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Andrea Occhipinti

Alea Rosa Aleatico 2019

Price: $19.95
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Tasting notes

Dry Aleatico rosato is genuinely rare — the DOC rules here only allow sweet and fortified styles, so Occhipinti declassifies entirely to make this wine on his own terms. The nose is intensely floral and fruity (rose water, wild strawberry, licorice), but the palate snaps back with volcanic minerality and bracing acidity that keeps everything focused and food-friendly.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Wild StrawberryRoseLicoriceCrushed Rock
  • Style: Dry rosato; deep cherry-pink; wild strawberry, licorice, volcanic minerality; 12.5% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Aleatico di Gradoli; certified organic; volcanic soils (lapilli, tuff, peperino); 450m elevation, Lake Bolsena western slopes, Gradoli, Lazio
  • Winemaking: Overnight skin maceration; spontaneous fermentation with ambient yeasts; aged in open-topped cement vats; minimal SO2 at bottling only; ~2,000 bottles produced
  • Serving: Serve at 50-55F; no decanting needed; drink within 3-5 years of vintage
  • Pairing: Freshwater fish, herb-roasted chicken, porchetta, lightly aged pecorino, cured meats
  • Similar To: For fans of aromatic, dry rosé with volcanic minerality — think Etna Rosato or Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo but more floral

Alea Rosa is a dry rosato made from 100% Aleatico grown on the volcanic slopes of Lake Bolsena in Gradoli, northern Lazio. Aleatico — a dark-skinned relative of Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains — has historically been used almost exclusively for sweet and fortified wines. Andrea Occhipinti is among the first producers in Italy to vinify it dry, and the Alea Rosa is his rosé expression: grapes are macerated overnight on the skins until fermentation begins spontaneously, then pressed off and aged in open-topped cement vats.

The vineyards sit at 450 meters above sea level on the western slopes of Lake Bolsena, Europe's largest volcanic lake. Soils are composed of lapilli, tuff, peperino, and volcanic ash — the legacy of the ancient Vulsino volcanic district. The lake moderates temperatures significantly, keeping the site cooler and windier than the surrounding countryside, which preserves acidity and aromatics in the finished wine.

The result in the glass is a deep cherry-pink rosato with intense aromatics of wild strawberry, rose water, and fresh herbs, followed by notes of licorice and a distinct crushed-rock minerality. The palate is supple and mouthwatering with a savory, persistent finish. Only around 2,000 bottles are produced per vintage. No sulfur is added during winemaking; minimal SO2 at bottling only.

Occhipinti farms organically and harvests by hand. Fermentation relies entirely on ambient yeasts. The wine is intentionally declassified from the Aleatico di Gradoli DOC, which covers only sweet, passito, and liquoroso styles — a dry rosato simply has no place within the appellation's rules.

The wine's savory finish and bright acidity make it a natural match for freshwater fish dishes — think pan-fried perch or trout, which are staples around Lake Bolsena itself. It also works well with herb-roasted chicken, porchetta, or a plate of lightly aged pecorino and cured meats. Avoid very heavy red-meat preparations; this rosato is built for the table, not the cellar.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Rose Wine
Wine Style:, Medium Body
Grapes:, Aleatico
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2019
Alcohol:, 12.5%
Country:, Italy
Region:, Lazio
Appellation:, Vino da Tavola (Aleatico di Gradoli DOC zone)
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.

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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

Andrea Occhipinti

Andrea Occhipinti (no relation to Arianna Occhipinti of Sicily) is based in Gradoli, a small village on the western shore of Lake Bolsena in northern Lazio. He studied agriculture at the University of Tuscia in nearby Viterbo and became so focused on the indigenous varieties of the Gradoli zone that they became the subject of his master's thesis in 2004. After graduating, he purchased approximately 4 hectares of vineyards planted in the 1990s on the volcanic slopes above the lake, at around 450 meters above sea level. His annual production is approximately 20,000 bottles across all wines.

Occhipinti works exclusively with the two indigenous varieties of the area: Aleatico di Gradoli (a local strain of Aleatico considered slightly more delicate and spicier than Tuscan versions) and Grechetto Rosso. All viticulture is certified organic; harvest is done by hand with low yields. He was among the first producers in Italy to vinify Aleatico as a dry table wine — both as a red (Alea Viva) and as a rosato (Alea Rosa) — departing from the region's long tradition of sweet and fortified Aleatico production.

Winemaking is low-intervention throughout. For the Alea Rosa, grapes are macerated overnight on the skins until spontaneous fermentation begins with ambient yeasts, then pressed and aged in open-topped cement vats. No sulfur is added during vinification; minimal SO2 only at bottling. Vinifications across the range also make use of stainless steel and clay amphora depending on the cuvee. Production of the Alea Rosa is approximately 2,000 bottles per vintage.

Wine region

Lazio, Italy

Lake Bolsena sits in the province of Viterbo in northern Lazio, roughly an hour north of Rome and about 15 minutes from the Tuscan border — a subregion historically called Tuscia. The lake occupies the center of the ancient Vulsino volcanic district, and the surrounding hillsides are blanketed in soils made up of lapilli, tuff, peperino, volcanic ash, and basaltic material. Vineyards on the western and northwestern shores sit at elevations between 400 and 600 meters above sea level, where the lake's moderating influence creates a windier, cooler mesoclimate with meaningful diurnal temperature shifts that preserve grape acidity.

The Aleatico di Gradoli DOC, established in 1972, covers the municipalities of Gradoli, Grotte di Castro, San Lorenzo Nuovo, and Latera on the northwestern side of the lake. The DOC allows only sweet, passito, liquoroso, and liquoroso riserva styles — all require a minimum of 95% Aleatico. As of 2017, only around 3 hectares of Aleatico di Gradoli vineyards were in active production, making it one of the smallest wine zones in Italy. Producers making dry table wine from Aleatico — as Occhipinti does — must declassify to Vino da Tavola. The broader Lazio region produces red wine in small quantities relative to its white wine output; the Lake Bolsena area is one of the most active zones for low-intervention red and rosé production.

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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