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Controvento

Vento d'Estate Orange 2021

Price: $29.95
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Tasting notes

Passerina rarely sees skin contact, and Controvento's 9-10 day maceration gives this wine a soft amber hue and a textural grip that the grape doesn't show in conventional white winemaking. The citrus peel, apricot, and white flower aromatics stay vivid against a saline, high-acid backbone that reads like a breeze off the Adriatic.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
ApricotOrangeWhite PeachWildflowers
  • Style: Dry, light-bodied orange wine; soft amber-gold; tropical fruit, apricot, white flowers, saline finish; ~12% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Passerina; organically farmed; calcareous clay soils; sea-facing vineyards, Fosso delle Farfalle nature reserve, Rocca San Giovanni, Chieti, Abruzzo; vines planted 1998-2001; ~155m elevation
  • Winemaking: Spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts; ~9-10 days skin maceration in stainless steel; aged a few months in steel; no filtration, no fining, no added sulfites
  • Serving: Serve at 50-55F; no decanting needed; drink now through 2025
  • Pairing: Fried calamari, grilled sardines, smoked fish, seafood pasta, raw shellfish, soft cheeses, vegetable antipasti
  • Similar To: For fans of light, high-acid orange wines such as skin-contact Pinot Grigio or Greco delle Venezie who want coastal Italian terroir

Vento d'Estate is a skin-contact wine made from 100% Passerina grown on sea-facing, calcareous clay vineyards within the Fosso delle Farfalle, a protected nature reserve about 1 km from the Adriatic in Rocca San Giovanni, Province of Chieti. The vines were planted between 1998 and 2001 and are farmed organically by hand. Rocca San Giovanni sits at roughly 155 meters above sea level on the Costa dei Trabocchi, where the combination of maritime breezes, clay-limestone soils, and strong summer sun drives both aromatic intensity and natural acidity in Passerina.

Fermentation begins spontaneously with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks. The must stays on the skins for approximately 9 to 10 days, producing a soft golden color and a light tannic grip. The wine then refines for a few months in the same steel tanks. No filtration, no fining, and no sulfites are added at any stage.

Passerina is an ancient Central Adriatic white variety with thick skins, high natural acidity, and pronounced fruit aromatics. In this skin-contact version, those characteristics are amplified: the nose leads with tropical fruit, apricot, and white flowers, while the palate is juicy and enveloping with a clean, dry finish framed by lively acidity.

The wine's salinity and acidity make it a natural match for fried calamari, grilled sardines, or smoked fish. It also works well with lightly dressed seafood pasta or raw shellfish. The subtle skin tannins give it enough structure to hold up to soft cheeses and vegetable antipasti.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Orange Wine
Wine Style:, Light Body
Grapes:, Passerina
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2021
Alcohol:, 12%
Country:, Italy
Region:, Abruzzo
Appellation:, Terre d'Abruzzo IGT
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

Controvento

Controvento is the project of Vincenzo Di Meo, based in Rocca San Giovanni in the Province of Chieti, Abruzzo. Vincenzo's family has roots in Bacoli, Campania. His grandfather had a small farm in Ortona in the early 1950s. In 1978 his father returned to Abruzzo and bought roughly two hectares of land in Rocca San Giovanni, planting the first vines. Vincenzo has since expanded the estate to approximately 5 hectares. The name Controvento means 'upwind' in Italian.

All 5 hectares of vineyards are located within the Fosso delle Farfalle, a Site of Community Interest (SIC) and protected nature reserve within the municipality of Rocca San Giovanni, roughly 1 km from the Adriatic Sea. The vineyards face the sea and are planted on calcareous clay soils. The main varieties are Montepulciano and Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, with smaller parcels of Passerina, Fiano, Malvasia, and others. Vines in the older blocks were planted between 1998 and 2001 and are farmed organically by hand.

Vincenzo follows a strict non-interventionist approach in the cellar. All wines ferment spontaneously with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel. No sulfites are added at any stage of production, and wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered. For Vento d'Estate, the Passerina macerates on its skins for approximately 9 to 10 days before refining in the same steel tanks for a few months.

Wine region

Abruzzo, Italy

Abruzzo runs along central Italy's Adriatic coast, bordered to the west by the Apennines and to the east by the sea. The province of Chieti, which includes Rocca San Giovanni and the Costa dei Trabocchi, is the region's most productive wine zone. Coastal vineyards here sit on calcareous clay soils at low to moderate elevations, benefiting from maritime breezes and a warm Mediterranean climate with meaningful diurnal temperature variation that preserves acidity through ripening.

The primary DOC appellations are Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, but varietal wines from indigenous white grapes including Passerina, Pecorino, Cococciola, and Montonico are permitted under the Abruzzo DOC and the broader Terre d'Abruzzo IGT. Passerina is an ancient Central Adriatic variety with high acidity and thick skins, historically used as a blending grape but increasingly vinified on its own for its distinct tropical and floral aromatics.

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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