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Ruth Lewandowski

Dinos to Diamonds Picpoul 2017

Price: $30.95
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Tasting notes

Picpoul in an orange wine format is genuinely rare, and this one makes a strong case for why it works: the grape's natural high acidity acts as a preservative in place of sulfur, while carbonic maceration adds a wild, ferment-forward character that keeps the citrus and mineral notes from feeling flat. The seven months in neutral barrel round the texture without adding oak flavor, leaving the wine taut and phenolic with lemon pith and wet stone at its core.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Taste profile
Lemon PeelGrapefruitWet StoneOrange Blossom
  • Style: Dry orange wine; medium body; high acidity; citrus, mineral, and phenolic; 12% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Picpoul; Rorick Heritage Vineyard, Calaveras County; 2,000 ft elevation; limestone subsoil with schist; organically farmed
  • Winemaking: Carbonic maceration and skin fermentation; native yeast; 7 months neutral barrel aging; no added sulfur, unfined, unfiltered
  • Serving: Serve at 48-52F; no decant needed; can be served lightly chilled
  • Pairing: Oysters, ceviche, grilled shrimp, anchovies on toast, chevre, briny feta
  • Similar To: For fans of skin-contact Gruner Veltliner or Muscadet sur lie who want more textural grip and wild character

Dinos to Diamonds is an annual experimental one-off from Evan Lewandowski of Ruth Lewandowski Wines, produced in a different grape and style each vintage. The 2017 edition is 100% Picpoul sourced from Rorick Heritage Vineyard in Calaveras County, near the town of Murphys in the Sierra Foothills AVA. It was the first fruit Lewandowski ever pulled from that site.

Rorick Heritage Vineyard sits at 2,000 feet elevation on limestone subsoil beneath a top layer of schist, and spans 75 acres farmed organically by owner Matthew Rorick. The alpine growing season at this elevation keeps acidity sharp and aromatics lifted. Picpoul, whose name translates to "lip stinger," retains high natural acidity even in warm conditions, and the limestone soils here add a distinct mineral backbone.

Lewandowski applied carbonic maceration and skin fermentation to the Picpoul, then aged the wine for seven months in neutral barrels. Fermentation was started in California with native yeasts, and the wine was finished and bottled in Salt Lake City, Utah, where Lewandowski operated at the time. No sulfur was added at any stage. The skin contact adds phenolic grip and texture to what is otherwise a piercing, citrus-driven grape.

As with every vintage of Dinos to Diamonds, 100% of proceeds from this wine go to charity. The 2017 edition was directed toward wildfire relief efforts following the Northern California fires of that year.

The high acidity and phenolic texture make this a strong match for raw or lightly cooked shellfish, particularly oysters, clams, and grilled shrimp. It also pairs well with dishes built around citrus or brine, such as ceviche, fish tacos with salsa verde, or salt-cured anchovies on toast. A sharp, young chevre or briny feta will not overpower it.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Orange Wine
Wine Style:, Medium Body
Grapes:, Picpoul
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2017
Alcohol:, 12%
Country:, United States
Region:, Sierra Foothills
Appellation:, Sierra Foothills AVA
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

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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.


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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.

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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

Ruth Lewandowski

Ruth Lewandowski Wines was founded in 2012 by Evan Lewandowski, who grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah and developed a serious interest in wine while attending the University of Utah. He worked at The Spotted Frog, a wine bar in Park City then owned by Zev Rovine, which introduced him to the natural wine world. After pursuing harvests internationally, he completed a period working at Domaine Binner in Alsace under Christian Binner, whose approach to organic farming and minimal-intervention winemaking had a lasting influence on him. Lewandowski also holds a degree in viticulture and enology from the Walla Walla Institute.

The winery takes its name from the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament, a text whose themes of gleaning, loyalty, and renewal mirror Lewandowski's own practice of sourcing from other growers' vineyards and working with what each season and site provides. When he founded the label, Lewandowski began fermentation in California at the source vineyards, then transported the fermenting juice in a refrigerated truck to Salt Lake City where he completed fermentation, aging, and bottling. In 2018, he relocated his winemaking operation to California, partnering with Sam Bilbro of Idlewild Wines and establishing a base in the Yorkville Highlands. The winery now operates from Healdsburg.

Across the entire Ruth Lewandowski range, the cellar approach is the same: native yeast fermentation, no added sulfur, no fining, and no filtration. Winemaking decisions center on maceration length, vessel choice, and lees contact. Grapes are sourced exclusively from organically farmed vineyards, primarily Fox Hill and Testa in Mendocino County, with the Dinos to Diamonds series drawing from other sites that Lewandowski vets seasonally for quality and character.

Wine region

Sierra Foothills, United States

The Sierra Foothills AVA is one of California's largest appellations by land area, stretching roughly 120 miles north to south along Highway 49 through eight counties including Amador, El Dorado, and Calaveras. Despite covering a vast area, only around 6,000 acres of the 2.6 million acres within the AVA boundary are planted to vines. Elevations across the appellation range widely, with many of the most distinctive vineyard sites sitting above 1,500 feet, where cooler growing seasons preserve natural acidity and extend hang time.

Calaveras County occupies the southern portion of the appellation and contains some of its most geologically complex soils, including limestone, schist, quartz, and decomposed granite in varying combinations. The sub-appellations of Amador County, including Fiddletown and California Shenandoah Valley, and El Dorado County's Fair Play AVA are among the more established zones within the broader Sierra Foothills. The region has historically been associated with Zinfandel and Barbera, but growers working at higher elevations have demonstrated strong results with aromatic whites, Rhone varieties, and Italian varieties that benefit from the combination of warm days, cold nights, and poor, rocky soils.

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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