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Wine Information
Sine Qua Non
Sine Qua Non is a small winery which was established back in 1994 by Manfred and Elaine Krankl. Manfred Krankl, the managing partner at Campanile restaurant, feels strongly that each year, each vintage, is a completely unique wine and therefore he gives each wine a unique name. Sine Qua Non is quite well known for its wines names, label artwork and heavy, irregularly shaped bottles. Manfred also creates the artwork for each new label himself, changes the vineyard sources and varies composition with each bottling. These wines are really one of a kind. Due to the tiny quantities produced and the recent 98-100 Parker points for many of their wines, Sine Qua Non is now categorically regarded as a "California Cult" wine producer.
The winery's name Sine Qua Non is Latin for "absolutely indispensible", or literally "without which not".
The Krankl's first serious commercial undertaking was a Syrah called Black and Blue, which was produced in 1992 at the Havens winery in Napa. It was followed by an assortment of oddly named wines – Queen of Spades, Red Handed, The Other Hand, The Bride, and more recently Twisted and Bent, Imposter McCoy and Veiled. All the wines have a distinctive, funky label, that are all reproductions of Manfred's artwork.
In 1997 the Krankls got their own winemaking facilities, and their goal now is to own a vineyard and grow grapes, as all their wines up untill now have been produced from purchased grapes. Almost all the grapes have come from the Santa Barbara region, except the Pinot Noir, which groe in Oregon's Willamette Valley.
WA: The 2003 Sublime Isolation is a blend of 44% Chardonnay, 37% Roussanne, and 19% Viognier, all from the Alban vineyard. Aromatically restrained by SQN standards, with coaxing it offers up notes of honeyed pineapples, minerals, and flowers, but it is much more timid than its younger sibling. Rich, pure, and deliciously textured in the mouth, it reveals more on the palate than in its aromas, which should develop more nuances with additional bottle age. Sadly, production of this brilliant dry white proprietary wine is a minuscule 250 cases. 93 WA
Vuosikerta 2003
Unpredictable … that’s what you are
The unpredictable nature of the 2003 growing season began with a series of early heat spikes in March, followed by the wettest April on record. A long cool summer allowed the fruit flavors to evolve beautifully ahead of the sugar accumulation. Heat spikes in September helped move the harvest forward after many felt it would be a late year.