Chef Tommasso Arigoni, and of course the namesake winery that produces XX bottles per year and is the living testament of the fruity, swishy and oak-tinged wine produced from, you guessed it, Gavi grapes.

Wandering throughout the estate on a sunny-yet-crisp autumn day, one may realize that there are truly no perfect places in the world, but La Raia sure comes close. Each piece of furniture, design piece, artwork and lighting fixture was selected by Giorgi Rossi Cairo himself, manifesting an aesthetic that feels more like home than what one would imagine as a hotel.

*Note that during this excursion, a visit to the Rossi Cairo family’s sister winery, Tenuta Cucco, also lay in the cards.