Forlorn Hope “Queen of the Sierra” White Wine, Sierra Foothills, California 2023

Forlorn Hope

Winemaker Matthew Rorick is a one-man operation in the winery, tending each fermentation and guiding the wine's cellaring through to bottle. Each of the Forlorn Hope wines is a window into the vineyard in a particular vintage; vital to this is a partnership with growers who share the vision of achieving balanced ripeness on the vine that requires no further adjustment, additions or manipulation in the winery during fermentation. The result yields wines that are an honest and natural representation of site and vine.

"At Matthew Rorick Wines, we love the longshots. We love the outsiders, the lost causes, the people/projects/ideas abandoned as not having a chance in the world. We love the longshots because we are all about tenacity, we relish a challenge, and we admit that we love us a good tussle."

Forlorn Hope as a name has its origins in the Dutch phrase verloren hoop, meaning literally "lost troop."  This was mistranslated into Forlorn Hope as far back as the English Civil War as the name given to the band of soldiers who volunteered to lead the charge directly into enemy defenses or who were positioned in an exposed outpost. And like these soldiers, the chance of success for the early Forlorn Hope team always seemed slim, but the glory and rewards granted to survivors ensured no shortage of applicants to join the cause today.