About Prima Materia Vineyard & Winery
Prima Materia is a one-man bridge between Italy's rarest vines and California's volcanic soils. Winemaker Pietro Buttitta - whose road to wine ran through two decades of vineyards, wineries, and restaurant kitchens from Michelin-starred rooms to fried chicken consulting - farms a 10-acre, roughly 9,000-vine estate at 1,500 feet of elevation in Lake County, on red volcanic Forbesville soils laced with obsidian between the Mayacamas range and the Mt. Konocti volcano. The vines are grown without herbicides or pesticides on rootstocks chosen for a no-water, dry-farming future, and Buttitta touches every vine several times before harvest.
The lineup reads like an Italian ampelography seminar: Sangiovese planted to four different selections, Nebbiolo in three clonal types cane-pruned to eight buds in the Piemontese tradition, plus Aglianico, Sagrantino, Negroamaro, Primitivo, Dolcetto, and Barbera. Everything is hand harvested and made in criminally small lots of two to ten barrels - unfined, unfiltered, built with the natural acidity and tannin to age, with total production around 1,500 cases in the label's fullest years. Buttitta has since streamlined to a tighter set of core bottlings, and the Sangiovese remains the calling card - fresh cherry and strawberry in youth, shifting to black cherry, leather, and pine with a couple of years in bottle.
For years Prima Materia poured in a beloved outdoor tasting spot in Oakland's Temescal Alleys; that room closed in early 2025, and the winery no longer keeps a standing tasting room of its own. The wines now surface at East Bay partner venues - Local Vines in Lafayette carries several bottlings with two poured by the glass - along with periodic pop-ups and events. Check the winery's website and newsletter for current pour locations before planning a visit, or order directly online.
Sagrantino, Aglianico, and four clones of Sangiovese grown on obsidian-flecked volcanic soil - Italy's rare vines speaking with a Lake County accent.
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Rare Italian Varietals
Sagrantino, Aglianico, Negroamaro, and Nebbiolo - grapes almost no one else in California grows, each farmed to its Old World habits.
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Volcanic Estate Fruit
Ten dry-farm-ready acres at 1,500 feet on red Forbesville soils full of obsidian, in the shadow of Mt. Konocti.
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A Cook's Winemaking
Buttitta's Michelin-adjacent kitchen years show in wines built on texture, balance, and flavor layering.
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Criminally Small Lots
Two to ten barrels per wine, hand harvested, unfined and unfiltered - gravity and buckets, not machinery.
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Direct From the Maker
With no standing tasting room, the wines flow through partner venues, pop-ups, and the winery's own online shop.
A DIY, bottom-up estate where one winemaker prunes, picks, ferments, and pours - Italian conviction grown in California volcanic rock.
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Featured Wines
Current Releases
Wines change with each vintage
For an accurate list of current-release wines and library bottlings from Prima Materia Vineyard & Winery, please check the winery's official website or contact the tasting room directly.
Tasting Experiences
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Find the Wines
Prima Materia pours at East Bay partner venues - Local Vines in Lafayette carries bottles with two wines by the glass. Check the winery's site for the current list.
Varies by venue
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Order Direct
The full lineup, including library Italian varietals, ships from the winery's online store.
Priced per bottle
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Talking Wine Podcast
Buttitta's own podcast digs into the vines, the cellar, and the Italian back-stories behind each variety.
Free
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