Colors of Provence Rhone River Cruise, March 26 - April 2, 2026, with Lindquist Family Wines

Lindquist Family Wines

Since the Harvest of 1975, Bob Lindquist has been working in the wine business. At the young age of 22 years his first job was working as a “cellar rat” for a small family winery near Gilroy CA; picking, crushing and pressing grapes, punching down, pumping over and shoveling out fermenters and cleaning — lots of cleaning!

Over the next few years, Bob worked in retail tasting rooms, and for a small startup wine wholesaler based in Ventura County. On his days off he explored the up-and-coming wineries of Santa Barbara County and fell in love with the area. This led to a job with Zaca Mesa Winery in Los Olivos in 1979 as the winery’s very first tour guide.

Zaca Mesa didn’t get many tourists in those early days. Most of Bob’s time was spent working in the cellar, learning winemaking from his mentor, the late great Jim Clendenen, Zaca Mesa’s assistant winemaker.

In 1982, while still at Zaca Mesa, Bob founded his first winery, Qupé Wine Cellars. Qupé became one of the early pioneers of Rhone varietals in California, with a focus on Syrah. Bob also made Chardonnay from Santa Barbara grapes to “pay the bills”.In 1989, Bob and Jim Clendenen partnered to build their own winery at Bien Nacido Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley, which they called CLV (short for Clendenen Lindquist Vintners).

In 2018, Qupé was sold to a large wine company. Bob took the opportunity to start his own eponymous brand, Lindquist Family Wines, still focusing on Rhone varietals and Chardonnay. Bob’s wife, Louisa Sawyer Lindquist is also a winemaker, with a focus on Iberian varietals and Cabernet Sauvignon under the brand name Verdad.

Bob, Louisa and Jim’s wines are still made at CLV alongside the winemaking team that has worked with them for decades. Qupé and Jim have left the building, but Bob has not, still focused on producing the very best wines from California’s Central Coast.

Bob’s lifetime accolades in the field of winemaking are numerous and notable, including:

• First winery in Santa Barbara County to make Syrah, Rhone blends, Marsanne & Viognier
• First President of the Santa Barbara Vintners – 1983
• Founding member of The Rhone Rangers – 1988
• Winemaker of the Year from the Central Coast Winegrowers – 1994
• 14 times named a Top 100 winery by Wine & Spirits Magazine
• Wine Person of the Year by Hospice du Rhone – 2006
• Rhone Rangers Lifetime Achievement Award – 2015
• San Luis Obispo County Winemaker of the Year – 2022
• “One of the World’s 50 most Influential Winemakers” Wine & Spirits Magazine

Join us on a beautiful voyage up the Rhone River Valley. Explore the wine, cuisine, villages and cities of Provence, through lush hillsides of Tournon and Vienne, finishing in Lyon, France’s gastronomic capital. Bob has many friends in the Rhone Valley. Guests of Lindquist Wines can look forward to some special experiences along the way. There is an optional and very worthwhile 3-night pre-cruise tour of Aix-en-Provence, a haven for artists and writers for three centuries.

Sincerely,
Bob Lindquist & Louisa Sawyer Lindquist
Owners and Winemakers