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Nino Barraco

Vignammare Grillo 2018

Price: $27.95
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Tasting notes

Vignammare is one of the most literal expressions of coastal terroir in Sicily: the sand dune vineyard and early August harvest produce a wine at just 10.5% ABV with taut lemon zest, sea salt, and grapefruit pith that reads almost like a saline Muscadet from the Mediterranean. The 24-hour skin contact adds texture without weight, giving it enough grip to handle shellfish or raw seafood without overpowering them.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Lemon PeelGrapefruitSea SaltWhite Peach
  • Style: Dry, light-bodied white; saline and citrus-driven; 10.5% ABV; no added sulfites
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Grillo; organic farming; coastal sand dune vineyard, Contrada Bausa, Marsala, western Sicily
  • Winemaking: Early August harvest; 24-hour skin maceration; spontaneous fermentation in concrete; unfined, unfiltered, no added SO2
  • Serving: Serve at 46-50F; no decant needed; drink young for freshness
  • Pairing: Oysters, sea urchin, raw shellfish, fish crudo, grilled calamari with lemon
  • Similar To: For fans of Muscadet, skin-contact Vermentino, or coastal Catarratto who want low-alcohol saline whites

Vignammare is 100% Grillo grown on a sand dune vineyard a few meters from the Mediterranean on the western coast of Sicily, near Marsala. The vineyard sits in Contrada Bausa, where sandy coastal soils and constant sea wind define what ends up in the glass. Barraco's oldest Grillo vines grow here, and this is the parcel he has farmed organically since taking over his family's estate in 2004.

For Vignammare, the grapes are picked roughly a month earlier than Barraco's other Grillo bottlings — in mid-August — to lock in acidity and keep alcohol low, landing around 10.5% ABV. After harvest, the grapes undergo a 24-hour maceration on the skins, are basket pressed, then fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts in concrete tanks. The wine is bottled unfined, unfiltered, and with no added sulfites.

The result is a light, saline white with flavors of lemon zest, grapefruit pith, sea salt, and white citrus. It has the structure of skin contact without the weight, and a persistent mineral finish that reflects the sand and proximity to the sea. The wine is classified as Terre Siciliane IGT, giving Barraco flexibility outside the Marsala DOC framework.

Nino Barraco is widely credited with redefining what wine from Marsala can be, moving away from the region's fortified legacy and toward single-vineyard, monovarietal whites and reds of genuine place identity. His annual production is around 40,000 bottles across five indigenous Sicilian varieties.

Vignammare was conceived with oysters and raw shellfish in mind, and that pairing holds: the salinity and acidity cut through brininess cleanly. It also works well with crudo, sea urchin, lightly dressed raw fish, or grilled calamari with lemon. Keep food preparations simple and seafood-forward to let the wine's coastal character stay in focus.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, White Wine
Wine Style:, Light Body
Grapes:, Grillo
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2018
Alcohol:, 10.5%
Country:, Italy
Region:, Sicily
Appellation:, Terre Siciliane 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

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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.


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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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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

Nino Barraco

Nino Barraco took over his family's vineyards in Marsala in 2004. His family were farmers who had historically sold base wine to large Marsala negociant houses. Barraco broke from that model, beginning to produce single-vineyard, monovarietal wines focused on Grillo, Catarratto, Zibibbo, Nero d'Avola, and Perricone — all indigenous Sicilian varieties. He farms approximately 20 hectares of vines spread along the coast north and south of Marsala, with his oldest Grillo vines growing in Contrada Bausa on a coastal sand dune.

Barraco farms organically without certification, using no chemical treatments, no irrigation, and no systemic sprays. Vines are trained using the traditional alberello (bush vine) method, known locally as the Alberello Marsalese, which creates a low canopy that shields fruit from intense sun and wind. All harvesting is done by hand. He works without outside consultants, maintaining personal control over every stage of viticulture and winemaking.

In the cellar, fermentation is spontaneous with indigenous yeasts. For Vignammare, grapes undergo 24-hour skin maceration, are pressed in a basket or horizontal press, and ferment and age in concrete tanks. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered with no added sulfites. Most wines in the range are bottled within one year of harvest. Barraco's total production is approximately 40,000 bottles annually.

Wine region

Sicily, Italy

Western Sicily's province of Trapani, where Marsala sits, is one of Italy's hottest and windiest coastal wine zones. The Marsala DOC covers the province's western coastline and is historically dominated by Grillo, Catarratto, Inzolia, and Damaschino grapes — varieties used for centuries in the production of the region's famous fortified wine. Barraco's vineyards, concentrated around Contrada Bausa south of Marsala, sit on sandy coastal soils shaped by centuries of wind and sea, with pockets of clay-limestone further inland. The Mediterranean climate brings hot, dry summers with relentless sunshine and constant sea winds that reduce disease pressure and allow organic farming without systemic treatments.

Barraco's still wines are released under the Terre Siciliane IGT designation rather than the Marsala DOC, which is reserved for fortified wines. The broader Sicilia DOC, established in 2011, and the Terre Siciliane IGT give producers like Barraco the flexibility to bottle single-vineyard, monovarietal dry whites that fall outside the traditional Marsala framework. Sicily is Italy's largest wine region by vineyard area and its leader in certified organic viticulture, with over 30% of vineyards farmed organically. Grillo is principally concentrated in the Trapani province, where it has been the backbone of Marsala production since the late 19th century, and where a new generation of natural producers is now interpreting it as an unfortified still wine.

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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