Frank Cornelissen Susucaru Patos Catarratto 2023

Price: $40.00
Tasting notes

Patos is a skin-contact white with about 10 days of maceration, giving notes of stone fruit, salt, and volcanic minerality. The palate is fresh and saline with a mineral finish.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Stone FruitQuinceHoneySalt
Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Orange Wine
Wine Style:, Medium Body
Grapes:, Catarratto
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2023
Alcohol:, 11.5%
Country:, Italy
Region:, Sicily
Appellation:, Terre Siciliane IGT
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

  • Style: Dry, skin-contact orange wine; stone fruit, salt, and mineral notes
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Catarratto Extra Lucido; organic; volcanic soil, Vallone Gurra Belice, Menfi
  • Winemaking: Destemmed, indigenous-yeast fermentation, about 10 days skin contact, aged 10 months in epoxy
  • Serving: Serve chilled
  • Pairing: Shellfish, fried calamari, grilled sardines, burrata, fresh cheeses
  • Similar To: Other Sicilian skin-contact whites from Catarratto

Frank Cornelissen Susucaru Patos Catarratto 2023 is a skin-contact white from Menfi on Sicily's southwestern coast, a departure from the producer's Mount Etna base. It is made from 100% Catarratto Extra Lucido grown in the Vallone Gurra Belice vineyard, which has south exposure, around 50 meters elevation, and vines averaging 20 or more years old. The fruit is destemmed and lightly crushed, fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts via a pied-de-cuve, and macerated on the skins for about 10 days. The wine ages around 10 months in epoxy tanks before light filtration and bottling.

Pair with shellfish, fried calamari, and grilled sardines. It also works with arancini di riso, vegetable antipasti, cured meats, burrata, and fresh cheeses.

Important information

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.


Important Compliance Requirements

FedEx and other carriers we might occasionally use can only deliver wine to customers who are 21 years or older. Someone must be at the address to receive the package, carriers don't just drop a package and leave. They must ensure the person receiving the wine is 21 or older.


Re-shipping a Package

If a package is returned to us after three failed delivery attempts, we can only re-ship the wine upon payment of a re-shipping fee, to be determined based on the shipping address and number of bottles. Shipping wine is extremely expensive. We are sorry about this, but we have no other choice. Please make sure there's always someone at the address you enter as your shipping address.

If you'd like to receive a refund for a package that was returned to us after FedEx made three delivery attempts, we can do that but we must keep a $20 refund fee; FedEx charges us a lot of money for returns, unfortunately, I can't stress this enough.


Re-routing a Package

If you'd like to reroute a package after it's been shipped, we can do so for a $20 re-routing fee. We cannot re-route a package across state borders. For any change of address, please contact us as soon as possible, ideally within 1-2 days from placing the order or we cannot guarantee we'll be able to reroute or change your order's shipping address.


Canceling an Order

If you'd like to cancel an order after it's been shipped, we can do so upon payment of a small cancellation fee – the amount depends on the size of the order. Carriers charge us a lot of money to recall a package en-route.


Heat/Frost damage

We are not responsible for heat- or frost-related issues. We offer ice-packs upon request. Please let us know if you think that there could be heat-related issues. If we don't hear anything from you regarding weather issues before an order is shipped, or if you don't request a hold due to the weather, we are not responsible for heat/frost damage.


Placed an order. What next?

1. You will receive an order confirmation email with your order summary.*

2. As soon as your order ships from the warehouse, usually within 2-3 business days, this applies to all shipping rates, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with your tracking information. 2DAY shipping refers to shipping time; we still need 2-3 business days to prepare an order. We need to pick and pack, QA, add printed collateral, and palletize the orders.

3. Please track your package using the tracking service.

4. The carrier will attempt delivery a maximum of 3 times. After 3 delivery attempts, your package will be sent back to our warehouse.**

*Please ensure your email address is correct; otherwise, you will not receive the order and shipping confirmation emails.

**If delivery is attempted 3 times without success, or if you fail to retrieve your package from the carrier depot by the stated deadline, the shipping fee will not be refunded to the customer.

Returns Policy

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us at (424) 414-2040 or via e-mail at hello@primalwine.com between 9 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Sunday, we would like to understand and try to solve your concerns. We can offer refunds only as store credit.

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Frank Cornelissen Susucaru Patos Catarratto 2023
$40.00

Producer profile

Frank Cornelissen

Belgian-born Frank Cornelissen established his winery in 2001 on Mount Etna's northern slopes in Solicchiata, Sicily, at a time when Etna as a wine region remained largely undiscovered. He started with a small parcel of old vines and now farms vines high on Mount Etna.

Cornelissen's farming philosophy rests on observing nature rather than imposing decisions on the land, and he has abandoned chemical, biological, and biodynamic vineyard treatments alike. The Patos fruit is farmed organically in the Vallone Gurra Belice vineyard in Menfi and harvested by hand.

In the cellar, fermentations proceed spontaneously using only indigenous yeasts. Cornelissen originally vinified in buried terracotta amphorae crafted from local lava stone but has incorporated fiberglass and epoxy tanks for certain cuvees. Wines are bottled unfined, with minimal or zero added sulfites depending on vintage stability.

Wine region

Sicily, Italy

Sicily is Italy's largest island and third-largest wine-producing region by volume, trailing only Veneto and Tuscany. Indigenous grape varieties dominate its vineyards, and a natural wine movement has reshaped the island's reputation over the past two decades.

Nero d'Avola is the most widely planted red grape, while on Mount Etna, Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio grow on volcanic soils at high elevations. White varieties include Catarratto, the island's most planted grape overall, along with Grillo, Inzolia, Carricante, and Grecanico Dorato. Appellations include Etna DOC, Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG, Marsala DOC, and the region-wide Terre Siciliane IGT.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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