Chilion Skin Contact 2020

Chilion is 100% Cortese sourced from two acres at Fox Hill Vineyard on the Talmage Bench, a strip of uplifted former Russian River riverbed situated between Hopland and Ukiah in Mendocino County. The vines are approximately 30 years old, head-trained and cane-pruned, growing in alluvial, rocky sandy clay loam derived from sandstone at 650 feet elevation. Those two acres account for roughly one-sixth of all Cortese planted in the United States.

The 2020 vintage was destemmed and fermented spontaneously with full skin contact for over six months, with no temperature control and no fermentation aids. The skins were pressed on the spring equinox of 2021. The wine then aged an additional six months in neutral barrels and egg-shaped tanks. It went through full native malolactic conversion, was bottled unfined and unfiltered, and received no added sulfites at any point. Total acidity is 6.1 g/L at a pH of 3.65, with 13.2% ABV. Production was 285 cases.

Cortese in its conventional form is a restrained, high-acid white grape known for light citrus, peach, and almond notes with minimal tannin. The six-month maceration here transforms those baseline characteristics into something denser and more structured, adding baking spice, dried herbs, preserved citrus, and a phenolic grip that the grape does not normally exhibit. The result is an orange wine that reads nothing like Gavi and everything like a maximalist expression of a variety that most drinkers have only encountered in a far quieter register.

Evan Lewandowski farms his Fox Hill plots in collaboration with Sam Bilbro under the name Wild Ruth Farming, a partnership focused on holistic, organic practices and the elimination of synthetic chemicals and pesticides.

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.