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Circadian Cellars 2020 Primitivo
The rhythms of life and vines
Sara Garr knocked my socks off right off the bat.
We were sitting outside on a freezing day, but I couldn’t help but get excited by her warm and vibrant enthusiasm for her wines. She’s a local; grew up in Medford, went to University of Oregon, and came home to work in restaurants and the bottle shop at Harry & David’s. It didn’t take long before she was intrigued to learn more about the wines she was serving and selling.
Next up, a job at Quady North and Barrel 42 with famed winemaker Herb Quady. Before long, Sara was developing her own perspective on winemaking, some have even called it a sort of subversive and feminist style. She’s been able to work with fruit from some of the best-known vineyards in Southern Oregon but always with her own take on the wine.
Most of all, she’s committed to showcasing the wines grown in her beloved Southern Oregon in a way that’s approachable to younger audiences – friends and friends of friends that she hopes to get hooked on wine from Southern Oregon.
Cellar 503 Tasting Notes
Circadian Cellars, Medford, Oregon
2020 Primitivo
For years, it was believed that Primitivo was an American wine grape, Zinfandel, that had been imported to Italy. But when DNA analysis was conducted in the 1990s, the world learned the truth: Primitivo and Zinfandel are actually mutually descending from a Croatian grape -- Crljenak Kaštelanski – discovered in the garden of an elderly woman on the Adriatic coast of Georgia.
Sara Garr’s Primitivo is the ultimate barbecue wine! Bright pomegranate and ripe raspberry notes on the nose, it sings on your tongue with bright cherry popsicle flavors and juicy red fruit. But this isn’t just a one-note fruit bomb. It has layers of flavors including savory mushrooms, dried strawberries, and astringent black tea with a nice thread of minerality flowing through.
So yeah, fire up the grill or the smoker and mix up a sweet and smoky sauce to baste on whatever’s going on your grill!
A Cellar 503 selection in July 2022, Summer Party Wines Applegate Valley | Primitivo
