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Ruth Lewandowski

Mahlon Arneis 2022

Price: $35.95
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Tasting notes

Arneis is a finicky Piedmontese grape that rarely gets this kind of careful treatment in California. The two-hour skin maceration, full malolactic fermentation, and five months of lees aging give Mahlon a creamy, saline texture that sets it apart from the lean, simple versions more commonly found. Citrus pith, white flowers, and bitter almond come together with a snappy, mineral finish.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Taste profile
Lemon PeelWhite PeachBitter AlmondWildflowers
  • Style: Dry, light-bodied white; 100% Arneis; citrus, white flowers, bitter almond; 12% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Arneis; Fox Hill Vineyard, Talmage Bench, Mendocino County; sandy rocky clay loam and alluvial soils; ~30-year-old vines; 650ft elevation; organically farmed
  • Winemaking: Hand-harvested; foot-trodden; 2-hour skin maceration; spontaneous native yeast fermentation; full malolactic fermentation; 5 months on lees; bottled unfined and unfiltered; small sulfite addition post-MLF; 230-gallon polyethylene egg tanks
  • Serving: Serve at 48-52F; no decant needed; drink within 2-3 years of vintage
  • Pairing: Oysters, steamed clams, prosciutto, fried calamari, mild soft cheese, white bean crostini
  • Similar To: For fans of Roero Arneis or textured, mineral-driven whites like Vermentino and Greco di Tufo

Mahlon is 100% Arneis from Fox Hill Vineyard, a 60-acre, organically farmed site on the Talmage Bench in Mendocino County, California. The vineyard sits on an uplifted former riverbed from the Russian River at approximately 650 feet elevation. Soils are sandy, rocky clay loam and alluvial, with redvine, river rock, and pebbly sandstone. The 1.60-hectare block of Arneis is planted to vines around 30 years old.

Grapes are hand-harvested and foot-trodden in picking bins, then left to macerate on the skins for approximately two hours before bladder pressing. Fermentation proceeds spontaneously with indigenous yeasts, without temperature control, in 230-gallon egg-shaped polyethylene tanks. The wine goes through full malolactic fermentation and ages on its lees for five months with one racking. A small addition of sulfites is made after malolactic fermentation. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Arneis translates to "little rascal" in the Piemontese dialect, a reference to the grape's tendency toward low yields, rapid ripeness, and quick oxidation in the cellar. At Fox Hill, the warm inland climate of Mendocino echoes the grape's native home in Piedmont, and the lean, alluvial soils keep yields in check. The result is a concentrated, textured version of Arneis that retains brightness thanks to full malolactic fermentation and extended lees contact.

Evan Lewandowski founded Ruth Lewandowski Wines in 2012 after training at Domaine Binner in Alsace and earning a degree from the Walla Walla Institute for Viticulture and Enology. The winery name references the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament. Grapes are sourced from organically farmed vineyards in Mendocino County, and all winemaking decisions prioritize minimal intervention: indigenous yeast, no fining, no filtration.

Mahlon's citrus-driven acidity and creamy texture work well with raw or lightly cooked shellfish — clams, oysters, or steamed mussels. It also pairs with dishes that have a savory, umami edge: white bean crostini, prosciutto, or mild soft cheese. The wine's bitterness and mineral finish hold up to fried foods like tempura vegetables or calamari.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, White Wine
Wine Style:, Light Body
Grapes:, Arneis
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2022
Alcohol:, 12%
Country:, United States
Region:, Mendocino
Appellation:, Mendocino County 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.


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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.


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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

Evan Lewandowski founded Ruth Lewandowski Wines in 2012. The name references the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament, not a person. Lewandowski first encountered wine while working at The Spotted Frog wine bar in Park City, Utah, where he met Zev Rovine, then owner and later founder of Rovine Selections, a prominent natural wine importer. That introduction prompted a period of international winemaking experience that included harvests at Tenute Loacker in Italy, Torbreck and Cape Jaffa in Australia, L'Ecole No. 41 and Quintessa in the United States, Bodega Colomé in Argentina, and finally Domaine Binner in Alsace, where he trained under Christian Binner in organic and biodynamic viticulture. He also earned a degree from the Walla Walla Institute for Viticulture and Enology.

Ruth Lewandowski Wines sources grapes primarily from Fox Hill Vineyard and Testa Vineyard in Mendocino County, California. Fox Hill is a 60-acre site on the Talmage Bench planted with over 25 Italian and Spanish grape varieties. The vineyard is organically farmed and became CCOF certified in 2024 after years of transitioning to organic practices. Soils at Fox Hill are predominantly mineral-driven redvine, river rock, and pebbly sandstone on alluvial clay loam, all sitting on an uplifted former Russian River riverbed. Lewandowski has worked with Fox Hill Arneis since 2009.

Across all Ruth Lewandowski wines, the cellar approach is minimal and consistent: spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts, no added sulfur for most wines (Mahlon receives a small sulfite addition post-malolactic fermentation), no fining, and no filtration. Fermentation and aging take place in 230-gallon egg-shaped polyethylene Flextanks. For Mahlon, grapes are foot-trodden, given a short two-hour skin maceration, bladder pressed, fermented through full malolactic fermentation, and aged on lees for five months before bottling.

Wine region

Mendocino, United States

Mendocino County is located approximately 130 miles north of San Francisco within California's North Coast AVA. The Mendocino Range divides the county into two distinct climate zones. To the west, the maritime corridor around Anderson Valley receives Pacific fog and ocean air funneled inland via the Navarro River, creating Region I to Region II conditions suited to Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and aromatic white varieties. To the east, inland valleys around Ukiah and the Talmage Bench are shielded from Pacific fog by the coastal mountains, producing warmer, drier growing conditions rated Region III on the Winkler scale, with mean July temperatures often exceeding 73 degrees Fahrenheit. Fox Hill Vineyard sits on the Talmage Bench in this warmer eastern corridor, where hot days echo the climate of Piedmont, Northern Italy.

Mendocino County hosts thirteen designated AVAs as of 2024, including Anderson Valley, Redwood Valley, Potter Valley, and the broad Mendocino County AVA. The county is a recognized leader in organic viticulture: approximately 25% of its planted acreage is certified organic, accounting for one-third of all certified organic vineyard acres in California. In 2004, Mendocino County became the first GMO-free county in the United States. Vineyard soils vary considerably across the county, from deep alluvial loam on valley floors near the Russian and Navarro Rivers to gravelly loam and thin scree on hillside benches. The Talmage Bench specifically features sandy, rocky clay loam and alluvial soils formed from uplifted former riverbeds, with mineral-driven redvine, river rock, and pebbly sandstone throughout.

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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