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Gearhead Wines

Princess CCC 2020

Price: $25.95
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Tasting notes

This is a genuinely odd and delicious wine: three grapes from two completely different California counties co-fermented carbonically with 14 days of whole-cluster skin contact, resulting in a pale, citrusy, bone-dry chillable red that drinks closer to an orange wine than a red. The Counoise, picked at just 17 brix, barely registers as a red grape here — it lightens everything up and pushes tropical fruit and grapefruit to the front of the glass.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
GrapefruitStone FruitBlood OrangeWildflowers
  • Style: Dry, light-bodied chillable red; carbonic maceration; tropical fruit and grapefruit; 12% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: Chardonnay (Lolonis Vineyard, Redwood Valley, Mendocino — CCOF organic, dry-farmed, gravelly loam/red clay); Counoise and Carignan (Love Ranch Vineyard, Madera — CCOF organic, dry-farmed, granitic schist)
  • Winemaking: Co-fermented carbonically, whole cluster, 14 days skin contact; no treading, no added CO2; unfined, unfiltered, zero added sulfites
  • Serving: Serve chilled (30 min in fridge); treat like a natural rosé or light carbonic red
  • Pairing: Fish tacos, al pastor, Korean barbeque, cured meats, fresh chevre
  • Similar To: For fans of light carbonic reds, natural rosé, and orange wine who want something truly California-original

Princess CCC is a still, skin-contact red blend from Craig West of Gearhead Wines, made from Chardonnay, Counoise, and Carignan — three CCOF-certified organically farmed, dry-farmed sources in California. The Chardonnay comes from the historic Lolonis Vineyard in Redwood Valley, Mendocino, farmed on gravelly loam and red clay soils. The Counoise and Carignan come from Love Ranch Vineyard near Yosemite in Madera County, grown on thin soils of granitic schist.

All three varieties were co-fermented carbonically with no treading or added CO2, with 14 days of whole-cluster skin contact. The Counoise was picked early at 17 brix, giving it an almost white-grape character that, combined with the Chardonnay and Carignan, produces a pale, glowing, chillable red. Nothing was added at any stage: unfined, unfiltered, zero sulfites.

Craig West started Gearhead Wines in 2016 after a chance encounter with Noel Diaz of Purity Wines in Richmond, California. West, previously a fisherman and baker for Acme Bread, made his first wine that year in his garage. He does not own any vineyards and sources exclusively from CCOF-certified organic growers. All wines are made in tiny lots at the Richmond facility he shares with Diaz.

The CCC name refers directly to the three grapes in the blend. Serve this well-chilled — 30 minutes in the fridge is ideal — and treat it the way you would a serious natural rosé or light carbonic red. Bone dry, lively, and built for drinking, not cellaring.

Serve well-chilled and treat it like a light rosé or glou-glou red. It works well with grilled fish tacos, cured meats, and fresh chevre. The bright acidity and low tannin also make it a strong match for spicy foods like Korean barbeque or al pastor.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red Wine
Wine Style:, Light Body
Grapes:, Chardonnay, Counoise, Carignan
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2020
Alcohol:, 12%
Country:, United States
Region:, California
Appellation:, Redwood Valley AVA (Chardonnay); Madera County (Counoise, Carignan)
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

Gearhead Wines

Craig West founded Gearhead Wines in 2016 after meeting Noel Diaz of Purity Wines in Richmond, California. West had worked previously as a fisherman and as a baker for Acme Bread in the Bay Area. When Diaz invited him to tread grapes in an open fermenter one evening during the 2016 harvest, West decided winemaking was his calling. He made his first wine that year in his garage and has been producing tiny lots ever since.

West does not own any vineyards. He sources exclusively from CCOF-certified organic growers across California, seeking out dry-farmed sites with low yields and strong farming integrity. His approach to finding fruit is opportunistic and relationship-driven — the Love Ranch Counoise in this wine, for example, came in early because the Creek Fire was threatening the vineyard during the 2020 harvest season.

All Gearhead wines are made at the Richmond facility West shares with Noel Diaz of Purity Wines. West uses carbonic maceration across most of his lineup, foot-treads the grapes, and adds no sulfites at any stage. Wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered. Production across the entire Gearhead lineup is extremely small, with individual wines typically ranging from 18 to around 100 cases.

Wine region

California, United States

The Chardonnay in this wine comes from Lolonis Vineyard in Redwood Valley AVA, a sub-appellation of Mendocino County north of Sonoma. Redwood Valley sits inland from the coast, with warmer days and cooler nights than Anderson Valley, and soils that shift between red clay, gravelly loam, and rocky subsoils. Lolonis Vineyard has been dry-farmed and CCOF-certified organic since the 1980s. The Counoise and Carignan come from Love Ranch Vineyard in Madera County, located in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Yosemite, where the vines are grown on thin soils of granitic schist and farmed dry under CCOF certification.

Mendocino County is one of California's leading organic wine regions, with a higher percentage of certified organic vineyard acreage than virtually any other California county. Redwood Valley AVA, where Lolonis sits, benefits from afternoon heat moderated by Pacific influence funneled up from Anderson Valley to the west. Madera County, by contrast, is a warm inland region in the San Joaquin Valley, where dry-farmed vines on granitic and rocky soils produce low yields and concentrated, aromatic fruit — particularly in Southern Rhone varieties like Counoise and Carignan.

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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