{"title":"Forlorn Hope","description":"\u003cp\u003eForlorn Hope takes its name from a Napoleonic-era term for the volunteers who led the charge against fortified positions. For Matthew Rorick it is the perfect banner for a cellar full of California's forgotten and underdog grape varieties.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRorick started Forlorn Hope in 2005 near Murphys, in the Sierra Foothills, drawing on a love of wine inherited from his grandfather. In 2013 he bought the property that became Rorick Heritage Vineyard, a site first ranched by the Shaw family in 1844, and converted its farming to organic practices.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMore on how they farm and work in the cellar in our \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/natural-wine-producers-primal-wine\/forlorn-hope\"\u003eForlorn Hope producer profile\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"queen-of-the-sierra-red-forlorn-hope-natural-wine","title":"Forlorn Hope Queen of the Sierra Red 2019","description":"\u003cp\u003eQueen of the Sierra Red is a five-variety estate blend grown on Rorick Heritage Vineyard in Calaveras County, at 2,000 feet elevation just outside the town of Murphys in the Sierra Foothills. The vineyard sits on a distinctive geology: dolomite-rich limestone outcroppings beneath a top layer of decomposed schist, a combination rare in California and unusual enough that it drew winemaker Matthew Rorick to purchase the property in 2013 and convert it to organic farming. The high-altitude, continental climate means warm days and cold nights, which preserves acidity and extends the growing season.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe blend is composed of Zinfandel, Barbera, Tempranillo, Trousseau Noir, and Mondeuse — all estate fruit, all hand-harvested. Each variety was fermented separately by native yeast, with Trousseau and Mondeuse going into open-top fermenters with 100% whole-cluster inclusion and Zinfandel destemmed into a closed-top tank. All lots were pressed at dryness after 14 to 21 days on the skins, then placed into neutral 227-liter barrique.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter racking, the lots were blended and held in a combination of neutral oak and stainless steel before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. No new oak was used. Nothing was added to the must or wine — no cultured yeast, malolactic bacteria, water, tartaric acid, or enzymes — with the exception of minimal effective SO2. The result is a direct expression of limestone-grown fruit: bright cherry, dried herb, and earth with lively, food-friendly acidity and supple tannins.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Forlorn Hope","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39464801337543,"sku":"1140","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0019\/3363\/9735\/products\/queen-of-the-sierra-red-california-natural-wine-primal-wine.jpg?v=1780186320"},{"product_id":"queen-of-the-sierra-rose-forlorn-hope-natural-wine","title":"Forlorn Hope Queen of the Sierra Rose' 2019","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Queen of the Sierra Rosé comes entirely from Rorick Heritage Vineyard, Forlorn Hope's 75-acre organic estate outside of Murphys in Calaveras County. The vineyard sits at 2,000 feet elevation on a distinctive geological profile: a surface layer of schist over dolomite-rich limestone. That elevation and those soils define the wine's character more than anything in the cellar.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe 2019 is a blend of Zinfandel, Barbera, Tempranillo, Trousseau Noir, and Mondeuse. The fruit was hand-picked and whole-cluster pressed directly into stainless steel. Fermentation started spontaneously with native yeast, with no additions of cultured yeast, ML bacteria, tartaric acid, enzymes, or nutrients. The wine was racked off its lees in December following primary fermentation and bottled unfiltered in February 2020. Minimal SO2 was added pre-bottling.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe result is a dry, medium-bodied rosé with a naturally cloudy, red-rose hue and noticeable sediment from being unfiltered and unfined. On the nose and palate: strawberry, watermelon, cranberry, and rose hip, with a limestone-driven tension between a hint of textural roundness and electric acidity. At 11.4% ABV, it drinks light and precise without being thin.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Forlorn Hope","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40283534557383,"sku":"QUEEROSEE20C","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0019\/3363\/9735\/products\/queen-of-the-sierra-california-rose_-natural-wine-primal-wine.jpg?v=1780186057"},{"product_id":"queen-of-the-sierra-amber-natural-wine","title":"Forlorn Hope Queen of the Sierra Amber 2021","description":"\u003cp\u003eQueen of the Sierra Amber is a skin-contact blend grown entirely on the Rorick Heritage Vineyard in Calaveras County, Sierra Foothills, at 2,000 feet elevation. The vineyard sits on a distinctive layer of schist over dolomite-rich limestone, a soil profile that drives the wine's mineral spine and bright natural acidity. All fruit is organically farmed and hand-harvested.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFermentation happened in open-top vessels with a mix of destemmed and whole-bunch fruit, using only native yeasts. Cap management was kept to one punchdown or pumpover per day to minimize oxidation during skin contact. A portion of Vermentino was sealed in a concrete egg for four months, and a separate lot of Muscat was fermented carbonically, both additions folded into the final blend to build aromatic complexity. The wine was then moved to neutral 227L barrique or stainless steel before being bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal added sulfur.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe result is a dry, amber-colored wine with tannic grip from the extended skin contact, showing aromas of clementine, dried apricot, and white tea alongside a textured, mouthwatering finish. No new oak is used at any point in the Forlorn Hope cellar, and no additives, commercial yeast, acids, enzymes, or nutrients were introduced.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRorick Heritage Vineyard has a long history: first ranched by the Shaw family in 1844, purchased by Barden Stevenot in the 1960s, who planted own-rooted Wente Chardonnay clones between 1974 and 1976. Matthew Rorick bought the property in 2013 and converted all 75 acres to organic farming.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Forlorn Hope","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40328499724487,"sku":"1139","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0019\/3363\/9735\/products\/queen-of-the-sierra-amber-natural-wine-primal-wine.jpg?v=1780186033"}],"url":"https:\/\/primalwine.com\/collections\/forlorn-hope.oembed","provider":"Primal Wine","version":"1.0","type":"link"}