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Piccolo Podere del Ceppaiolo

Ceppamatto 2015

Price: $34.95
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Tasting notes

This is one of those rare field blends where the grape mix is less important than the site: old vines on calcareous clay at 400 meters, fermented with nothing added and aged in cement, produce a red with precise structure and real tension rather than weight. At 12.5% it drinks with the kind of lightness that makes it easy to finish a bottle, but there is genuine depth underneath.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Taste profile
Wild StrawberryEarthDried Tea LeavesCherry
  • Style: Light-bodied red field blend; indigenous Umbrian grapes; no added sulfur; 12.5% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: Vernaccia Rossa, Sangiovese, Aleatico, Nebbiolo di Gubbio; calcareous clay soils; up to 400m asl; vines up to 70 years old; Bastia Umbra, Perugia province
  • Winemaking: Spontaneous fermentation; ~10 days skin contact; aged in cement; no fining, no filtration, no added sulfur
  • Serving: Serve at 58-62F; 20-30 min decant suggested for older vintage
  • Pairing: Porchetta, wild boar ragu, cured salumi, Pecorino di Norcia, tomato-based pasta
  • Similar To: For fans of Gamay, Poulsard, or light-touch central Italian reds who want true old-vine field blend character

Ceppamatto is a field-blend red from Piccolo Podere del Ceppaiolo, a 1.7-hectare property near Bastia Umbra in the province of Perugia, just outside Assisi. The red-grape parcel — roughly one hectare of the total — sits on calcareous clay soils at elevations up to 400 meters above sea level, planted with indigenous varieties including Vernaccia Rossa, Sangiovese, Aleatico, and Nebbiolo di Gubbio. The vines are up to 70 years old and have never been treated with synthetic chemicals.

Winemaking at Ceppaiolo is deliberately stripped back. Fermentation is spontaneous with indigenous yeasts, followed by approximately 10 days of skin contact. The wine is then aged in cement, with no fining, no filtration, and no added sulfur at any stage. The only technology in the cellar is a vintage vertical press dating to the 1950s.

Danilo Marcucci, who trained alongside Friuli's Radikon and spent time studying the late Edoardo Valentini's approach in Abruzzo, leads the project with his partner Riccardo Pennaforti. Ceppaiolo functions as their most experimental site — grapes are tasted each harvest and decisions about the wine are made vintage by vintage. Production is extremely limited.

Ceppamatto is bottled as IGT Umbria. At 12.5% ABV it sits at the lighter end of the spectrum for central Italian reds, with the elevated acidity and mineral tension characteristic of old vines on limestone-clay at altitude.

Works well alongside Umbrian pork dishes — porchetta, cured salumi, or a simple plate of prosciutto with figs. The acidity holds up to tomato-based pasta like a sugo di cinghiale (wild boar ragu). Also try with aged sheep's milk cheeses like Pecorino di Norcia.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red Wine
Wine Style:, Light Body
Grapes:, Vernaccia Rossa, Sangiovese, Aleatico, Nebbiolo di Gubbio
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2015
Alcohol:, 12.5%
Country:, Italy
Region:, Umbria
Appellation:, IGT Umbria
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

Piccolo Podere del Ceppaiolo

Piccolo Podere del Ceppaiolo is a project initiated by Danilo Marcucci and Riccardo Pennaforti near Bastia Umbra, a town in the province of Perugia between Assisi and Perugia. The two discovered the site — a run-down farmhouse with no electricity — and were drawn to its old vines, some of the rarest and oldest indigenous plantings left in the region. Total planted area is 1.7 hectares, divided between a white-variety parcel and a red-variety parcel of approximately one hectare.

The vineyards are managed without any synthetic chemical inputs. Vines reach up to 70 years of age on calcareous clay soils at elevations up to 400 meters above sea level, with good natural ventilation on a hillside exposure. Harvesting is manual with selection in the vineyard. No certified biodynamic or organic designation is listed, but the farming is fully zero-input.

Winemaking is carried out with 1950s-era equipment that remains in the stone cellar: an old vertical press is the only technology used. Fermentations are spontaneous with indigenous yeasts, skin contact runs approximately 10 days for the red wines, and aging takes place in cement. No fining, no filtration, and no sulfur additions at any stage. Danilo Marcucci, who trained alongside Radikon in Friuli and with the late Edoardo Valentini in Abruzzo, treats Ceppaiolo as a laboratory for uncompromised natural winemaking. Wine styles and blends are decided harvest by harvest based on what the grapes express each year.

Wine region

Umbria, Italy

Umbria is a landlocked region at the geographic center of Italy, bordered by Tuscany to the west, Marche to the east, and Lazio to the south. It is the only Italian region with neither a coastline nor an international border. The climate is Mediterranean with strong continental influence: cold, wet winters and hot summers moderated by significant diurnal temperature swings that help grapes retain acidity and develop structured flavor. Soils vary considerably across the region — calcareous clay dominates around Torgiano, Colli Martani, and the Perugia hills, while volcanic tufa soils characterize the Orvieto zone.

Umbria holds two DOCGs and thirteen DOCs. The most celebrated appellations are Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG, producing tannic, ageworthy reds from the indigenous Sagrantino grape, and Torgiano Rosso Riserva DOCG, based on Sangiovese and Canaiolo Nero. Orvieto DOC accounts for a large share of white wine production, blending Grechetto, Trebbiano, and Malvasia. Much of the most interesting small-producer work in Umbria falls under the IGT Umbria classification, which allows greater freedom with indigenous variety blends and winemaking approach. Key native red grapes include Sagrantino, Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Vernaccia Rossa, Aleatico, and the rarely seen Nebbiolo di Gubbio.

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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