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Artemis Botanical

The Mad Farmer Pinot Noir 2020

Price: $26.95
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Tasting notes

Direct-pressing Pinot Noir to barrel in a smoke-tainted vintage was a pragmatic call that produced something genuinely delicate — think pale salmon, tart red fruit, and a savory, mineral finish that reads more like a serious Provençal rosé than a California pink. The Petaluma Gap's relentless afternoon winds and volcanic clay soils give it a cool-climate edge that keeps the fruit focused rather than fleshy.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
StrawberryCranberryRocksDried Tea Leaves
  • Style: Dry, light-bodied rosé; pale salmon; tart red fruit and savory mineral finish; native yeast; zero sulfur
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Pinot Noir; organically farmed; Petaluma, Sonoma County; Petaluma Gap AVA; volcanic clay and clay loam soils
  • Winemaking: Direct-pressed to barrel in 2020 to avoid smoke taint; spontaneous native yeast fermentation; no additions, no sulfur (zero-zero)
  • Serving: Serve at 48-54°F; no decant needed; drink now
  • Pairing: Grilled salmon, raw oysters, goat cheese, tomato salads, grilled sardines
  • Similar To: For fans of dry Provençal rosé or cool-climate northern California Pinot Noir in a lighter, more transparent style

The Mad Farmer is a direct-press rosé made from 100% Pinot Noir grown in Petaluma, California, within the Petaluma Gap AVA. Winemaker Ian Thorsen-McCarthy tended the vineyard himself — a small, unconventional plot on a residential cul-de-sac. In 2020, faced with heavy wildfire smoke during harvest, he pressed the fruit directly into barrel to minimize skin contact and avoid smoke taint, a decision that shaped both the wine's pale color and its transparency on the palate.

Artemis Botanical works exclusively with organically farmed fruit from across northern California, ferments with native yeasts only, and adds no sulfur or other additives at any stage. This is a zero-zero wine in the strictest sense. The direct-press approach here yields a wine with the structure and cool-climate acidity you expect from the Petaluma Gap, without the weight of extended maceration.

The Petaluma Gap AVA sits roughly 25 miles north of San Francisco in southern Sonoma County. Strong afternoon marine winds funnel through a low break in the coastal hills, driving diurnal temperature swings of 40 to 50°F. Soils are predominantly clay and clay loam of volcanic origin. These conditions push toward high natural acidity, restrained alcohol, and pronounced savory character in Pinot Noir.

Serve with grilled Pacific salmon, a simple tomato and herb salad, or a platter of fresh goat cheese and olives. The wine's acidity cuts through fat without overwhelming lighter preparations. It also works alongside raw oysters or grilled sardines.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Rose Wine
Wine Style:, Light Body
Grapes:, Pinot Noir
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2020
Alcohol:, 12.5%
Country:, USA
Region:, Petaluma Gap, Sonoma County
Appellation:, Petaluma Gap AVA
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

Artemis Botanical

Artemis Botanical is the project of Ian Thorsen-McCarthy, a winemaker who has worked on both coasts, beginning in California before relocating to New York. The label started as a way to make fortified and aromatized wines — vermouth in particular — under the same principles as the natural wine movement. It has since expanded to include table wines, amaro, eau de vie, piquette, and cider, all made with the same philosophy.

The guiding principles at Artemis are organic agriculture and a strict no-additive approach in the cellar. The winery works exclusively with organically farmed fruit sourced from across northern California, ferments spontaneously with native yeasts, and adds no sulfur at any stage. The Mad Farmer Pinot Noir comes from a small Petaluma vineyard that Thorsen-McCarthy tended personally, described by him as the gardens of homes on a residential cul-de-sac rather than a conventional vineyard block.

In 2020, poor air quality from wildfires across the North Coast prompted Thorsen-McCarthy to press the Pinot Noir fruit directly into barrels, bypassing any skin contact, in order to avoid smoke taint. This direct-press method is consistent with the Artemis approach of minimal extraction for reds and a willingness to adapt winemaking decisions to what the vintage actually demands.

Wine region

Petaluma Gap, Sonoma County, USA

The Petaluma Gap AVA sits in southern Sonoma County, approximately 25 miles north of San Francisco. It received official AVA designation in 2017, defined primarily by its topography and climate rather than political boundaries. A natural break in the California Coast Range allows cold Pacific air and fog to funnel directly inland at higher velocity than in surrounding regions, producing some of the strongest marine influence of any Sonoma County appellation. Diurnal temperature swings of 40 to 50°F are typical, extending the growing season and preserving natural acidity in cool-climate varieties.

Around 75 percent of plantings in the Petaluma Gap are Pinot Noir, with Chardonnay at roughly 13 percent and Syrah at 12 percent. Soils are predominantly clay and clay loam of volcanic origin, rocky in some sites and sandier in others. The constant afternoon wind stress and well-drained, less fertile soils keep yields naturally low. The Gap is widely considered the coolest appellation in Sonoma County, a distinction that shapes the savory, high-acid character of its Pinot Noir.

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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