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Ruth Lewandowski

Abandoned Meander 2020

Price: $29.95
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Tasting notes

This is a farewell vintage from a single Grenache block that no longer exists as Grenache — the vines have since been grafted to other varieties, making every bottle from this label a genuine one-time-only. The wine delivers juicy strawberry and black cherry fruit with the mineral tension you get from sandstone and chloritic schist soils at elevation, all in a dry, slightly fuller-bodied rosé format.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
StrawberryBlack CherryRaspberryMineral
  • Style: Dry rosé; medium body; strawberry, black cherry, raspberry; 13.8% ABV; no added sulfur
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Grenache; Last-vintage block from Lost Hills Ranch; Yorkville Highlands AVA; sandstone and chloritic schist soils; 1,000–2,250 ft elevation; organically farmed
  • Winemaking: Whole-cluster bladder press; indigenous yeast fermentation; no temperature control; unfined, unfiltered; zero added sulfur
  • Serving: Serve at 48–52°F; no decanting needed; drink now
  • Pairing: Grilled salmon, roasted chicken, aged gouda, Comté, tomato-based pasta, charcuterie
  • Similar To: For fans of fuller, fruit-forward dry rosé who want a natural wine with real vineyard story behind it

The 2020 Abandoned Meander is 100% Grenache sourced from the last remaining vines of a 3.5-acre parcel at Lost Hills Ranch in the Yorkville Highlands AVA of southern Mendocino County. Evan Lewandowski named the Abandoned Meander label specifically for vineyards on their way out: this block has been grafted over piece by piece to northern Italian, Austrian, and German varieties, making the 2020 the final Grenache rosé off this site.

Lost Hills Ranch sits on hillsides of sandstone and chloritic schist ranging from 1,000 to 2,250 feet in elevation. The vineyard was planted in 2001 by Chris Bilbro and is now farmed organically by his son Sam Bilbro. The thin, rocky, well-drained soils force deep root growth and moderate vine vigor, while dramatic diurnal temperature swings preserve natural acidity in the fruit.

Grapes were whole-cluster bladder pressed and fermented with indigenous yeasts without temperature control. The wine was bottled without fining, filtration, or any added sulfur. At 13.8% ABV, it leans toward a rounder, more generous style of dry rosé rather than a lean Provençal one. Expect notes of strawberry, black cherry, and raspberry with a bright, slightly sherbet-like quality on the palate.

The wine's fruit weight and dry finish work well with grilled salmon, roasted chicken thighs with herbs, or a cheese board anchored by aged gouda or Comté. It can also handle a light charcuterie spread or a simple tomato-based pasta without getting lost.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Rose Wine
Wine Style:, Medium Body
Grapes:, Grenache
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2020
Alcohol:, 13.8%
Country:, United States
Region:, Mendocino
Appellation:, Yorkville Highlands AVA
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.


Important Compliance Requirements

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If you'd like to receive a refund for a package that was returned to us after FedEx made three delivery attempts, we can do that but we must keep a $20 refund fee; FedEx charges us a lot of money for returns, unfortunately, I can't stress this enough.


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Heat/Frost damage

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Placed an order. What next?

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2. As soon as your order ships from the warehouse, usually within 2-3 business days, this applies to all shipping rates, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with your tracking information. 2DAY shipping refers to shipping time; we still need 2-3 business days to prepare an order. We need to pick and pack, QA, add printed collateral, and palletize the orders.

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**If delivery is attempted 3 times without success, or if you fail to retrieve your package from the carrier depot by the stated deadline, the shipping fee will not be refunded to the customer.

Returns Policy

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us at (424) 414-2040 or via e-mail at hello@primalwine.com between 9 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Sunday, we would like to understand and try to solve your concerns. We can offer refunds only as store credit.

Producer profile

Ruth Lewandowski

Ruth Lewandowski Wines was founded in 2012 by Evan Lewandowski, who grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. He discovered wine while attending the University of Utah and working at a wine bar called The Spotted Frog, where he met natural wine importer Zev Rovine. He subsequently completed harvests at wineries in Australia, Argentina, and Italy, earned a degree in viticulture and enology from the Walla Walla Institute, and spent several seasons working under natural wine producer Christian Binner at Domaine Binner in Ammerschwihr, Alsace.

Lewandowski sources grapes from organically farmed vineyards in Mendocino County, primarily Fox Hill Vineyard and Testa Vineyard, as well as Lost Hills Ranch in the Yorkville Highlands AVA. In 2018 he partnered with Sam Bilbro of Idlewild Wines to steward Lost Hills Ranch, a rugged property ranging from 1,000 to 2,250 feet with sandstone and chloritic schist soils. The winery is now based in Healdsburg, California, in Sonoma County.

Across the entire Ruth Lewandowski range, cellar work is minimal: indigenous yeast fermentation, no acid additions, no sugar, no fining, no filtration, and no added sulfur. Winemaking decisions center on maceration length, vessel choice, and lees contact. Lewandowski uses polyethylene Flextanks, stainless steel, and neutral barrels depending on the wine. The 'Zero' designation appearing on several labels explicitly signals zero additions from harvest through bottling.

Wine region

Mendocino, United States

Yorkville Highlands is an AVA established in 1998 in southern Mendocino County, straddling Highway 128 between Sonoma County's Alexander Valley to the southeast and Mendocino's Anderson Valley to the northwest. All 24 vineyards in the appellation sit above 850 feet, with bench-land sites ranging from 1,000 to 2,200 feet and ridgelines exceeding 3,000 feet. The appellation covers approximately 40,000 acres, though only around 414 acres are planted to vine.

The defining characteristics of Yorkville Highlands are its thin, rocky soils of gravel and ancient brittle rock — distinctly different from the loamy clay soils of neighboring appellations — and its dramatic diurnal temperature swings of 40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit during the growing season. Marine air influences the climate more than 50 percent of the time, with morning fog common on the bench lands. The region records approximately 3,060 growing degree days, placing it in Winkler Region II. Nights in Yorkville Highlands are cooler than both Anderson Valley and Hopland, making it one of the coldest-evening appellations on California's North Coast, which preserves natural acidity in the grapes.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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