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Stirm Wine Co.

Pinot Noir 2019

Price: $26.95
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Tasting notes

Fermentation in a 1960s open-top redwood fermenter gives this Pinot a distinct earthy spice that sets it apart from the typical California style. At 12.6% ABV from a dry-farmed, no-till block on steep mudstone-derived clay loam, the structure is lean and the fruit precise — red cherry, dried rose, and forest floor rather than any warmth or weight.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
CherryDried RoseEarthMushroom
  • Style: Dry, light-bodied red; 12.6% ABV; earthy, floral, and precise; unfined and unfiltered
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Pinot Noir; organic, dry-farmed, no-till; clay loam over Purisima Mudstone; 1,000 ft elevation; 30% slopes; Glenwood, Santa Cruz Mountains
  • Winemaking: Hand-harvested September 21, 2019; field sorted; destemmed into redwood fermenter; native yeast fermentation; aged in old oak; unfined, unfiltered; 26 mg/L total SO2
  • Serving: Serve at 58-62F; 20-30 min decant optional
  • Pairing: Roasted salmon, duck breast, mushroom dishes, aged goat cheese
  • Similar To: For fans of village-level Burgundy or Willamette Valley Pinot Noir who want a California expression with restraint and terroir specificity

The 2019 Glenwood Vineyard Pinot Noir comes from a single two-acre block at roughly 1,000 feet elevation in the Glenwood area of the Santa Cruz Mountains, east of Santa Cruz. The vineyard is southeastern facing, planted in 1997, and has been farmed by Ryan Stirm since 2016. It sits on a 30% slope in a canyon surrounded by second-growth redwoods, bay trees, and coast live oaks, with clay loam soils weathered from Purisima Mudstone.

The 2019 growing season brought above-average winter rainfall — 63 inches at Glenwood — followed by a long, warm spring and good June flowering conditions. After early-summer heat waves, the season shifted to classic mild Santa Cruz Mountains fall weather: cold nights, warm sunny days, and slack winds. Harvest took place on September 21st, yielding 4 tons from the two-acre block.

Grapes were hand-picked and field sorted, then destemmed into a redwood fermenter for spontaneous fermentation. The wine was aged in old oak, bottled unfined and unfiltered at 12.6% ABV with 26 mg/L total SO2. The vineyard is dry-farmed, no-till, and organically managed without certification.

Works well with roasted salmon or duck breast, where the wine's acidity and earthy spice hold up to fat without overpowering lean protein. Also good alongside mushroom-based dishes or aged goat cheeses that echo the forest-floor character of the wine.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red Wine
Wine Style:, Light Body
Grapes:, Pinot Noir
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2019
Alcohol:, 12.6%
Country:, USA
Region:, Santa Cruz Mountains
Appellation:, Santa Cruz Mountains 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

Stirm Wine Co.

Ryan Stirm founded Stirm Wine Co. in 2013 while working as assistant winemaker at Tyler Winery in Santa Barbara County under Justin Willett. He studied Wine and Viticulture at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, adding minors in soil science, sustainable agriculture, and plant protection science. Before starting his own label, he completed harvests in Margaret River (Western Australia) and the Wachau (Weingut Tegernseerhof, Austria) and later worked at Thomas Fogarty Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

In 2016, Stirm took over farming a two-acre Pinot Noir block in the Glenwood area of the Santa Cruz Mountains, east of Santa Cruz. The vineyard is dry-farmed, no-till, and organically managed. The winery is now based in Aromas in southern Santa Cruz County, positioned centrally between the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Cienega Valley vineyards Stirm also works with. Beyond Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the focus includes historic California varieties such as Cabernet Pfeffer, Zinfandel, Negrette, and Mission from old-vine sites in San Benito County.

Stirm's approach in the cellar uses native yeast fermentations, old open-top redwood fermenters for reds, and neutral oak for aging. Whites are typically fermented in stainless steel. Wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered, with only minimal sulfur additions after fermentation completes. Stirm does not fine, filter, or add commercial yeast, and keeps intervention limited to preserve site expression.

Wine region

Santa Cruz Mountains, USA

The Santa Cruz Mountains AVA stretches roughly 90 miles from the San Francisco Bay area south to Monterey County, running along the spine of the coastal range. Recognized in 1981, it was the first California appellation defined by elevation and topography rather than political boundaries, with much of the planted area sitting above the fog line. Elevations range from 400 to over 3,000 feet, and the proximity to both the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay creates significant microclimatic variation across exposures and altitudes.

Soils across the AVA are residual, derived from underlying bedrock — typically thin, stony, and low in fertility. The ancient seabed geology produces a range of soil types including limestone, sandstone, shale, clay, and granite-based loam depending on location. The Glenwood sub-area near Santa Cruz sits on Purisima Mudstone and Lompico Sandstone. Pinot Noir accounts for roughly 29% of planted acreage and is the signature red variety of the cooler, fog-influenced western slopes.

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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