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Holden Wine Company

Interplanetary 2017

Price: $29.95
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Tasting notes

This is a genuinely unusual Oregon red: Nebbiolo and Barbera grown in the Gorge, made by a winemaker who keeps his hands off and lets northern Italian grape varieties do what they do. The result is tart dried cherry, rose, and an earthy tar note on a lean, high-acid frame that makes it drink more like a village Langhe than anything expected from the Pacific Northwest.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Taste profile
Dried CherryRoseEarthTobacco
  • Style: Dry, medium-bodied red; firm tannins; tart dried cherry, rose, and earth; 13% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: Nebbiolo and Barbera blend; Columbia Gorge AVA; silty loam over volcanic basalt soils; sustainable farming
  • Winemaking: Low-intervention; minimal inputs; no added chemicals; natural winemaking approach
  • Serving: Serve at 60-65F; 30-45 min decant recommended to open tannins
  • Pairing: Braised beef ragu, roasted mushrooms, hard salami, aged pecorino, lentil dishes
  • Similar To: For fans of Barolo, Langhe Nebbiolo, or Barbera d'Asti who want an Oregon take on northern Italian reds

Interplanetary is a red blend from Holden Wine Company, made by winemaker Sterling Whitted in Oregon. The 2017 is a blend of Nebbiolo and Barbera, two northern Italian varieties that Whitted has made central to his project since founding the label in 2011. The wine carries the Columbia River Gorge appellation, an AVA that straddles the Oregon-Washington border roughly 60 miles east of Portland.

Nebbiolo contributes the wine's backbone: firm tannins, high natural acidity, and aromatics of dried cherry, rose petal, and tar. Barbera adds volume and dark fruit weight while softening the overall tannin profile. At 13% ABV the wine sits on the leaner end of the spectrum, which keeps it food-friendly and age-worthy.

Whitted's approach is low-intervention: minimal inputs, no added chemicals, and winemaking that prioritizes fruit character and site expression over technical polish. He worked harvests at Owen Roe, Cameron, and Teutonic Wine Company before launching Holden, and that background in both Willamette-style farming and unconventional varieties is evident in how he handles Italian grapes in an Oregon context.

The Columbia Gorge AVA supports Italian varieties well. Silty loam soils over volcanic basalt bedrock, persistent winds off the river, and a wide diurnal temperature range allow Nebbiolo and Barbera to retain natural acidity while reaching adequate ripeness.

This blend's high acidity and firm tannins make it a natural with tomato-based dishes: braised short rib ragu, pasta al forno, or pizza with aged salami. It also holds up well against hard, salty cheeses like aged Parmigiano or pecorino. Roasted mushrooms and lentil-based dishes work well for vegetarian pairings.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red Wine
Wine Style:, Medium Body
Grapes:, Nebbiolo, Barbera
Farming:, Sustainable
Vintage:, 2017
Alcohol:, 13%
Country:, USA
Region:, Columbia River Gorge
Appellation:, Columbia Gorge 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

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

Holden Wine Company

Holden Wine Company was founded in 2011 by Sterling Whitted, a Portland-based winemaker who built his early career working harvests at Owen Roe, Cameron, and Teutonic Wine Company while pursuing an enology degree at Oregon State University. Before starting Holden, Whitted worked as a wine buyer at Whole Foods. He began making wine by trading labor for cellar space, working the harvest at Apolloni Vineyards in exchange for a corner of the winery.

The label is built around northern Italian varieties, particularly Nebbiolo, Barbera, Vermentino, and Malvasia, grown in various Oregon appellations. Whitted's stated philosophy centers on minimal inputs, no added chemicals, and farming that trends toward organic and sustainable practices. Production has been small since the beginning, under 1,000 cases annually.

Whitted has produced wines at multiple shared facilities in the Portland area, including Cooper's Hall and Medici Winery in Newberg. His winemaking approach for red wines involves minimal intervention: native or low-intervention fermentation, no fining or filtering where possible, and extended aging to allow tannin integration. For his Malvasia orange wine he has used foot-stomping and clay amphorae with extended skin contact, reflecting an interest in ancient and traditional techniques across his portfolio.

Wine region

Columbia River Gorge, USA

The Columbia Gorge AVA was established in 2004 and spans roughly 40 miles along the Columbia River on the Oregon-Washington border, centered around Hood River, Oregon and White Salmon, Washington. Vineyard elevations range from near sea level to around 2,000 feet, and the gorge itself acts as a natural wind funnel, channeling persistent air flows at 10-20 miles per hour that cool vines and reduce disease pressure. Rainfall drops sharply from west to east: the western end near the Cascades receives around 36 inches annually, while the eastern boundary near Lyle, Washington sees as little as 10 inches.

Soils in the Columbia Gorge are primarily silty loams deposited over time through glacial floods, volcanic activity, and landslides, underlain by basalt bedrock from ancient lava flows. The AVA's dramatic climate gradient supports over 30 grape varieties, from cool-climate Pinot Noir and Riesling in the west to warmer-site Syrah and Zinfandel in the east. Italian varieties including Nebbiolo and Barbera find a productive home in the Gorge, where proximity to the Columbia River and high diurnal swings allow them to ripen without losing their characteristic acidity.

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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