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Qupé, USA

An absolutely legendary winery and one of the original ‘Rhône Rangers’ (a group of winemakers dedicated to promoting American Rhone varietal wines), Qupé focuses on cool climate expressions of Rhône varietals along the Central Coast of Santa Barbara Country.

Due to a their positioning, right next to the cool Pacific Ocean, they are set apart from most other regions of California. Their founder, Bob Lindquist, was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 and the Californian poppy logo of the winery is now world renowned. They remain iconic wines with an enviable reputation.

Viticulture

The vineyards are all located in East-West valleys (vs North-South) which function as open windows to the cool Pacific Ocean. These include Edna Valley, Arroyo Grande Valley, Santa Maria Valley, Los Alamos Valley and Santa Rita Hills/Santa Ynez Valley.

Winemaking

The winery itself is in the Arroyo Grande where they use traditional winemaking techniques which include open top ferments, partial whole clusters, native yeasts, and manual punch downs. French oak barrels including some new oak is used.

Highlights
  • Cool climate expressions of Rhône varietals.
  • Sustainably farmed with some organic production.
  • Terroir specific wines from Edna Valley, Arroyo Grande Valley, Santa Maria Valley, Los Alamos Valley and Santa Rita Hills/Santa Ynez Valley.