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Cantina Giardino

Fiano Sophia Magnum 2016

Sale price: $95.95 Regular price:$99.95
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Tasting notes

The six-month amphora maceration extracts a deep amber colour, tannic grip, and aromas of dried citrus peel, apricot skin, dried flowers, and volcanic minerality that you simply cannot get from conventional Fiano. In magnum, the 2016 has had time to knit into something dense and resolved — the salt-and-stone finish lingers long after the glass is empty.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Apricot SkinDried TeaLemon PeelSalt
  • Style: Dry, full-bodied orange wine; deep amber; apricot, dried citrus, volcanic mineral; 12.5% ABV; 1.5L magnum
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Fiano; old vines (~70 years avg); organic and biodynamic; clay-calcareous volcanic soils; Irpinia, Avellino province; 400-650m elevation
  • Winemaking: ~6 months skin maceration in 200L handmade terracotta amphorae; spontaneous indigenous yeast fermentation; no temperature control; aged in local chestnut barrels; unfined, unfiltered, zero added sulfites
  • Serving: Serve at 59-63F; decant 20-30 minutes to allow reductive notes from amphora aging to dissipate; continues to evolve in the glass over an hour
  • Pairing: Salt cod, grilled mackerel, swordfish, aged Pecorino, Caciocavallo, slow-braised lamb, herb-grain dishes
  • Similar To: For fans of extended-maceration whites and textured orange wines from Georgia or Friuli who want southern Italian volcanic terroir

Cantina Giardino's Sophia is a skin-contact white wine made from 100% old-vine Fiano grown in Irpinia, Campania. Vines average roughly 70 years in age and are farmed organically and biodynamically by hand across multiple parcels in the province of Avellino. The soils here are clay-calcareous and volcanic in origin, with elevations typically between 400 and 650 metres above sea level — conditions that produce naturally high acidity and extended aromatic development in Fiano.

The 2016 Sophia spends approximately six months macerating on its skins in small 200-litre terracotta amphorae handmade by Daniela De Gruttola from clay excavated directly from the vineyard soils. Fermentation proceeds spontaneously with indigenous yeasts and no temperature control. After pressing, the wine finishes its aging in local chestnut barrels. Nothing is added or removed: no fining, no filtration, no sulfites.

The Sophia cuvée is named after the De Gruttola's daughter Sofia and is the most extended, structurally demanding wine in the Cantina Giardino lineup. Each vintage Antonio and Daniela select the grape and parcel they judge best suited for a full amphora maceration, meaning the variety changes year to year. In 2016 the selection was Fiano. Bottled in magnum (1.5 litres), this format extends the wine's aging potential considerably.

Campania IGP is used rather than the Fiano di Avellino DOCG because the extended skin-contact protocol is incompatible with DOCG production rules. The wine sits outside any conventional category of Campanian white wine, closer in structure to a textured, mineral amber wine than to a conventional Fiano.

Works well with baccalà (salt cod), grilled oily fish such as mackerel or swordfish, and dishes with brackish or umami character. Aged Pecorino or Caciocavallo are natural matches. The tannin structure also holds up to slow-braised lamb or herb-heavy grain dishes.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Orange Wine
Wine Style:, Full Body
Grapes:, Fiano
Farming:, Organic and Biodynamic
Vintage:, 2016
Alcohol:, 12.5%
Country:, Italy
Region:, Campania
Appellation:, Campania IGP
Bottle Size:, 1500ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

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.

Producer profile

Cantina Giardino

Cantina Giardino traces its origins to the late 1990s when Antonio and Daniela De Gruttola began making wine with a group of six friends in the garage of Professor Giardino in Ariano Irpino — hence the winery's name. What began as an informal pursuit became a commercial estate when they officially launched in 2003. Antonio studied food technology and then specialised in viticulture and oenology in Piedmont. Daniela, an architect by training, handles the practical and creative dimensions of the estate, including handmaking the terracotta amphorae used for the Sophia cuvée from clay excavated directly from the vineyard soils.

The estate's founding purpose was to rescue old-vine parcels throughout Irpinia that local farmers could no longer maintain economically. Industrial agriculture had prompted widespread vineyard abandonment or replanting with international varieties across the province. Antonio and Daniela identified neglected sites planted with indigenous varieties — Aglianico, Greco, Fiano, Coda di Volpe — some with vines exceeding 100 years in age. Today the estate manages approximately seven hectares across sixteen parcels throughout Avellino province, all farmed organically and biodynamically by hand. Vines are trained in the traditional alberello (bush vine) system wherever possible, worked exclusively by hand. Mixed agriculture persists on many sites, with olive and fruit trees sharing space with grapevines.

In the cellar, Antonio takes a non-interventionist approach with each vintage handled instinctively. Fermentation proceeds spontaneously with indigenous yeasts, without temperature control, and can continue for months. Aging vessels include terracotta and sandstone amphorae and casks of local chestnut, acacia, cherry, and mulberry. Whites typically see skin maceration ranging from two days to over six months depending on the wine. All wines are bottled unfiltered and unfined, typically with no added sulfites across the range.

Wine region

Campania, Italy

Irpinia sits in the mountainous interior of Campania within the province of Avellino, roughly halfway between Naples and the Puglia coast. It is a landlocked, high-elevation territory shaped by extinct volcanic activity, with soils composed of clay-calcareous, limestone, and volcanic tuff at elevations ranging from 300 to over 650 metres above sea level. The climate is continental rather than Mediterranean — cold winters, cool nights through summer, and strong diurnal temperature variation — which gives indigenous white varieties like Fiano and Greco naturally high acidity and extended aromatic development.

Irpinia holds three DOCG appellations: Taurasi for Aglianico reds, Fiano di Avellino for white wines from the Fiano grape, and Greco di Tufo for whites from the Greco variety. The Fiano di Avellino DOCG spans 26 communes and approximately 430 hectares of valleys and slopes. Beyond the DOCG zones, the broader Campania IGP designation is used by producers like Cantina Giardino whose extended skin-contact techniques fall outside DOCG protocols. The 1980 Irpinia earthquake paradoxically preserved many old-vine sites by halting modernisation of the vineyard landscape, and it is precisely those sites that define the region's most compelling natural wines today.

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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