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Giovanni Mesina

Vermentuzzo Bianco 2019

Price: $39.95
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Tasting notes

Two days of skin contact gives this Vermentino a pale amber hue, gentle grip, and a saline, almost coastal character that is striking for a landlocked region. The nose delivers honeysuckle, fresh grapefruit, and thyme rather than the oxidative dried-fruit notes common in longer-macerated orange wines, keeping it bright and refreshing.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
HoneysuckleGrapefruitThymeHoney
  • Style: Dry, medium-bodied orange wine; pale amber; honeysuckle, grapefruit, thyme, saline; hand-harvested Vermentino
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Vermentino; sustainable farming; marl and limestone soils; 300m elevation; Pianello, northeast of Perugia, Umbria
  • Winemaking: Hand harvest; indigenous yeast fermentation; 2 days skin contact in stainless steel; no SO2 added; unfiltered and unfined
  • Serving: Serve lightly chilled at 50-54F; no decant needed
  • Pairing: Grilled fish, clams, shellfish, fresh ricotta, aged pecorino, vegetable antipasto
  • Similar To: For fans of light orange wines and Sardinian Vermentino di Gallura who want a landlocked, low-intervention expression

Vermentuzzo Bianco is 100% Vermentino grown on the rolling hills of Pianello, a hamlet northeast of Perugia in central Umbria. The vineyard sits at approximately 300 metres above sea level on a mix of marl soils derived from an ancient salt lake and limestone rock. Giovanni Battista Mesina farms less than three hectares here without chemical inputs, sharing the land with olive trees and over 1,000 sheep.

Vermentino is not native to Umbria. Giovanni planted it specifically because of his Sardinian heritage, drawing on his roots near the Gallura region where the variety is most celebrated. The grapes are hand-harvested and fermented with indigenous yeasts. The wine spends two days on the skins in stainless steel vats before aging in steel with no sulfur additions, no fining, and no filtration. Production is limited to roughly 1,000 bottles per vintage.

The short skin contact gives the wine a pale amber tint and a gentle texture without heavy tannin. On the nose it leans toward honeysuckle, grapefruit, and thyme with a distinct saline, almost marine quality unusual for a landlocked region. The palate is round and medium-bodied with a clean, dry finish and bright natural acidity.

Giovanni's first bottled vintage was 2017. Before that, his wines were made for home consumption and direct sales to neighbors. The wine labels are made from grass grown on the farm.

The wine's salinity and grapefruit-driven acidity make it a natural match for grilled fish, clams, or simply prepared shellfish. It also works well alongside fresh ricotta, aged pecorino, or a vegetable-forward antipasto. Serve lightly chilled, around 50 to 54 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Orange Wine
Wine Style:, Medium Body
Grapes:, Vermentino
Farming:, Sustainable
Vintage:, 2019
Alcohol:, N/A
Country:, Italy
Region:, Umbria
Appellation:, Umbria 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

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

Giovanni Mesina

Giovanni Battista Mesina is known locally as 'the shepherd who makes wine.' His family is originally from the Barbagia Mountains of Sardinia, where they raised sheep for multiple generations. The family relocated to central Umbria when Giovanni was a child, settling in Pianello, a small hilltop hamlet northeast of Perugia. The primary family business remains livestock: Giovanni and his family raise over 1,000 sheep, producing milk, cheese, wool, and pasture-raised meat.

The farm covers less than three hectares on organic soil shared by ancient olive trees, sheep pasture, and small parcels of vines. Red grapes include Sangiovese, Ciliegiolo, Montepulciano, and Vernaccia Rossa. Vermentino accounts for roughly one hectare. At 300 metres elevation, the soils are a mixture of marl from an ancient salt lake and limestone rock. Vines are farmed without synthetic chemicals.

Giovanni's first bottled vintage was 2017. Before that, wines were made in the family's animal stall and sold directly to locals or consumed at home. Winemaking remains minimal: hand harvest, indigenous yeast fermentation, and stainless steel aging. The Vermentuzzo spends two days on the skins, then ages in steel with no sulfur added at any stage, unfined and unfiltered. The wine labels are made from grass grown on the farm.

Wine region

Umbria, Italy

Umbria sits at the center of the Italian peninsula with no coastline, giving it a continental climate of cold winters and hot summers. The hills around Perugia and the Pianello area, where Giovanni Mesina farms, sit at roughly 300 metres elevation on marl and limestone soils. The absence of maritime influence means summer heat can build quickly, but altitude and nighttime temperature drops help preserve acidity in white varieties.

Umbria's two DOCG appellations are both red: Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG, made from 100% Sagrantino, a native variety of considerable tannic power, and Torgiano Rosso Riserva DOCG, based primarily on Sangiovese. The region has historically been associated with white wine production, most notably Orvieto, a blend of Grechetto, Trebbiano (also called Procanico), Verdello, and Drupeggio. Vermentino, native to Sardinia and coastal Liguria and Tuscany, is an anomaly in Umbria, planted here specifically by Giovanni Mesina as a nod to his family's Sardinian origins.

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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