{Prima} Terra - Cinque Terre, Italy

Walter de Batté during our most recent visit to Riomaggiore in May 2022.
Photo by our Alex Fortson @ftnwcreative

Since opening twenty-one years ago, T.S. Eliot's spiritually venturous line in "Little Gidding" from his Four Quartets - "we shall not cease from exploration" - has been a vinous constant.

"Wine" is ever evolving. Our curiosity is restless. With a growing number of winemakers, discovery with innovation, while sometime going back to older roots, offers rich rewards for wine lovers. For us, we find the wines we respect and promote to be delicious, moving, value-driven and oftentimes unique.

Exploration and curiosity has guided us to help bring to Oregon over 100 new producer's wines - some never before in America.

Friends!! What could be more delightful than your favorite wine?
Perhaps one you've not yet encountered...

The exploring is all: "you come too."

A STAR IN CINQUE TERRE

More than twenty years ago (pre E & R) we learned Cinque Terre's winemaker Walter De Battè from was quietly considered one of Italy's finest. Two big problems surrounded our awareness - none of his wines came to America, and he produced very few bottles.

In 2001 we had a glass of Walter's wine in Italy that knocked us for the proverbial loop. Depth, class, complexity and somethingspecialness.

Since then through February of 2013, we never once even saw a bottle of his - not in the USA, not in Italy, not in Cinque Terre. We tried contacting Walter over the years, and frankly we even forget, maybe we heard from him, but as far as making a viable contact for wine - no! And no hope of it either. Since our four visits to the {Prima} Terra winery, we happily have just received our second shipment from Walter; our first since 2016.

{PRIMA} TERRA & WALTER DE BATTÈ
(AMONG THE WORLD'S MOST RARE WINES)

"Science entered the wine world and hurt the old ways.
With us the wines are always the same"
-walter de battè, native son of Riomaggiore

Supply is tiny - averaging between 150 - 200 cases per wine.

We have three cases of each available.

Working in Cinque Terre is heroic; if you've been there you know. Death defying terraces, everything is layers and steps of rock and scrub going sternly down to the sea. The cost in Cinque Terre to produce a bottle is four to five times the price most everywhere else.

For the quality, uniqueness, rarity and complexity, {Prima} Terra's wines give excellent value. Each wine is made in a classic, time-honored "Mediterranean" style encouraging the use of stainless steel, old oak barrels and skin contact giving greater depth and structure. Farming is organic and principles are biodynamic. {Prima} Terra's wines sing out about their own stony Cinque Terre backbone in the best way.