[Noozhawk note: This is a roundup of the wine and beer industry’s events and the people who work in the region’s industry.]
Vintage Wine Estates announced last week its purchase of Qupé Wines from Terroir Life.
The latter had purchased a majority stake in Qupé from owner/founder Bob Lindquist in 2013 when Charles Banks was still at the helm of Terroir Life.
(Laurie Jervis / Noozhawk file photo)
Banks is serving a four-year prison term following his 2017 conviction on charges he defrauded a former client, Tim Duncan of the NBA.
Lindquist crafts approximately 30,000 cases of Qupé wine annually; the majority of that total is the well-distributed “Central Coast” Syrah, a blend of several top regional vineyards.
He will remain with his longtime brand as consulting winemaker and plans to continue producing the chardonnay, syrah and other Rhone-based blends for which he has earned a global reputation.
Lindquist founded Qupé in 1982, and in 1989, joined forces with fellow Zaca Mesa Winery alum and Au Bon Climat founder Jim Clendenen in a partnership to source fruit from Bien Nacido Vineyards.
The two produce their respective brands from a facility located on the famed property east of Santa Maria.
Vintage Wine Estates also owns B.R. Cohn, Layer Cake, Clayhouse and the Game of Thrones wine labels, and was reputed to be searching for a label to strengthen its Central Coast presence.
Kitá Wines opens Lompoc tasting room
Kitá Wines will hold a grand opening this weekend as it celebrates its first tasting room, located at 300 North 12th St, Suite 1A, Lompoc.
Kita’s site is located at the east end of the former Grefco building that also houses tasting rooms for Zotovich Cellars, Ave Winery, Kessler Haak Vineyard and Wines and Transcendence Winery, as well as production for several other smaller producers.
Kitá Wines is owned by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, which founded the brand in 2010.
Tara Gomez, a Chumash native, is the winemaker. Camp 4 Vineyards in the Santa Ynez Vineyards is the brand’s primary vineyard, although Gomez sources grapes from other properties throughout Santa Barbara County.
Miller Family announces new entity
The Miller family, farmers on the Central Coast for five generations, has announced the debut of the Miller Family Wine Company.
Stephen Thornhill Broome Miller, CEO, leads the Miller Family Wine Company’s parent company, Thornhill Companies, based in Santa Barbara.
The Miller Family Wine Company encompasses management of French Camp Vineyard in Paso Robles, the wine brands J. Wilkes, Ballard Lane, Barrel Burner and Smashberry, as well as the winery facilities located in Santa Maria, Central Coast Wine Services, and sister company Paso Robles Wine Services.
Stephen’s sons, Nicholas and Marshall Miller, are at the helm of both businesses and represent the fifth generation of family leadership. Nicholas and Marshall oversee marketing and operations, respectively, for Miller Family Wine Company.
SLO and Paso Robles wine associations seek directors
Last week, the San Luis Obispo Wine Country Association (SLO Wine) last week announced its search for a new director, and in October, the director of the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance also announced that she would be leaving at year’s end.
The new executive director will replace Heather Muran, who is leaving to pursue other interests after six years at the association’s helm.
During Muran’s tenure, she developed a range of consumer and public relations marketing strategies that brought expanded regional and national awareness to SLO Wine, including first-ever dedicated regional tastings by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate and Antonio Galloni’s Vinous, as well as a cover feature in Wine Enthusiast as one of the world’s Top 10 Wine Getaways.
In Paso Robles, Christopher Taranto, communications director of that alliance, said the deadline to apply for the position is Nov. 21, and that a committee is leading the search for someone to replace Jennifer Porter, who plans to relocate to the East Coast to be closer to family.
During Porter’s seven-year tenure leading the 500-member organization, she built the regional, national and global reputation of wine country in Paso Robles.
Among her key achievements were the recognition of 11 new sub-AVAs within Paso Robles, a “Wine Region of the Year” award by Wine Enthusiast in 2013, the integration of associate and hospitality members into the organization’s board of directors, and the publication of a study in 2016 that showed a total economic contribution of the Paso Robles Wine Industry of $1.6 billion annually.
In addition, under Porter’s leadership, the PRWCA ran four festivals each year that brought visitors to Paso Robles, oversaw a coordinated consumer advertising campaign to target markets, received CDFA grants to market Paso Robles in Texas and Florida, introduced a robust member education program, and oversaw multiple tours each year of media, sommeliers, and wine buyers through Paso Robles, and of Paso Robles wineries to key cities around the United States.
Firestone Walker debuts barrel-aged blend
A later-than-average grape harvest in Paso Robles this year paved the way for winemakers to help blend “XXII” — Firestone Walker’s newest barrel-aged anniversary ale.
“Usually by late summer the stress of the impending harvest starts bearing down on our winemaker friends, and some of them can’t make it to our blending session,” said brewmaster Matt Brynildson. “Not this year — and the result was one heck of a blend created by one of our largest groups ever.”
Winemakers, he added, are “practicing experts” in the art of blending, which is why Firestone Walker has involved them in the crafting of the brewer’s Anniversary Ales since 2006.
XXII is a blend of four distinct beers aged in spirits barrels: Stickee Monkee (Central Coast quad, 44 percent), Parabola (Russian imperial oatmeal stout, 22 percent), Bravo (imperial brown ale, 22 percent) and Helldorado (blonde barleywine, 12 percent).
The primary twist this year is the inclusion of Helldorado, aged in rum barrels and gin barrels.
To create this beer, the winemakers were divided into teams. Each team created their own preferred blend from numerous components, and then all of the blends were blind tasted by the group to determine the favorite — which became the basis for XXII.
This year, the winning team was helmed by Terry Hoage and Phil Lamontagne of TH Estate Wines; Sherman Thacher and Daniel Callan of Thacher Winery; and longtime brewery friend and master bread baker Arie Litman.
Hanukkah fest returns to K’Syrah in Solvang
On Friday, Dec. 7, Chef Brooke Stockwell of Solvang’s K’Syrah Catering and Events will host the second annual 8 Nights: An Edible Tribute to Hanukkah event.
The event will consist of an eight-course dinner with a wine and cocktail cash bar — featuring wines by some of Santa Barbara County’s Jewish winemakers, plus specialty craft cocktails appropriate to the holiday.
Starting with two passed appetizer courses at 6:30 p.m., the six seated courses will showcase Stockwell’s special Hanukkah menu.
Tickets for the event are $85 per person and available online here. (The cash cocktail bar is not included in the ticket price).
K’Syrah Catering & Events is located at 478 4th Place in Solvang,
— Laurie Jervis blogs about wine at www.centralcoastwinepress.com, tweets at @lauriejervis and can be reached via winecountrywriter@gmail.com. The opinions expressed are her own.