Oakland, Ca. (August 5th, 2019) – This August Prima Materia Winery in Oakland’s Temescal Alley will be partnering with S.H.A.R.E. to create a wine and food tour based on Homer’s Odyssey, releasing one of California’s only estate-bottled Refosco wines, and hosting Rachel Farah’s Portuguese Imports for a day in support of fellow small, organic wineries.
Wines of the Odyssey – On August 9th Prima Materia will host another evening of wine, food, and history with “The Wines of the Odyssey” that will sample bottles from the many locations Odysseus visited on his journey. Prima Materia will again create a multi-course menu to accompany the wines in addition to supplying Grenache and Sangiovese as representatives of Circe’s Island and Odysseus visiting the underworld. The Ancient Wine Guys will draw upon their hands-on experiences at the archeological sites as part of the presentation. A couple seats will be available for press members to if they wish attend – please contact Prima Materia here if interested as seating is very limited.
Proceeds from this event will benefit the Society for Humanitarian Archaeological Research and Exploration (S.H.A.R.E.), a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that uses archaeology as a tool to promote peace and dialogue in Israel/Palestine.
New Wine Release – Prima Materia’s Refosco has proved an adventure after six vintages. A versatile grape that can take many soil types and a surprising amount of heat, but whose true identity can be compromised easily and fall into the Scylla of an overripe Merlot/Petite Sirah abyss or a Charybdis of underripe shrillness. The newest vintage recaptures its mineral core and edginess through strategic changes made both in the cellar and the vineyard, while taking advantage of the tame 2016 vintage compared to the bizarre 2015 and extremely challenging 2017.
Prima Materia grows its own grapes in the Kelsey Bench AVA of Lake County without pesticides or herbicides at 1500′ elevation in red volcanic Forbesville soil, and is focused on Italian cultivars ranging from Sangiovese and Barbera to Aglianico, Sagrantino and Negroamaro among others. Former chef and winemaker/owner Pietro Buttitta planted most of these grapes himself and has worked the vineyard for the last 11 years. Bottlings can be viewed here and samples can be requested or poured at the Oakland tasting room.
Popup Event: On August 14th Prima Materia will be hosting Rachel Farah Selections from 6-9pm for an evening devoted to her small-producer organic Portuguese imports.
Prima Materia is located in the Temescal Alleys at 49th and Telegraph in Oakland, just behind Pizzaiolo and Doña Tomås. The wines have always been handled minimally, unfined, unfiltered, and focused on finding an articulate Lake County voice with a distinct Old World finish and feel through bottom-up farming and winery practices.
Please feel free to visit the Oakland tasting room Friday-Sunday or contact us to schedule a tasting or request samples. If seats are available at the upcoming wine dinner we can let you know that as well. More information is also available at www.prima-materia.com or directly from Pietro at info@prima-materia.com.
