Cary Q

A Hispanic-owned, one-woman operation, Cary Q is the brainchild of winemaker Cary Quintana. She employs a minimal intervention philosophy to craft small-lot wines from distinctive vineyard sites across Northern California. Completing everything by hand, she takes a laissez-faire approach in the cellar, using whole-cluster co-fermentation, native yeasts, and various aging vessels to preserve each variety’s character. In every bottle, she seeks to deliver a fresh and bright house style.

Quintana, a Cuban-American, started her professional career in Miami, but not in wine. She worked in marketing and advertising, but couldn’t shake a deep-seated love for all things vinous. So she quit her job and opened a boutique wine shop, selling niche bottles with fascinating stories.

However, when a 2013 move to Northern California landed her in the country’s winemaking epicenter, she recognized an opportunity to channel her passion into winemaking. She worked harvests and absorbed the knowledge of winemakers in Berkeley, and in 2014, she got her hands on grapes from renowned viticulturist Phil Coturri. They became her first bottles of Cary Q wine, and she never turned back.

Quintana sources her grapes from organically farmed, family-owned vineyards in the Sierra Foothills, Lodi, and Sonoma, focusing on varietal typicity and vibrancy. While she started working solely with Grenache, she has since expanded her lineup to include Mourvedre, Syrah, Tempranillo, and Graciano.