In the heart of the old village of Arroyo Grande, a single tasting room pours the work of two winemakers and a long marriage. Louisa Sawyer Lindquist makes the Spanish-leaning Verdad wines, Bob Lindquist makes the Rhone-driven Lindquist Family wines, and together they have helped define what the Central Coast can do with grapes most California growers ignored.

Two labels, one marriage

Louisa Sawyer Lindquist founded Verdad Wine Cellars in 2000, and she made history doing it, releasing the first commercial varietal Albarino in California that year. Her passion is Spanish varietals and biodynamic farming, and The Somm Journal once named her the First Lady of Albarino. Her husband, Bob Lindquist, makes the Rhone-focused Lindquist Family wines and is one of the original California Rhone Rangers.

The two work as a team, and the Arroyo Grande village tasting room is where their worlds meet. They also collaborate on a Sawyer Lindquist label sold mainly to club members and tasting-room guests. It is a rare chance to taste two distinct, accomplished points of view side by side, poured by the people who built them.

Verdad produced the first commercially released varietal Albarino in California, in 2000.

A village room, Central Coast fruit

The tasting room sits on East Branch Street in the village of Arroyo Grande, the walkable old downtown at the southern end of the San Luis Obispo Coast wine country. It is a tasting room rather than an estate, and the fruit comes from across the Central Coast: Santa Maria Valley, Edna Valley, Paso Robles, the Sta. Rita Hills, and more. The wine itself is made at the historic CLV winery at Bien Nacido Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley.

What ties it all together is how the vineyards are farmed. Many of the sourced sites are Demeter-certified biodynamic, SIP certified, or certified organic, reflecting Louisa long commitment to farming that gives back to the land. The wines are billed as biodynamic, organic, and certified sustainable.

Spanish soul, Rhone backbone

Verdad is the Spanish side of the house: Albarino, Tempranillo, Graciano, and a single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles. The Albarino is the calling card, a bright, saline white built for the coast. Lindquist Family covers the Rhone classics, Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre and GSM blends, plus Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier, and Chardonnay, the wines that made Bob a Rhone Ranger in the first place.

The Sawyer Lindquist label adds a few more, including Pinot Gris, a Tempranillo-Syrah blend, and Pinot Noir. Between the three labels, a single flight can travel from a coastal Spanish white to a deep, peppery Syrah without leaving your seat.

What to pour it with

The Albarino is one of the great seafood whites, and it was bred for it on the Atlantic coast of Spain. Pour it with oysters, grilled shrimp, or ceviche and its salinity and acidity make the shellfish taste sweeter and cleaner. It is also a natural with paella, the dish from its homeland.

The Tempranillo and Rhone reds want the grill and the smoke. Tempranillo loves grilled lamb and chorizo, echoing the Spanish table it comes from, while the Syrah and GSM blends are perfect with peppered steak or Santa Maria tri-tip, the tannin binding to the fat and the wine pepper playing off the char. For the Roussanne or Viognier, reach for roast chicken or a creamy squash dish, richness meeting richness.

Verdad & Lindquist Family Wines: common questions