Red 2016

The 2016 Red from Absentee Wines is a field-style blend of Carignan, Syrah, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, and Abouriou sourced entirely from Poor Ranch in Hopland, Mendocino County. Poor Ranch is a sixth-generation family farm homesteaded in 1888, with sandy soils, dry-farmed vines on St. George rootstock, and organic practices dating to the 1970s. The Carignan block at Poor Ranch dates to 1942, and the vines used for this wine are between 10 and 40 years old.

Winemaker Avi Deixler ferments whole clusters in raw oak barriques that he hand-sands on the interior before each use to expose fresh wood grain and eliminate residues from prior fermentations. The barrels are sealed and rolled every few days during a two-week maceration. After pressing, the wine returns to the same barrel for approximately one year. No commercial yeast, fining agents, or added sulfur are used at any stage.

Abouriou, known in California as Early Burgundy, is a Southwest French variety that contributes deep color, black fruit density, and structure to the blend. Petite Sirah adds grip and inky pigment, while Carignan brings red fruit brightness and acidity. Syrah and Zinfandel round out the mid-palate with spice and body. At 14.5% ABV, the wine reflects Mendocino's warm inland growing conditions at Hopland.

The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered with no added sulfites. Slight effervescence may be present in some bottles due to residual native yeast activity — let it sit open a few minutes if preferred still.

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.