Alessandro Viola

Alessandro Viola Le Mie Origini Catarratto 2021

$46.00

Style: Dry, medium-bodied skin-contact white with gentle oxidative character
Grapes & Terroir: 100% Catarratto from 30+ year-old vines; limestone soils at 500-600 meters elevation, Mount Bonifato, Alcamo, Sicily
Winemaking: Overnight skin maceration, spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts, nine months in chestnut botti on lees; unfiltered, unfined, minimal sulfites
Serving Temperature & Decanting: 50-55°F; light decanting of 15-20 minutes allows aromatics to open
Pairing: Couscous alla Trapanese
Similar To: White Châteauneuf-du-Pape or textured Jura whites with Mediterranean warmth

Tasting notes

Deep golden hue with amber glints. The nose delivers juicy peach, spiced apricot, fresh hay, elderflower, and honeyed cereal notes. On the palate, a round, expansive mouthfeel meets saline acidity and umami depth. The finish stretches long with mineral persistence and mouth-watering freshness.

Food pairings

Couscous alla Trapanese, grilled swordfish, caponata, roasted chicken, aged pecorino, seafood risotto, vegetable tempura, Thai curry.

Product description

Alessandro Viola Le Mie Origini Catarratto 2021 takes its name from vines planted by Alessandro's grandfather over thirty years ago on Mount Bonifato, at 500-600 meters elevation on limestone soils. This skin-contact white showcases Sicily's most planted indigenous grape in its purest form. Hand-harvested Catarratto grapes undergo overnight maceration before pressing, then ferment spontaneously with native yeasts. Alessandro Viola ages Le Mie Origini Catarratto 2021 for nine months in traditional chestnut botti with careful lees contact. The wine is bottled unfiltered and unfined with minimal sulfites—typically 10-20 mg/l.

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Orange
Wine Style:, Medium Body
Grapes:, Catarratto
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2021
Alcohol:, 13%
Country:, Italy
Region:, Sicily
Appellation:, Sicilia IGT
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Low Sugar, Zero Added Sugar

These information are correct to the best of our knowledge. We talk to natural wine producers, importers, and distributors on a regular basis; should you notice discrepancies, please let us know and we will fix them right away.

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

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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.

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

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Heat/Frost damage

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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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4. The carrier will attempt delivery a maximum of 3 times. After 3 delivery attempts, your package will be sent back to our warehouse.**

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**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.

Alessandro Viola Le Mie Origini Catarratto 2021

$46.00

Producer profile

Alessandro Viola

Alessandro Viola operates from Alcamo in northwestern Sicily, where his 7-hectare organic estate has become synonymous with pure, uncompromising natural winemaking. Trained as both agronomist and oenologist, Viola gained experience in Piedmont and on Mount Etna before returning to his Sicilian roots in the late 1990s with a clear vision: wine should contain only one ingredient—grapes.

His father was a vine grower who bottled little of what he produced, but Alessandro absorbed a deep connection to the land that shapes every aspect of his work today. The estate spans two distinct vineyard areas: Pietra Rinosa in the Alcamese hinterland, where clay soils at 200 meters produce full-bodied wines influenced by Mediterranean breezes, and Fastuchera on the slopes of Mount Bonifato, where limestone soils at 400-600 meters yield finer, mineral-driven expressions.

Viola's commitment to indigenous varieties reflects both philosophical conviction and practical wisdom. Catarratto, Grillo, Nero d'Avola, and Nerello Mascalese form his varietal repertoire—grapes that have evolved over centuries to thrive in Sicily's specific conditions. In the cellar, spontaneous fermentation proceeds without temperature control, aging occurs in traditional chestnut botti or stainless steel, and bottling happens without fining or filtration. Sulfite additions remain minimal, typically 10-20 mg/l at bottling.

"Le Mie Origini" translates to "My Origins," and the wine honors vines his grandfather planted decades ago. The intimate connection between family history, native grapes, and mountain terroir defines Viola's approach—winemaking as an act of cultural preservation rather than mere production.

Discover more from Alessandro Viola: Note di Bianco Grillo, Blanc de Blancs, and 50 Gradi All'Ombra. Browse our best-selling natural wines for additional organic producers.

Wine region

Sicily, Italy

Sicily stands as Italy's largest island and most extensive wine region, positioned at the Mediterranean's heart where African heat meets European tradition. The western corner around Alcamo, in Trapani province, occupies particularly distinctive terrain—a landscape defined by coastal plains rising sharply to mountain passes, where ancient grape varieties have adapted over centuries to dramatic elevation changes and mineral-rich soils.

The Alcamo zone historically supplied Catarratto grapes for Marsala production, but a new generation of growers has reclaimed this versatile variety for table wine. Catarratto remains Sicily's most planted white grape, thriving in the region's limestone and clay soils while delivering wines of surprising complexity when yields are controlled and farming is attentive.

Mount Bonifato rises above Alcamo to nearly 800 meters, creating a natural reserve of pine forests and fresh mountain air that sharply contrasts with the sun-drenched Mediterranean coast below. Vineyards planted on these slopes benefit from significant diurnal temperature variation—warm days followed by cool nights that preserve acidity while allowing full phenolic ripeness. The limestone soils at altitude produce wines of mineral precision quite different from the rounder, warmer expressions of the valley floor.

Sicily's viticultural history extends over three millennia, shaped by Greek, Roman, Arab, and Spanish influences. Today, the island ranks as Italy's third-largest wine producer after Veneto and Tuscany, with quality rising dramatically over the past three decades. Indigenous varieties—Nero d'Avola, Grillo, Inzolia, Perricone, and Nerello Mascalese alongside Catarratto—increasingly define Sicily's identity as producers embrace native grapes over international varieties.

Explore our Sicilian natural wine collection and discover more Italian natural wines. For skin-contact enthusiasts, browse our orange wine selection.

Frequently asked question

When is my order shipping?

We are doing your best to ship your order in 2-3 business days.

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.

Do I have to sign upon delivery?

Yes, someone 21 years or older must sign for the package.

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.

What if I miss a delivery?

Worry not, we have options, but please read carefully.

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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