Surprised nobody has posted on the news that Qupe sold a majority interest to Charles Banks.
Any thoughts?
Adam Lee
Siduri Wines
Hadn’t heard about it until you posted:
Bruce
My first forays in to wine travel were trips to SoCal in the Mid 80s, including Byron, Firestone, Zaca Mesa, Rancho Sisquoc etc. I remember enjoying some Qupe reds and a Rhone white or two. Sad to see the independence slip away. Good for Mr. Lindquist.
RT
Lots of info coming out on this on Facebook right now. Looks like the capital invested was used to pay off all debt Qupe had, including to Bacchus Capital, who had invested in the company not too long ago . . .
Just heard that they also sold the Sawyer Linquist Vineyard, located right across the street from Alban, and that the new owner, whose name I’m trying to find out, has agreed to continue to farm it biodynamically and sell the vast majority of the fruit to Qupe, Verdad, and Ethan Lindquist.
It does not sound as if there will be an increase in quantity, just one in quality . . . at least that’s what’s being said for now.
Cheers
Sawyer Lindquist Vyd was purchased by Brook Williams, who used to run Zaca Mesa. He also recently purchased the Presidio Vineyard, located WEST of the Sta Rita Hills in Lompoc. It was the first Demeter certified vineyard in Santa Barbara County, and is planted to Pinot, Syrah, Viognier, and possibly a few other things . . .
Wow, that’s big news. Hope this works out well for everyone involved.
Shoot, I thought Qupe was having a sale.
When I was out there in Aug, I did a visit w/ Bob. He mentioned then that his vnyd was up for sale. They had apparently
planned to build a home on the property, but there was some problem in subdividing it, and they couldn’t.
My visit w/ Bob was a good one as I hadn’t visited with him (except at RR) for some time. He’s been working in the
trenches for almost 40 yrs and it was clear his passion for his craft is as strong as ever. When I first met him & Jim
(and 90+ yrs old MaryVigarosa, winemaker for SamHale) at Sam’s dairy barn in LosAlamos.
Tom
Yep, Tom, I don’t see any let up in the guy either. I’ve gotta believe that this transaction has put him, Louisa, and the rest of the Qupe family a bit more 'at ease. Not sure if Terroir Selections will now head up sales and marketing for them or if they’ll continue with what they’ve done.
It will be interesting to see what if any changes do take place. They talk about not increasing quantity, but quality instead . . . and this begs the question what improvements need to be made. Not sure if Banks has vineyard selections available that Bob could not get on his own, or if there will be an investment in stuff for the winery.
In any event, I just hope that the Qupe wines continue to garner the attention that they deserve.
Cheers
Oy…that’s part of the problem, Larry. Qupe does not get the attention they deserve. I just got in my 1.5 cs of Qupe I
ordered when I was out there & I’ll try to remedy that.
I suspect the improvements will mostly come in the marketing area. Not sure what that means for RickMorrison. But Bob already
has access to some of the best vnyds/grapes in SBC. Maybe Banks will secure Bob some of his grapes out on SantaRosaRd.
I’d love to see Bob make a SRH Syrah.
All in all, I think it’s a good move for Bob & his clan. It should give him more time to focus on what he does best…the winemaking.
People love to portray Banks as an evil person…but I don’t really see it that way.
Tom
And from the LATimes: Central Coast landmark Qupe winery finds a partner in Charles Banks
But not quite sure where “SantaMariaCnty” is located, though.
Tom
From the LA Times article: “Qupé was founded in 1982, one of the first high-quality wineries in Santa Maria County.” You have to admit, since we don’t know of any other
Santa Maria County wineries, Qupe much have been one of the first…
Bruce