The big event that this entire trip was planned around was this moment. I have been wanting to go to the Qupe Open House for YEARS. It happens every year and this year I vowed to be there. So, here it is. We got in our cars and started our drive to the vineyards. Qupe doesn't have a tasting room attached to its winery, as the winery is about 40 mins from town and in the middle of nowhere. We were driving and driving, feeling like we were lost, and then there it was, Magicland.
The open house is truly an open house. All the winemakers are there from Qupe, Verdad, Au Bon Climat, Lindquist....and a few smaller labels that use the vineyards. Bob Lindquist (Qupe owner & winemaker) and Jim Clendenen (ABC owner and winemaker) were the rock stars of the event. They are my heroes haha! The event is $20...all you can eat & drink. There were about 30 drink stations around in the warehouse full of wine to try from all the different labels. You get to talk to the winemakers as well as people that work in the wineries. This is where you get the real info about the wine...not in some traditional tasting room. We made our rounds and tried a TON of different varietals and vintages.
Lunch was about to be served so we got in line for the "buffett". Jim & Bob made all the food. In fact, Jim makes lunch for the entire staff everyday during harvest and they all have a sit-down dinner together. It is a true family experience. The food was ridiculous. Tri-tip, pasta, grilled veggies, salads, breads, fresh strawberries, fresh marinated olives from the trees outside, a gigantic cheese table filled with exotic and delicious cheeses. At the end of the food line, they were opening various magnums and pouring you glasses to take with your lunch. We took our food & drink out to the vineyards and sat amongst the grapes in the sun. It was truly a magical moment. One of my lifetime favorite experiences.
After lunch we went back over towards the buffett line to check out the special pours that were going on....and also to talk to Bob & Jim who were there serving. We got there in time to have some of the "shiner" that was just opened. A shiner is a house wine. Comes from the winemaker's private collection. This was a HUGE bottle that had a piece of masking tape on it that said "Teroldigo". This is a Italian deep red grape that is also grown in SOME regions of CA. Jim had a private stash of it and brought it out for the event. It was amazing and one of those once-in-a-lifetime pours. We got to spend a lot of time there talking to one of the workers that has been with Jim & Bob from the early days. Bob came over and talked to us for a while too...so fun finally meeting the guy whose wine I have been obsessing over for more than 15 yrs!
After we bought our fair share of wines, we decided we better leave! It was an amazing day & an amazing experience. We decided we are making this an annual tradition!!! :)
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