Qupé Wines Tasting Room

THOMAS was by far the best wine ambassador/​pourer from any of the dozens of wine tastings I’ve been to. The flight from Qupé were beyond exceptional! I posted photos of my faves.

On a friend’s recommendation, we stopped in Qupe for a wine tasting. Behind the counter was one person, a large buffoon in a Dodgers sweatshirt. Three nice looking young women were to our left, with us in the middle of the counter. All started well, with the pour of our first wine of our tasting.
Then another nice looking woman walked in and took the position around the corner of the counter to our right. Buffoon was with her in an instant, chatting away as she requested his expertise. After pouring her first wine, he passed our empty glasses and went back to the three young ladies to the left. No problem, they were here before us. But after pouring their next round he then stood chatting them up for five minutes while we stood with our still empty glasses. He even replaced the wine that was to be our second wine in the bottle holder right in front of us, before returning to his three ladies. Finally he broke away from them, to ask lady to the right if she was ready for her second wine, rushing to her, bottle in hand.
His interests had nothing to do with taking care of wine enthusiasts. After close to ten minutes with empty glasses, we left. He barely noticed, probably happy he could then focus on his non-​wine pursuits.
We spent $ 381.02 on wines at our next stop.
Now I understand, without even reading any of them, why over 10% of Qupe’s Unilocal reviews are one star.

Wine was so so. Experience was unpleasant at best. The server/​wine steward clearly did not want to be there. Have bought quite a bit of Qupe in the past… won’t be buying it again.

Plus points because they’re open after 5, when everything else is closed. I know this because, stumbling back to my car a few weeks ago (don’t worry, I wasn’t driving) at the end of a full day of wine tasting, I saw a place that was still open, and told my wife (and DD — the benefit of being married to someone who can’t drink that much :)) I wanted to pop in and see what they were doing. Then, because as mentioned I was pretty tipsy, I couldn’t resist one last taste, which in retrospect wasn’t the best idea, but it was a *great* idea at the time. So while I totally remember liking all their wines, I unfortunately don’t remember all the specifics, hence not really being the greatest idea in retrospect.
However, I’m giving them 5 stars anyway, because I also thought it would be a great idea to get my wife a birthday present of their late harvest, which I thought at the time was quite good (we’re both big fans of dessert wines). I was a bit nervous the next morning, while I remembered it being very good, I knew my opinions at the time were not necessarily the most informed. Well, I’m happy to report, we just opened it, and it was indeed a very good late harvest.

The wines were tasty, the staff was friendly.
I loved how much brighter this place seemed compared to when the other winery was at this location. Lots of fresh air when you open the patio doors!

Came in and were welcomed right away! Stacy helped us and was really friendly and explained all wines. She took time to talk to us and get to know us and what we liked. We had a great time and enjoyed all the wines!

I had read before going to tasting room that they developed wines similar to those in the Rhone Valley in France. When I walked in I asked if there wines were more similar to the norther or southern Rhone wines. No one knew what I was talking about. Oh well. I did not do a tasting but did buy some half bottles. Opened the Syrah 2011 and was amazed how overwhelming the eucalyptus influences their wine. Not sure that is a good thing.

I can’t say that I was impressed with anything we tried on our first visit to Qupe’s tasting room. We’ve only visited this area a handful of times and have always run out of time before being able to stop here. I know I’m not easily won over by anything around here because my taste is a bit different than what is produced here, I also know that my last stop of the day is a bit tougher to critique than my first couple stops but this just isn’t for me.
The room was busy near 5P on a Saturday with all visitors getting in their last tasting of the day, and service was slightly frantic with only a couple guys behind the bar but still polite.
I definitely prefer the wineries along Foxen to the tasting rooms on Grand but if I had to chose one to visit it wouldn’t be Qupe again.
What stands out to me the most about our tasting was «too much pepper»

My bf’s boss recommended this tasting room to us. It was our first stop in the morning — yup morning (it’s 5pm somewhere, right?) we’ll say we started early to beat the crowds ;) I believe the tasting was $ 10 or 12. Staff was friendly and knowledgeable about the wine. I was introduced to some new wines I had not tried which was exciting.

We had two excellent visits to Qupe this past Saturday. Definitely, some of my favorite red wines. A special thank you to our server, Zach, who was outstanding. Later, we attended the library tasting event (our second time) with the winemakers pouring. Great event!

Love this tasting room! By far my favorite in Los Olivos. Zack was super knowledgeable, spent probably an hour chatting with him about the biodynamic and organic vineyards they plant on. And such great Syrah! Thanks for an amazing experience, can’t wait to come back!

Excellent wines, especially their biodynamically farmed ones. The proof was in the tasting. The acidity lifted up all the wines and made them quite fresh. Their Syrahs are serious — more refined while retaining pleasant fruit characteristics.
Contrary to other comments, the pourer was interested and engaged. Too bad that reviewer thought negatively.
I feel bad missing this place during my previous visits to the area. This is a definite must-​go for serious wine drinkers.

This is a nice tasting room in Los Olivos but I wasn’t a fan of the wine really. The service was pretty good. I think we paid a little over $ 20 for 2 tastings.

4.5-stars for the wine. I’ve tasted here 3 times and the first two times Ethan was pouring for me. He was more than willing to let me skip the whites and we went off menu both times, and both times I walked out with multiple bottles. He listen to what I liked and didn’t like and steered me in the right direction. If you’re visiting Qupe you probably should like Syrah. They also have awesome Grenache.
So why 4.5 stars? This last time I struggled to find something that really wow’d me. The Syrahs range from $ 20-​$ 100. Because my wife was looking for Rousannes (and they have one), we tasted whites this time. We ended up likening the Chardonnay more than the Rousanne, so we took a bottle of that.
Service has always been 5-​stars here for me.
If you’re a Rhone fan you should try Qupe.

If you are excited about having a great wine tasting experience DO NOT COME HERE!!!
I have never been to a tasting room that was DULL. The man who helped us clearly did not enjoy his gig or perhaps had an off day should have stayed home. I enjoy wine tasting and have been to a handful in my day in all regions… Oregon, Napa, Sonoma, and had NEVER had such a horrible experience. This wine may possibly be great however the company was not. If I could give –1 stars I would.

Qupe is one of my faves. I go up frequently, and I am never disappointed. The quality of the wine is always incredible, and the service from the staff is always exceptional. Its a fun tasting room, and would recommend to anyone who is planning a visit to the region.

I am very particular about wine and Qupe did not disappoint. The Viognier, Roussanne, Grenache, and Syrah were among the best I have ever had. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable. The owner’s son was even there pouring wine, and he makes his own wine too! It is rare to be able to interact with a winemaker at a tasting room. The only bad thing about the experience was the lack of a bathroom. It seems like it is an sore subject with the staff and they obviously have no control over it. Hopefully the local government will wake up and provide public restrooms soon!

NIce tasting room. Friendly staff. Delicious wines. Highly recommend.

The guy pouring the wine was from San Diego. He was very friendly & chatty & fun. The syrrah tasted like a pine tree (in a good way). So we took a bottle home & I saved it for Christmas.
Grand Avenue in Los Olivos has many wine tasting rooms along it’s street. So you walk in and out of them, ever more tipsy after the last. Kinda like classy bar hopping… Wink, wink.

I hate to be a hater, and it might not be fair that this third wine tasting happened after two other awesome wine tastings, but this place was pretty disappointing. I walked in by myself, and there was a guy doing a tasting. The dude behind the counter gave me the tasting menu, and we started with the first wine. He seemed like he would have rather been chatting with the dude there instead of me. I’m not wine savvy at all, but I tried to ask a few questions to let him know I was interested in the winery and the process. About all I got were the regions each wine was made. But I did have the menu so that was helpful. I didn’t really like any of the wines, so I didn’t buy any. The $ 10 tasting scored me the wine glass I had been using. So not a total loss.