Welcome to Q Journal.

In hindsight, 2020 was a bellwether year, a season that tested—and ultimately affirmed—our pinpoint understanding of each vineyard block, the kind of wine it wants to produce, and the proactive farming it needs to fulfill that potential. The mosaic of our estate vineyard gave us a wide-ranging palette of unique site expressions to work with…

One of the most exciting truths about wine is that each year shapes it in an entirely new way. In the vineyard, as the vines draw on the resources of soil and sun, nuances of moisture and warmth create flavors and textures in the wine unique to that vintage. Ideally, the environment supports balanced ripening:…

The 2019 Quintessa celebrates the precision and nuance of a vintage that reflects the full complexity of our estate. It is an expression of Quintessa in a graceful growing season, yielding a wine of transparency and depth—full of flavor, while also energizing and persistent. This vintage began with well-timed rains that encouraged a smooth start….

The blue oaks growing throughout the estate are testaments to its formation. It was the vision of Valeria Huneeus to not only respect these majestic trees, but to retain every single one on the property, many of which have been rooted here for centuries. These oak forests inform the character of Quintessa as much as…

For more than three decades, we have dedicated ourselves to deepening our relationship with the Quintessa estate. Founders Valeria and Agustin Huneeus discovered Quintessa in the course of their search for a pristine landscape. Their shared vision was to steward the beauty of an estate while thoughtfully farming a wine that could become its distinctive…

It can be easy to overlook a vineyard in winter. The vines are bare of leaves, dormant. The fruit has all been harvested. However, the winter months reveal a wine’s potential. Bare vines in winter stand like an x-ray, divulging the form of their growth over time. The vineyard’s imperfections are visible. Its adaptation to…

Each year we rededicate ourselves to preserving the pristine beauty of Quintessa, to respecting the distinctive voice of this property, to stewarding its future. It is the commitment of our entire team that makes this possible. Most of our employees have worked at Quintessa for more than 15 years. In the vineyard, Martin Galvin has…

From the first moment Valeria saw what would become Quintessa, she was very adamant about not doing anything to harm the land. To discover a property of this size in Napa Valley that had never been planted to vineyards was rare, and presented a great responsibility to protect the beauty. Organic, and in 1996, Biodynamic®…

As a living expression of the estate, each vintage of Quintessa is an opportunity to listen to the unique voice of this property that is shaped by the soils, vines, climate, and human element. “Every year has a distinct personality, and with each vintage we are working to make a deeper connection between the soils,…

In 1989, when Valeria and Agustin Huneeus began mapping out vineyards on the ancient uplifts and swales of their distinct property, they were confident it could produce a wine of exceptional elegance and complexity. Inspired by the old world estate model, their intent was to make a single wine each year that would best express…

Glance into Estate Director Rodrigo Soto and Winemaker Rebekah Wineburg’s office on the fermentation level of the Quintessa winery, and the first thing you see is rocks— rows and rows of volcanic rocks, in shades of gray, ocher and ebony, some that even resemble gemstones. “This land has been witness to the creation of Napa…

On a warm August day at Quintessa in the heart of Rutherford, Rodrigo Soto sits across from Rebekah Wineburg and  a table covered in some 150 glasses, each filled with a different barrel sample of estate wine from the 2017 vintage, which has been aging in barrel for almost a year in the caves beneath…

Each vintage of Quintessa tells a story about the evolution of this property, and about Napa Valley itself. Thanks to a near-perfect growing season, the 2016 vintage has a sense of generosity that is reflected in the wine, with continual layers that are revealed not only as the wine opens in your glass, but also…

The Huneeus family is pleased to announce Rodrigo Soto as Quintessa’s Estate Director. Born and raised in Chile, in many ways Rodrigo has been preparing for this role nearly all his life. His interest in wine began with a summer job at the age of 14, and after growing intrigued, decided to study agronomy in…

Two of the most exciting months to visit Quintessa are September and October, when the grapes are harvested and the winemaking process begins. Much activity gets under way at this point—and that’s when you may hear lots of banging coming from the wine cellar. It’s the sound of the winemaking team removing and replacing the…

While crafting the 2015 Quintessa, Rebekah Wineburg,the estate’s winemaker, instantly perceived the opulence, texture and length of an exceptional vintage, one that would delight immediately and through the years and decades to come. When she recently opened a bottle and poured herself a glass of the wine, it only confirmed what she presumed—that this latest…

While crafting the 2015 Quintessa, Rebekah Wineburg,the estate’s winemaker, instantly perceived the opulence, texture and length of an exceptional vintage, one that would delight immediately and through the years and decades to come. When she recently opened a bottle and poured herself a glass of the wine, it only confirmed what she presumed—that this latest…

Winemaker Rebekah Wineburg leads us through a retrospective tasting of the last 20 vintages of Quintessa, an experience that reveals the evolution of the wines in the cellar—and the evolution of a great Napa Valley estate. 1994 Quintessa makes its debut in a strong vintage year that, decades later, proves the Huneeus family’s dedication to…

Winemakers are always attuned to the fact that Mother Nature calls the shots, “but 2014 was really a reminder that you’re at the mercy of Mother Nature,” recalls Rebekah Wineburg, winemaker at Quintessa. A longtime resident of Napa Valley, Rebekah, recounts a season that began as a parched California entered its third year of severe drought. Then…

Every wine lover knows that terrible moment when the joy of opening a great bottle is jolted into the despair of discovering it has been ruined by a tainted cork. The culprit—a chemical compound known as TCA, short for 2,4,6-Trichloranisole—remains one of the wine world’s mysteries. But this much is known: TCA occurs at some…