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Cantina Indigeno

Bianco Bisint 2021

Price: $29.95
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Tasting notes

Montonico is one of the rarest grapes in Abruzzo, and Bisint is one of very few varietal expressions of it available anywhere. The combination of high acidity, mineral salinity, and the slight textural grip from skin contact gives it a profile that sits somewhere between a lean Verdicchio and an amphora-aged natural white. It is a specific, honest wine that tastes like a place.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Lemon PeelWhite PeachFlintAlmond
  • Style: Dry, light-bodied white; pale straw-green; citrus, flint, and white flowers; high acidity; 12% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Montonico; organic; calcareous clay and stony limestone soils; Teramo hills, Bisenti area, Abruzzo
  • Winemaking: Spontaneous fermentation; skin contact; no temperature control; 8 months on lees in fiberglass; no fining, no filtration, no added SO2
  • Serving: Serve at 46-50F; no decanting needed; best within 1-2 years of vintage
  • Pairing: Oysters, grilled branzino, fried anchovies, fresh goat cheese, white bean dishes
  • Similar To: For fans of lean, mineral-driven whites like Verdicchio, Muscadet, or skin-contact Trebbiano who want something rarer

Bianco Bisint is Cantina Indigeno's single-varietal expression of Montonico, a rare indigenous white grape grown in and around Bisenti, a hill town in the Teramo province of Abruzzo. The name "Bisint" is a direct reference to Bisenti, the village historically considered the heartland of this variety. Documented in the region since at least 1615, Montonico was once widely grown across Abruzzo for both table and wine use but declined sharply after the 1960s and is now cultivated on just over 70 hectares, almost exclusively in Teramo province.

The grapes are organically farmed on calcareous clay and stony limestone soils in the Teramo hills, at elevations typical of the Vomano Valley (roughly 300 to 700 meters above sea level). Fermentation is spontaneous with indigenous yeasts, carried out without temperature control and with skin contact. The wine ages on its lees for eight months in fiberglass, settling naturally, then undergoes further refinement in bottle. No sulfur, fining agents, or filtration are used at any stage.

Montonico is characterized by its naturally low alcohol, high acidity, thick greenish-yellow skin, and a pale straw-to-green color in the glass. On the nose it shows citrus peel, white flowers, and a flinty, bread-crust quality. The palate is dry, mineral, and taut, with a slightly bitter finish typical of the variety. It is a wine built on nerve and texture rather than fruit weight.

Cantina Indigeno bottles this as a Vino d'Italia, outside the mainstream Abruzzo DOC designations, reflecting both the rarity of the grape and the winery's non-interventionist philosophy.

The high acidity and mineral edge make this a strong match for raw and lightly cooked seafood: oysters, crudo, grilled branzino, or fried anchovies. It also works well with fresh goat cheese, white bean dishes, and simple vegetable preparations dressed with olive oil and lemon. The slightly bitter finish cuts through fried foods effectively.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, White Wine
Wine Style:, Light Body
Grapes:, Montonico
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2021
Alcohol:, 12%
Country:, Italy
Region:, Abruzzo
Appellation:, Vino d'Italia
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

Cantina Indigeno

Cantina Indigeno was founded in 2016 by four friends: Alfredo Giugno, Nicola Reginaldi, Fabio Petrella, and Loreto Lamolinara. The winery operates near Montorio al Vomano in the Teramo province of Abruzzo. Alfredo worked as an accountant and had been fermenting beer as a hobby; Loreto distributed craft beers; together they had opened a microbrewery called La Casa di Cura in Crognaleto in 2013. Nicola, a sommelier and pub owner in Teramo, brought the group toward natural winemaking. The project was also encouraged by the team at Lammidia, another natural producer in Abruzzo who offered guidance at the outset. Their first vintage in 2016 produced around 5,000 bottles, the majority exported to the United States and Japan.

The winery farms organically, using only copper and sulfur treatments in the vineyard. They manage 9 hectares of certified organic vineyards in and around Teramo, with additional grapes sourced from local farmers who use the same protocols. Vines average around 30 years old and grow on stony limestone and calcareous clay soils. The range focuses on indigenous Abruzzo varieties: Montepulciano and Trebbiano primarily, along with Montonico, Pecorino, Malvasia, and Cococciola. Biodynamic preparations including green manure cover crops are also used in the vineyard.

All grapes are hand-harvested. Fermentation is spontaneous with indigenous yeasts, without temperature control. The winery uses fiberglass and stainless steel vessels, with occasional use of amphorae. No fining, filtration, or sulfur additions are made at any stage. The Bisint is made specifically from Montonico sourced from the Bisenti area, fermented with skin contact, then aged on lees in fiberglass for eight months before bottle refinement.

Wine region

Abruzzo, Italy

Abruzzo occupies a stretch of central-eastern Italy where the Apennine Mountains descend toward the Adriatic Sea. The province of Teramo, in the northern part of the region, sits at the geographic center of this wine's story: its vineyards benefit from higher elevations, ferrous clay and limestone soils, and significant diurnal temperature variation that preserves acidity and aromatic freshness. The Gran Sasso massif to the west and the Adriatic coast roughly 8 kilometers to the east define the local climate, which combines Mediterranean warmth with cooler mountain air.

Abruzzo's key DOC and DOCG designations are built around Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo for reds and roses, with Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC and the Colline Teramane DOCG (established in 2003) covering the Teramo hills. Indigenous white varieties including Pecorino, Passerina, Cococciola, and the rare Montonico have attracted renewed attention from a new generation of natural producers. Montonico's historical production zone centers on the municipalities of Bisenti and Cermignano in Teramo province, where it is protected as a Slow Food Presidium.

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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