Valentina Passalacqua

Mezzorosa Rosato 2018

$28.95

Style: Dry, light-bodied rosé; deep salmon-pink; red fruit, mineral salinity, faint tannin grip; 10.5% ABV
Grapes & Terroir: 100% Montepulciano; certified biodynamic; Kimmeridgian limestone and marble soils; 200m altitude, Gargano Promontory, Apricena, Puglia
Winemaking: Hand-harvested; 12-hour skin maceration; direct press; native yeast fermentation in open-top stainless; 6-8 months on stainless; unfined, unfiltered, zero added SO2; crown cap
Serving: Serve well-chilled at 48-52F; no decanting needed
Pairing: Grilled mackerel or sardines, tomato-based antipasti, burrata with anchovies, charcuterie
Similar To: For fans of light, mineral Provençal rosé who want lower alcohol and more textural grip

Mezzorosa is 100% Montepulciano grown on the slopes of the Gargano Promontory in Apricena, northern Puglia, at 200 meters above sea level. The soils are rocky Kimmeridgian limestone and marble with calcified seashells — the same geological formation that produces the prized Biancone di Apricena marble. Grapes come from young vines as well as older pergola-trained vines, all hand-harvested and farmed biodynamically.

Winemaking is direct: 12 hours of skin maceration to extract color and a light grip of tannin, followed by direct press, then spontaneous fermentation in open-top stainless steel vats with no temperature control. The wine ages 6 to 8 months in stainless steel before bottling unfined, unfiltered, with zero added sulfur dioxide.

The result sits in a zone between rosé and a very light red. Deep salmon-pink in the glass, it shows fresh red fruit, mineral salinity from the limestone soils, and low alcohol at 10.5% ABV. The crown cap closure and proximity to the Adriatic Sea, with its cooling coastal breezes, keep everything bright and food-friendly.

The appellation is Puglia IGT, a region-wide designation that allows Valentina the flexibility to use Montepulciano — a grape not traditionally associated with Puglia but well-suited to her particular site in the north of the region.

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.

Mezzorosa Rosato 2018

$28.95

Producer profile

Valentina Passalacqua

Valentina Passalacqua's estate is located at Località Posta Nuova in Apricena, within Gargano National Park in northern Puglia. The land has been in the Passalacqua family since the early 1900s. For most of that time it was considered uncultivable — too rocky and poor for crops — and was used for cattle grazing and transhumance. The family later discovered they were sitting on a deposit of Biancone di Apricena, a prized Kimmeridgian limestone from which some of Italy's finest marble is cut. Crushing and excavating the stone starting in the early 1970s made the land workable for agriculture.

The estate covers approximately 70 hectares in total, with around 45 to 48 hectares planted to vines at 200 meters above sea level on the slopes of the Gargano. Soils are rocky limestone and marble with calcified seashells — highly mineral, low in water retention, and excellent for vine stress. The south-west exposure and constant ventilation from the Adriatic create significant diurnal temperature variation even in the hottest years. Valentina obtained organic certification in 1999, and biodynamic practices have been central to the estate's approach since around 2000. Native grape varieties planted include Bombino Bianco, Fiano Minutolo, Falanghina, Greco, Nero di Troia, Negroamaro, Primitivo, Montepulciano, and Aleatico.

All grapes are hand-harvested. Wines are fermented spontaneously with native yeasts, never fined or filtered, and bottled with little to no added sulfur. Valentina practices careful canopy management and picks early to preserve acidity and freshness — a deliberate counter to the overripe, high-alcohol style historically associated with Puglian wine. The Mezzorosa specifically involves 12 hours of skin maceration before direct press, with fermentation and aging entirely in stainless steel vats with no temperature control, sealed under crown cap.

Wine region

Puglia, Italy

Puglia occupies the heel and spur of the Italian boot, stretching along the Adriatic in the east and the Ionian Sea in the south. The region divides broadly into two viticultural zones: the flat, hot south (Salento), dominated by Primitivo and Negroamaro, and the hillier north centered on the province of Foggia. The Gargano Promontory, a limestone peninsula jutting into the Adriatic, sits within the Foggia province and is almost entirely within the boundaries of Gargano National Park, established in 1991. This northern zone is geologically distinct — its soils are Kimmeridgian limestone of Jurassic origin, rocky and mineral-rich, with poor water retention, similar in structure to the limestone of Chablis.

Puglia benefits from a hot Mediterranean climate with low humidity and good ventilation, though the Gargano's altitude and Adriatic proximity moderate temperatures significantly compared to the Salento plain. The region-wide Puglia IGT, introduced in November 1995, gives producers across the region the flexibility to work with grape varieties and styles outside the constraints of the DOC system. Puglia holds four DOCGs, over 30 DOCs, and several sub-regional IGTs including Daunia, which covers the Foggia area and the Gargano. The dominant red varieties across the region are Primitivo, Negroamaro, and Nero di Troia; Montepulciano is a minor variety in the north, well-suited to the limestone soils of the Gargano.

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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