Qupe Winery of Santa Ynez, California
A couple hours drive north of Los Angelas along the Pacific Coast highway just north of Santa Barbara and in Santa Barbara County is the Santa Ynez AVA (American Viticultural Area). The AVA was established in 1983 as a recognized wine growing region in California, which was petitioned by the famous Firestone Vineyard. The area is part of the larger Central Coast AVA whose valley is a thirty mile corridor formed by the Santa Ynez Mountains to the south, bordered by Purisima Hills and the San Rafael Mountains. 1983 was a banner year for California vineyards with the largest amount of appellations granted by the US goverment. Long before the movie “Sideways” put the region on the map, early pioneers like Uriel Nielson in the 1960’s and Tepusquet Vineyards in the 1970’s achieved commercial success in the Santa Barabra area. Up until the mid 1990’s, most of the fruit grown there was sold outside of the county. Only in the last two decades have boutique winemakers started specializing in the region. Another pioneer, back in 1976, a young Richard Sanford, whose degree in geology and passion for great Burgundy helped create his award winning winery, Sanford & Benedict, and attracted great oenophiles. Early growers like Ken Brown, Randall Grahm, Bob Lindquist and John Alban grew grapes in areas along Foxen Canyon Road, which then attracted more investors as it became clear, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling and Syrah were of very high quality.
Qupe was started in 1982 along Foxen Canyon Road, in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley by Bob Lindquist -a lover of Syrah. Qupe quickly grew into a worldwide phenom for Rhone based varietals. In 1990 Andrew Murray purchased the adjacent property to Qupe, and in the fall of 2024 purchased the Qupe Winery (along with some amazing library wines) from a bankrupt Vintage Wine Estates, a publicly traded conglomerate. Andrew is now focusing on crafting balanced and delicious wines from the cool coastal vineyards along Foxen Canyon Road. He also sources from Arroyo Grande, Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Maria and Santa Ynez.
Andrew Murray has been an independent family-owned winery for over three decades, dedicated to crafting exceptional wines. Adding the legacy Qupe name to their portfolio that has championed award winning Chardonnay and Syrah since 1982 was quite the feat. Murray says “We’re bringing it back home” as he was once inspired by the passion for Rhone varieties by Lindquist, who named Qupe after the Chumash word for poppy. The Chumash are Native Americans who lived along the California Coast originally known for their sophisticated maritime culture. The Chumash culture endures today, including the federally recognized “Santa Ynez Band of Chumash”. The Chumash have a deep and on-going connection to their traditional territory, including the wine growing regions of the Central Coast. The logo with the poppy, which is California’s state flower, is homage to the Chumash ancestors of the land.
Lindquist was one of the first in Santa Barbara and in the Unites States to base his winery business model on Rhone varietals, and was one of the original “Rhone Rangers” promoting Syrah, Grenache, Marsanne and Viognier grapes, much like Andrew Murray did years later. Lindquist was considered a giant in the world of wine, growing Qupe from a few hundred cases to several thousand production per year. In 2013 Lindquist sold most of his Qupe Vineyards to Charles Banks, who later went on to work with Mayacamas, while Vineyard Estates has been slowly liquidating many of their vineyard holdings.
The future for Murray and Qupe will focus on Y Block Chardonnay and Central Coast Syrah. Qupe Chardonnay is a blend of old California Clone Chardonnay from both Santa Maria and Sta. Rita Hills. 100% fermented and aged in a mix of new and neutral French oak barrels. Full malolactic fermentation is encouraged through gentle lees stirring and the result is a rich, decadent, well balanced Chardonnay inspired by its Burgundian roots. Notes of white flower, stone fruit, lemon, toasted brioche and a tough of vanilla. We give it three bones.
Qupe Syrah Central Coast is a blend of primarily hillside grown Syrah from 25 plus year old vines in Arro Grande, and some stunning Syrah from Santa Ynez and Ballard Canyon. The soils are all sand over limestone which ensures amazing concentration, fruit intensity and balanced natural acidity. All the fruit is picked block by block at optimum ripeness in the dark of night to ensure cold, crunchy grapes. Many lots are sorted and de- stemmed while others are left for whole cluster fermentation. After 10 to 21 days on the skins, the wines are pressed to a mix of new and neutral French oak barrels for 18 months of aging. Flavors and aromas of ripe cherry, raspberry and purple flowers, olive brine and toasty French oak. We give it three bones.
You might also like to try Andrew Murray Esperance a rich red blend of 65% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, and 15% Syrah. Medium bodied with aromas and flavors of ultra ripe strawberries, black cherries, blood orange and tart raspberry. We give it two bones.
Come check out our fine selection of Rhone based varietal wines from California’s Central Coast here at Ed’s.
By CRBrown
