Qupé Wine Cellars Santa Maria, California

In 1975, after working harvest at his first winery job, Bob Lindquist discovered the potential of Santa Barbara's winegrowing region at his next job, opening and managing a tasting room in Ventura County. While managing a retail shop in Los Olivos, Bob's career took what some thought to be a bad hop. He got fired for attending a Kinks concert against the wishes of the shop owner, but fate intervened and he was immediately hired as Zaca Mesa Winery's first tour guide - a job that included cellar work. There he met winemakers Ken Brown and Jim Clendenen who taught Bob the basics and inspired him to become a winemaker which he did by founding Qupé in 1982. While continuing his work at Zaca Mesa he bought barrels, grapes and traded his services for the loan of the equipment in the cellar. For his first vintage he produced Syrah, Chardonnay, and a rosé of Pinot Noir. Soon, Bob's love of the assertive and complex wines of the Rhône Valley led him to focus Qupé on the production of Rhône varietals, particularly Syrah. Chardonnay continues in the portfolio because of Bob's connection to the wonderful fruit sources in the Bien Nacido Vineyard. Qupé has been named a "Winery of the Year" nine times by Wine & Spirits magazine, including the latest rankings in 2009.

Syrah 2008 Central Coast This wine is essentially a blend of cool-climate Santa Barbara grapes and warm-climate Paso Robles grapes. The cool-climate fruit gives spice, acidity and balanced alcohol while the warm-climate fruit give softness, roundness, ripeness and more up-front fruit flavours and aromas. 2007 was a fairly cool vintage, in general. The first grapes in this wine to ripen were from French Camp on September 5th, the last were the 2% component of Grenache from the Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard on November 5...that's two full months apart for anyone keeping track! All of the lots were fermented separately, and aged separately, at first, in mostly neutral French oak barrels (the percent of new barrels would be less than 3%). The majority of the blend was made at the first racking in March; the final blend was made before bottling in August 2008. "Bright ruby. Delicate aromas of raspberry and cherry, with a floral quality adding complexity. Juicy, pinot-like red berry flavours pick up a touch of black pepper with air, reminding me that this is actually syrah. Finishes a bit short but with good sappiness and a note of black olive." 88 points, International Wine Cellar, Nov/Dec 2009

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All wines are available by the unmixed case to Licensees and Private Consumers, subject to availability.

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