Forlorn Hope Queen of the Sierra Red 2019, a natural red wine from California
Forlorn Hope — natural wine producer
Forlorn Hope
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Queen of the Sierra Red 2019

$24.95
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Tasting notes

This is one of the most interesting red blends made in California: five varieties from the same limestone-schist estate, each fermented separately and assembled into something savory, bright, and refreshing rather than heavy. The Trousseau and Mondeuse bring a floral, herbal energy that cuts through the riper fruit of the Zinfandel and Barbera — it drinks more like a cool-climate European blend than anything from the California interior.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
CherryColaCloveEarth
Dry/Sweet:Dry
Wine Type:Red Wine
Wine Style:Medium Body
Grapes:Zinfandel, Barbera, Tempranillo, Trousseau Noir, Mondeuse
Farming:Organic
Vintage:2019
Alcohol:13%
Country:USA
Region:Sierra Foothills
Appellation:Calaveras County, Sierra Foothills AVA
Bottle Size:750ml
Sugar Level:Zero Added Sugar
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Important information

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. Shipping to PO Boxes is not allowed.

Ship to a FedEx Store

If nobody can be at your address to sign for the package, you can have your order sent to a FedEx store instead. Enter your preferred FedEx store as the shipping address at checkout and we'll ship your order there. Once it arrives, you have 5 business days to pick it up, and you'll need to show your ID.

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, at a cost, but even so, we can't be held liable if it's 104 where you are and corks pop. 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

Forlorn Hope

Matthew Rorick founded Forlorn Hope in 2005 while working as a winemaker in Napa Valley, initially purchasing grapes from outside vineyards to make small quantities of uncommon varieties like Verdelho. The project's name comes from the Dutch 'verloren hoop,' meaning 'lost troop' — the soldiers who volunteered to lead charges directly into enemy fortifications. Rorick used it as a fitting description for his bet on varieties and regions unfamiliar to most American wine drinkers. Before wine, he repaired submarine telescopes for the U.S. Navy, rode skateboards professionally, and built electric guitars. He received his Viticulture and Enology degree from UC Davis and worked at Miura Vineyards, Elizabeth Spencer, and projects in New Zealand and South Africa before going full-time with Forlorn Hope in 2010.

In 2013, Rorick purchased Rorick Heritage Vineyard in Calaveras County, just outside Murphys, and converted it to organic farming. The 75-acre property was first ranched by the Shaw family in 1844 and later acquired by Barden Stevenot in the 1960s, who became an early champion of Calaveras County viticulture and planted own-rooted Wente Chardonnay from 1974 to 1976. Stevenot expanded the vineyard to its current 75 acres in 2000. Several of those original own-rooted heritage blocks still produce fruit. The vineyard sits at 2,000 feet elevation on limestone soils beneath a top layer of schist, and includes more than a dozen grape varieties. Vineyard manager Demetrio Nava has farmed the property for over 15 years. Rorick's partner Mara Ambrose, who trained in enology and viticulture in England, co-runs daily winery operations.

Rorick does not use new oak in the cellar and adds no commercial yeast, malolactic bacteria, water, tartaric acid, or enzymes to his wines. All fermentations are spontaneous, begun by native yeast present on the grapes. Most wines receive a minimal amount of SO2, applied either post-fermentation or pre-bottling. Individual varieties are typically fermented separately in a combination of open-top and closed-top vessels, then blended and aged in neutral oak or stainless steel before being bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Wine region

Sierra Foothills, USA

The Sierra Foothills AVA spans portions of eight California counties along the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, running roughly 160 miles north to south and sitting about 40 miles east of Sacramento. Within this large appellation, Calaveras County stands out for its unusual geology: limestone outcroppings rise through decomposed schist soils in pockets around the town of Murphys, a soil composition almost unknown elsewhere in the state. Viticulture here traces back to the California Gold Rush of 1849, when prospectors with farming knowledge planted vines; the region had over 100 operating wineries by 1890 before Prohibition erased nearly all of it.

Today, approximately 5,700 acres of wine grapes are planted across the Sierra Foothills AVA, with Zinfandel being the dominant variety at over 2,300 acres. At higher elevations — 2,000 feet and above in Calaveras County — the continental climate produces warm days and cool nights, slowing ripening and building natural acidity in the fruit. Calaveras County has no dedicated sub-AVA of its own but falls within the broader Sierra Foothills AVA, and producers like Forlorn Hope have brought attention to its limestone soils as a source of structured, aromatic wines from varieties rarely planted elsewhere in California.

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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