Page 104 - SLO Visitor's Guide - Fall 2022

Wine Tasting
passion for sustainability. She believes farmers have the ability to capture carbon and turn back the clock on climate change and factors that belief into her farm- ing decisions.
Winemaker of the Year
Bob Lindquist, Verdad Wine Cellars and Lindquist Family Wines, doesn’t exactly credit The Kinks rock band for his career
as a winemaker, but he certainly acknowledges its role on the interesting path that led him here. Always a fan of the band, his Southern California lifestyle took a back seat in 1974 when he dropped out of college to support his young family.
His interest in fine wine came about when he agreed to take wine as payment for some work. A bottle of Simi 1970 Cabernet Sauvignon was his light bulb moment. “I couldn’t believe wine could be that good,” he said.
As he learned more about wine he moved to Hollister,
CA to crash on his uncle Bud Grainger’s couch while looking for a job, landing a job at Fortino Winery during the 1975 harvest. “I picked grapes, pumped over fermenters, shoveled out fermen- ters, and did all the basic jobs associated with a rustic approach to winemaking,” said Lindquist.
From Fortino, he went on work for San Martin Winery
as manager of a tasting room
in Camarillo. In 1976, nearby Santa Barbara was just getting started as a wine-growing region and Lindquist spent many days exploring and getting to know winery owners and winemakers.
He soon accepted an offer
to manage a Los Olivos wine shop owned by John Ream, son of Marshall Ream, president
of Zaca Mesa Winery. This job expanded Lindquist’s contacts
in the wine industry; contacts that would pay off in a big way, especially his friendship with Jim Clendenen at Zaca Mesa.
The Kinks were coming
to town, and Lindquist and Clendenen got their tickets early. Lindquist made sure to ask boss, John Ream, for the time off. A couple months later when The
104 FALL 2022
Winemaker of the year Bob Lindquist
Kinks’ concert date arrived, Ream took off dove hunting with the parting warning that if the store wasn’t open on the Sunday of the concert, Lindquist would be fired. Come that Monday morning, Lindquist was looking for another job. Clendenen got him an interview with Marshall Ream, and that after-
noon Lindquist was
working at Zaca
Mesa. Most of
his time was
spent as a
cellar rat
working
directly
for Jim.
Besides
the brief
stint at
Fortino four
years earlier,
this was his first
real hands-on
introduction to wine-
making and he was hooked.
In 1982 Lindquist launched Qupé, using Zaca Mesa equip- ment and winery bond to make Chardonnay, Syrah and a dry rosé from Pinot Noir. After his first two vintages at Zaca Mesa he stepped out on his own to
grow the Qupé brand. A few years later, Lindquist and Clen- denen, who by then had his own Au Bon Climat brand, entered an agreement with Bien Nacio Vine- yard to build a winery facility.
Upon selling Qupé in 2018, Lindquist launched Lindquist Family Winery, releasing their
first wines in 2019. “I still share the winery with Jim, and
also my wife Louisa
Sawyer Lindquist,
who makes her own wine
under the Verdad
Winery brand.
Louisa and I are also making wine for a new excit-
ing winery/distillery project in Albuquerque, New Mexico called VARA,” said Lindquist.
Wine Industry Person of the Year
Gretchen Roddick, Hope Family Wines, moved to the
Central Coast in 1990 to attend California Polytechnic, San
Luis Obispo. Upon graduating
in 1996 and after studying in Mexico, she joined the harvest team at Maison Deutz, until an opportunity in 1997 with a small, unknown Paso Robles family winery sparked a life-changing career move.
Roddick worked side by side with Austin Hope to build one
of Paso Robles’ most successful wine brands as well as help put Paso Robles on the world stage. The general manager and sales manager took her under their wings, engaging her in all aspects of the wholesale business and winery management.
In 2005 Roddick was pro- moted to general manager of Hope Family Wines and has helped build the winery into the global wine brand it is today. Her leadership has developed a first class team that is incredibly pas- sionate about the success of Paso Robles Wine Country. She has served on the boards of several wine industry and local commu- nity organizations, sharing her expertise through mentorships and speaking engagements.
Wine industry person of the year Gretchen Roddick
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