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Wine Wednesday: Sine Qua Non

Today is Wine Wednesday, and we want to focus on a winery known for its exclusivity and it’s limited production Rhône style blends; Sine Qua Non.

Manfred Krankl and his wife Elaine founded Sine Qua Non in 1994, during a time when Manfred managed a Los Angeles restaurant that he co-founded called Campanile. After a few experiments, the Syrah-based Queen of Spades was produced, and earned a 95 point rating from Robert Parker, skyrocketing the wine’s reputation. Wanting to make wine full time, Manfred sold a portion of his ownership in LA’s La Brea Bakery and began to steadily increase his production, calling a small industrial Ventura winery home. Cultivating a reputation that avoids repetition, Sine Qua Non wines are produced from different growers from year to year, with different names, labels, and bottle styles. The wines today call Santa Barbara home, and are typically produced with Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Roussanne, Viognier, and Marsanne.

Sine Qua Non helped to launch California Syrahs on to the international map. There was a significant interest in these wines at worldwide auctions, with the wines appreciating at a rate of 163% over 9 years. This means that the price and interest of Sine Qua Non increased immensely, making it much harder to acquire these wines. Because of this, combined with the low production rates, Sine Qua Non wines are rare, and often on the pricier side. As of 2018, the wait time to join the mailing list to receive an allocation for this wine was 9 years.

Alright, you gotta try this wine, right? I mean, we’re talking about what could be the most cult winery in the United States. Guess what? We have this at the girl & the fig. You want to taste this coveted juice? Come in and see for yourself what it’s all about.

Sine Qua Non, 2016 Ratsel, California

Sine Qua Non, 2015 Le Chemin Vers L'Hérésie