Nipa Cellars

History

On a March evening after a Rotary Club Board meeting, David Nilsen and Nipool Patel discussed their passion for winemaking.  It was on that night that Nipa Cellars was born.  The two decided to start a small winery focusing on the production of two Red Wines; Zinfandel (Dave's favorite) and Cabernet Sauvignon (Nipool's favorite). The idea was to start by making 300 cases of wine and selling it to friends and family with the support of a few local wine shops and restaurants.  But as time went on, we found our selves looking at making a Chardonnay so that we could participate in a proposed local Chardonnay Festival.

Our first vintage of  500 cases consisted of a Syrah, Zinfandel, Chardonnay and Rose which debuted at the Monterey Street Wine Company in San Luis Obispo. Our first purchase of wine was made by Jim & Robin Porter of Santa Maria (A whole case of Zinfandel, Thank you!), our first sale to a Wine Shop was the Monterey Street Wine Company, our first sale to a Restaurant was the Café Roma & 1865 of San Luis Obispo, CA, and our first wine club members are Al & Stella Medina.