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Old Westminister

Franc Fizz 2019

Price: $27.95
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Tasting notes

This is one of the few American sparkling reds bottled under crown cap with zero dosage, no fining, and no filtration — what you get is pure, unvarnished fruit. The 10% Marquette addition brings dark berry intensity and electric acidity that lifts the Cabernet Franc's natural earthiness and brambly character.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
RaspberryBlackberryTart CherryCranberry
  • Style: Sparkling red; crown cap; 90% Cabernet Franc + 10% Marquette; 10% ABV; no fining, no filtration
  • Grapes & Terroir: 90% Cabernet Franc, 10% Marquette; Carroll County, MD; 800ft elevation; channery loam over greenstone schist
  • Winemaking: Stainless steel fermentation and aging; spontaneous in-bottle fermentation with fresh Marquette juice; hand-bottled under crown cap; no dosage, no fining, no filtration; no added sulfites
  • Serving: Serve at 40-45F; pop the crown cap and pour immediately; no decanting needed
  • Pairing: Barbecue, pizza, burgers, charcuterie, mild fresh cheese
  • Similar To: For fans of Beaujolais Nouveau, Lambrusco, or pet-nat who want something from the East Coast

Franc Fizz is a sparkling red wine made primarily from Cabernet Franc grown in Carroll County, Maryland, with 10% fresh Marquette juice blended in to trigger spontaneous in-bottle fermentation. The base Cabernet Franc is fermented and aged in stainless steel before blending. The wine is then hand-bottled under crown cap, capturing the natural effervescence without any dosage, fining, or filtration.

Old Westminster's Home Vineyard sits at 800 feet elevation in Carroll County on channery loam soils over a bedrock of greenstone schist. Drew Baker manages the vines using a pragmatic program that is mostly organic, relying on cover crops to promote beneficial insects and rotating spray applications to reduce inputs. Winemaker Lisa Hinton uses gravity instead of pumps, ferments with indigenous yeast, and bottles without additions.

The result is a low-alcohol sparkling red at 10% ABV. The Marquette grape — a cold-hardy University of Minnesota hybrid with Pinot Noir in its lineage — contributes dark berry fruit and lively acidity to the blend. Expect tart cherry, blackberry, and brambly red fruit with soft tannins and a clean, fresh bead. Serve well chilled directly from the crown cap.

Franc Fizz is a natural at the table with barbecue, burgers, and pizza — the acidity and bubbles cut through fat and char effectively. It also works alongside charcuterie boards, mild fresh cheeses, and grain salads. The low alcohol and soft tannins make it equally at home as a standalone aperitif served straight from the fridge.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Sparkling Wine
Wine Style:, Sparkling
Grapes:, Cabernet Franc, Marquette
Farming:, Sustainable
Vintage:, 2019
Alcohol:, 10%
Country:, USA
Region:, Maryland
Appellation:, Maryland
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

FedEx and other carriers we might occasionally use can only deliver wine to customers who are 21 years or older. Someone must be at the address to receive the package, carriers don't just drop a package and leave. They must ensure the person receiving the wine is 21 or older.


Re-shipping a Package

If a package is returned to us after three failed delivery attempts, we can only re-ship the wine upon payment of a re-shipping fee, to be determined based on the shipping address and number of bottles. Shipping wine is extremely expensive. We are sorry about this, but we have no other choice. Please make sure there's always someone at the address you enter as your shipping address.

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.


Re-routing a Package

If you'd like to reroute a package after it's been shipped, we can do so for a $20 re-routing fee. We cannot re-route a package across state borders. For any change of address, please contact us as soon as possible, ideally within 1-2 days from placing the order or we cannot guarantee we'll be able to reroute or change your order's shipping address.


Canceling an Order

If you'd like to cancel an order after it's been shipped, we can do so upon payment of a small cancellation fee – the amount depends on the size of the order. Carriers charge us a lot of money to recall a package en-route.


Heat/Frost damage

We are not responsible for heat- or frost-related issues. We offer ice-packs upon request. Please let us know if you think that there could be heat-related issues. If we don't hear anything from you regarding weather issues before an order is shipped, or if you don't request a hold due to the weather, we are not responsible for heat/frost damage.


Placed an order. What next?

1. You will receive an order confirmation email with your order summary.*

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.

3. Please track your package using the tracking service.

4. The carrier will attempt delivery a maximum of 3 times. After 3 delivery attempts, your package will be sent back to our warehouse.**

*Please ensure your email address is correct; otherwise, you will not receive the order and shipping confirmation emails.

**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

Old Westminister

Siblings Drew Baker, Lisa Hinton, and Ashli Johnson founded Old Westminster Winery in 2010 on the Baker family farm in Westminster, Maryland — originally a retired juniper nursery. In 2011, they planted 10,000 grapevines by hand, including Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Chardonnay, and Albariño, and built a basic processing facility on site. Their first wines were bottled and sold in 2013.

Drew Baker manages the vineyards using a pragmatic farming approach that is primarily organic. He systematically rotates spray applications to prevent resistance buildup, uses diverse cover crops to promote beneficial insects, and farms entirely by hand. The winery also sources fruit from neighboring Carroll County vineyards to work across a range of soil types and expositions.

Lisa Hinton, a chemist by training, handles all winemaking. Her approach uses gravity flow instead of pumps, ferments exclusively with indigenous yeast, and bottles without fining or filtration. Old Westminster produces natural sparkling wines, pét-nats, skin-contact whites, carbonic-style reds, and piquette — among the earliest producers of canned natural wine in the United States.

Wine region

Maryland, USA

Old Westminster is located in Carroll County in Maryland's Piedmont Plateau, approximately 40 miles northwest of Baltimore. The winery's Home Vineyard sits at 800 feet elevation on channery loam soils overlaying a bedrock of greenstone schist — rocky, well-drained ground that limits vine vigor and concentrates fruit. Carroll County's continental climate brings warm summers and cold winters, with the elevation providing consistent airflow that moderates humidity and reduces disease pressure.

Maryland has three established American Viticultural Areas: Linganore, Catoctin, and Cumberland Valley. Old Westminster labels its wines under the broader Maryland appellation. The Piedmont Plateau sub-region, which includes Carroll, Baltimore, and Frederick counties, is the historical center of Maryland wine production and supports a range of Vitis vinifera varieties including Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Syrah, and Albariño, alongside cold-hardy hybrids such as Marquette and Chambourcin.

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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