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Dirty & Rowdy

Napa Valley Semillon 2019

Price: $34.95
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Tasting notes

At 11% ABV with 24 days of skin contact, this Semillon manages to be waxy and textural without weight — apricot and lemon peel up front, then a saline, dried-herb finish that keeps you coming back. It is one of the few California whites that genuinely rewards the patience of a day-two open bottle.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
ApricotLemon PeelHaySaline
  • Style: Dry, light-bodied white; skin contact and concrete egg; waxy texture; saline finish; 11% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Semillon; organically farmed, dry-farmed; Yountville AVA, Napa Valley; gravelly silt loam and alluvial soils; ~120m elevation
  • Winemaking: Three-stream vinification: 70% destemmed skin maceration 24 days, 10% whole cluster 15 days, remainder direct-pressed to concrete egg; spontaneous fermentation; bottled unfined and unfiltered; microdose sulfur at bottling
  • Serving: Serve at 48–52F; benefits from 30–60 minutes open air or a second day after opening
  • Pairing: Raw oysters, ceviche, grilled langoustines, fresh chevre, burrata
  • Similar To: For fans of Hunter Valley Semillon or Loire Chenin Blanc who want a low-ABV, textural California white

This is 100% Semillon from a single organically farmed, dry-farmed vineyard in Yountville, Napa Valley, sitting at approximately 120 metres elevation. The grapes were harvested early, at roughly 18–20 Brix, preserving natural acidity and keeping alcohol at just 11%. The vineyard sits in the Yountville AVA, where gravelly silt loams and alluvial soils over sedimentary bedrock, combined with marine fog and cool afternoon breezes off San Pablo Bay, produce a distinctly lower-alcohol, higher-acid style than the broader Napa Valley norm.

Winemaker Hardy Wallace used three separate vinification streams to build texture and complexity without sacrificing freshness. Seventy percent of the harvest was destemmed and macerated on skins for 24 days in open-top fermenters. Ten percent was fermented as whole clusters for 15 days before pressing. The remaining portion was direct-pressed into a concrete egg. All fermentation was spontaneous, using only native yeasts. The finished wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered, with a microdose of sulfur added at bottling.

The result is a structurally unusual California white: waxy and textural from the skin contact, yet lifted and saline rather than heavy. Notes of apricot, lemon peel, beeswax, and dried herbs come through alongside a distinct mineral salinity on the finish. At 11% ABV, it drinks more like a northern French or Hunter Valley Semillon than anything the Napa Valley is typically associated with.

The waxy texture and bright acidity make this a natural match for raw oysters, grilled langoustines, or a simple ceviche. It also works well alongside mild fresh cheeses like chevre or burrata, where the saline finish cuts through the fat. Avoid heavily oaked or buttery preparations — this wine is built for clean, acid-driven food.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, White Wine
Wine Style:, Light Body
Grapes:, Semillon
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2019
Alcohol:, 11%
Country:, USA
Region:, Napa Valley
Appellation:, Napa Valley 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 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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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.


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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

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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.

Producer profile

Dirty & Rowdy

Dirty and Rowdy Family Winery was founded in 2010 by Hardy Wallace and Matt Richardson. Wallace, originally from Atlanta, entered the wine industry in 2009 after winning a social media management role at Murphy-Goode Winery in Napa Valley. He subsequently worked with Kevin Kelley of the Natural Process Alliance and Salinia Wine Company before launching Dirty and Rowdy with Richardson, initially over just two barrels of purchased fruit. The winery operates without owning vineyard land, instead sourcing from a network of small growers across California from Santa Barbara to Mendocino, with winemaking conducted in leased space in Santa Rosa.

Dirty and Rowdy's sourcing prioritizes organically or sustainably farmed vineyards, and Wallace maintains direct involvement in farming decisions at each site — including canopy management, irrigation choices, and fruit load targets — despite not owning the land. The winery's focus varieties are Semillon and Mourvedre, grapes with deep roots in southern France that remain uncommon in California. Their Semillon has been produced from the same Yountville vineyard across multiple vintages, with the site farmed organically and without irrigation.

Winemaking at Dirty and Rowdy relies entirely on native yeast fermentation, with no added commercial yeasts, enzymes, or other winemaking additives. For the Semillon, Wallace employs three parallel vinification streams — skin maceration in open-top fermenters, whole-cluster fermentation, and direct pressing into a concrete egg — which are then combined before bottling. Wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered, with only a microdose of sulfur added at bottling for stability.

Wine region

Napa Valley, USA

The Yountville AVA sits in the southern portion of Napa Valley, where it is most directly exposed to marine fog and cool afternoon winds funneling north off San Pablo Bay. The AVA was officially recognized in 1999. Elevations across the valley floor range from roughly 20 to 200 feet. Soils are principally gravelly silt loams and alluvial deposits, sedimentary in origin, with moderate fertility. These conditions moderate peak summer temperatures and extend the growing season, allowing grapes to ripen slowly and retain natural acidity. The specific vineyard supplying this Semillon sits at approximately 120 metres and is dry-farmed organically.

Napa Valley contains 16 nested sub-AVAs, each with distinct microclimates and soils. Yountville's southerly exposure makes it one of the cooler sub-appellations on the valley floor, in contrast to warmer northern zones like Calistoga or St. Helena. While Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant variety across Napa, Yountville's fog influence and gravelly loam soils also support aromatic white varieties. Dirty and Rowdy's Semillon, harvested at 18–20 Brix, is among the few examples of single-vineyard Semillon bottled from this appellation.

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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