Qupe - Los Olivos, CA

Cult favorite in the Santa Barbara area. Qupe has FINALLY opened a tasting room on the main street of downtown Los Olivos. We usually avoid the tasting rooms in town because we prefer to be out at the vineyards. But we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try a stellar line up of Qupe wines.

This particular Saturday, Qupe was pouring four of their own wines and three from their Spanish inspired label called Verdad. We have been huge fans of Spanish varietals since a trip to Spain in 2006 and were pleased to see that they’ve hit the mark as close as anyone can in the states (sorry, it always tastes better in Spain).

Legendary winemaker Robert Neil Lindquist founded Qupe in 1982 while working as a tour guide and cellar worker at Zaca Mesa Winery. Like most, he started out by simply buying a few barrels and some grapes. Robert now sources fruit from the best vineyards in California. His wines brought serious attention to the valley well before the movie Sideways.

We love Syrah from the county and our favorites from Qupe were the ’06 Syrah from Stolpman Vineyard and the ’06 Syrah from the Bien Nacido Vineyard. (If I ever get the chance to create my own wine, I’m getting my grapes from Bien Nacido. I don’t care what it takes.)

The tasting room changes the wines every week so there’s always a reason for repeat visits.

Here’s what they poured:

‘07 Verdad Rose
‘07 Qupe Marson
‘07 Verdad Alberino
‘06 Qupe Los Olivos
‘05 Verdad Tempranillo
‘06 Qupe Syrah Stolpman Vineyard
‘06 Qupe Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyard

- Andrew