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Skerk

Ograde 2015

Price: $54.95
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Tasting notes

The 2015 Ograde opens with crystallized apricot, rose water, lavender, and ginger, then lands on the palate with a salty mineral backbone and chewy tannins that are unusual in a white-grape wine. The extended two-year oak aging in large-format casks adds texture without obscuring the Karst limestone character.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Taste profile
Crystallized ApricotLavenderGingerSaline Mineral
  • Style: Orange wine; skin-contact blend; rusty amber color; saline, mineral, and floral; 13% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: Vitovska, Malvasia Istriana, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio; organic; iron-rich red limestone soils, Karst plateau, 250m elevation, Duino-Aurisina
  • Winemaking: 15-day skin maceration in open oak vats; indigenous yeast fermentation; 12 months on lees in large oak (1,500-2,500L); 12 months in 5,000L casks; unfiltered, unfined, no added sulfites
  • Serving: Serve at 55-60F; decant 30-60 min; will continue to evolve in glass
  • Pairing: Salmon, grilled fish, roast chicken, aged semi-firm cheese, cured meats
  • Similar To: For fans of Gravner, Radikon, or Movia who want Karst limestone over Collio clay

Ograde is a roughly equal-parts blend of Vitovska, Malvasia Istriana, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Grigio, grown on the Karst plateau in Duino-Aurisina, in the Carso DOC of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The vineyards sit at around 250 meters above sea level on iron-rich red limestone soils, roughly 500 meters from the Slovenian border, and just three kilometers from the Adriatic coast.

The name Ograde refers to small, fenced parcels historically used by Karst farmers to protect crops from livestock. Skerk's cellar was once itself an Ograda — a vineyard parcel. The wine draws from several such small plots planted primarily to native varieties.

All four grape varieties are macerated on their skins for approximately 15 days in open oak vats, then fermented with indigenous yeasts. The wine is aged for 12 months on fine lees in large oak barrels (1,500 to 2,500 liters), followed by a further year in even larger 5,000-liter casks. It is bottled unfiltered, unfined, and without added sulfites.

The color is a rusty orange-amber, visibly darker than Skerk's single-varietal Vitovska. Ian D'Agata scored the 2015 vintage 92 points, noting its perfumed nose of lavender, rose water, crystallized apricot, and ginger, with a steely backbone of acidity and youthfully chewy tannins.

Works well with salmon, grilled fish, and seafood dishes where the wine's salinity mirrors the ocean. The skin-contact tannins hold up to richer preparations like roast chicken with herbs or aged semi-firm cheeses. Karst cuisine with Eastern European influences — cured meats, bean soups — is the local pairing logic.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Orange Wine
Wine Style:, Medium Body
Grapes:, Vitovska, Malvasia Istriana, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2015
Alcohol:, 13%
Country:, Italy
Region:, Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Appellation:, Venezia Giulia IGT
Bottle Size:, 750ml
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

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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.


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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.


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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

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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.

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

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**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

Skerk

Sandi Skerk operates Azienda Agricola Skerk in Duino-Aurisina, in the Carso appellation, approximately 500 meters from the Slovenian border. The estate officially began producing wine in 1987 and farms around six to eight hectares of vineyards at roughly 250 meters above sea level. The cellar is excavated directly into the karst limestone rock, descending to a depth of over 75 feet, which maintains consistent temperature and humidity for aging.

Skerk farms organically, with no chemical fertilizers, and maintains high vine density at around 8,000 plants per hectare. Yields are kept low at 35 to 40 quintals per hectare. Harvest is done by hand. The estate grows Vitovska, Malvasia Istriana, and Terrano as indigenous varieties, alongside Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio, which are blended into Ograde.

Sandi continued a winemaking tradition started by his father Boris and traces the technique of extended skin contact back to his grandfather, who used maceration before SO2 was common as a preservative — the tannins from skins protect the wine from oxidation. Fermentation occurs spontaneously with indigenous yeasts in open oak vats. The Ograde is macerated for approximately 15 days on skins, then aged for 12 months in large oak barrels of 1,500 to 2,500 liters, followed by a further 12 months in 5,000-liter casks, then bottled without filtration, fining, or added sulfites.

Wine region

Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy

Friuli-Venezia Giulia sits in the far northeastern corner of Italy, bordered by Austria to the north, Slovenia to the east, and the Adriatic Sea to the south. The region contains 11 DOC and 3 DOCG appellations and is best known for its white wines, which rank among Italy's finest. The Carso DOC occupies the southernmost portion of the region, on the Istrian Peninsula between the Isonzo River and the city of Trieste, bordering Slovenia. It covers just 57 hectares and was granted DOC status in 1985.

The Carso plateau is defined by its karstic limestone geology — the word 'karst' itself derives from this region. Topsoil is thin to nonexistent; iron-rich red clay called Terra Rossa fills cracks in the limestone and is the primary growing medium for vines. The climate splits dramatically by elevation: the high plateau endures fierce Bora winds and cold winters, while the lower slopes enjoy a Mediterranean influence from the Adriatic just a few hundred meters away. Key indigenous grapes include Terrano (the primary red) and Vitovska and Malvasia Istriana for whites. Carso is one of only two Italian regions — alongside Oslavia in nearby Collio — with a historical tradition of extended skin maceration for white wines.

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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