They say good fences make good neighbors, but it was a love of wine and winemaking that was the entr?e between Opolo owners. Rick Quinn and Dave Nichols have been neighbors since 1997 when Nichols bought vineyard property adjoining Quinn's. Together they now own about 280 acres of vineyards in Paso Robles, about 200 acres on the Eastside and 80 on the Westside. The Westside vineyards are in the Adelaide hills, producing wines such as Pinot Noir and Sangiovese, while the Eastside properties produce varietals such as Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Quinn grew up in Duluth, in an Italian, Serbian, and Croatian neighborhood.The families would make wine from grapes ordered from California that would be delivered in a boxcar. They didn't have any of this 'pick in the early morning and crush a couple of hours later.' By the time they got the grapes they were already fermenting!
The name Opolo is a nod to Quinn's Yugoslavian heritage, and is actually the name of a blended rose-style wine found on the Dalmatian Coast. However, Quinn and Nichols have no plans to actually produce that wine, so we'll have to be content to just enjoy the name on the label.
Quinn moved to California in 1979, and continued to pursue his love of wine and winemaking. He began to source grapes from quality growers, such as Fratelli Perata in Paso Robles. Though the impetus for buying that first parcel of vineyard was having grapes for his own winemaking, Quinn has always sold the vast majority of his crop to other labels. Quinn's and Nichols' vineyards sell fruit to quality labels such as Hess Collection, St. Supery, Harrison Vineyards, Wild Horse, Castoro Cellars, and Fetzer.
The 1999 harvest marked the first commercial crush under the Opolo label. Quinn and Nichols have essentially taken over the viticulture and winemaking duties, not an easy task considering they both still have their "day jobs." Quinn owns one of the largest Century 21 brokerages in the country and Nichols runs his own wireless electronics firm. Neither has been able to convince their families to move up to Paso Robles full-time, but they're working on it!
May 2010 Limited Series Newsletter (.pdf)
