Quady Winery

Specialties

Owned by Andrew and Laurel Quady, internationally acclaimed Quady Winery specializes in Muscats, Moscato, Port, Sherry, and Vermouth. Electra and Red Electra, 4% & 5% alcohol, is a light picnic style Moscato. Essensia, Orange Muscat and Elysium, Black Muscat, are dessert wines. Starboard is Quady’s euphemism for port. Vya Vermouth is a unique apéritif wine made with selected botanicals. Deviation is an Orange Muscat blended with Damiana and Scented Rose Geranium. Palomino Fino is an Amontillado style Sherry made from Biodynamic grapes. Purple is made from the Sunbelt grape. Located in Madera, CA, in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley, an hour from Yosemite or Kings Canyon Parks. Come join us for a wine tasting, tour our sustainable vineyard, and meet winemaker Michael Blaylock. Tasting Fee of $ 5.00 for groups of 10 or over.

History

Established in 1977.

The Quadys left crowded southern California to pursue their dream: a non-​urban way of life making wine. Andrew graduated with a Masters in Enology from UC Davis. In 1977, the Quadys settled in Madera in California’s Central Valley, where they built a small winery behind their country home and made port on evenings and weekends. Quady Winery continues to produce exciting dessert wines, including Essensia, Elysium and Electra.

Winemaker Michael Blaylock obtained an undergraduate degree in wildlife zoology from San Jose State University. He then joined the Peace Corps to become involved in wildlife management. In the Philippines, he helped develop new jobs for local fishermen, which included establishing a successful wine production enterprise. Inspired by this experience, Blaylock returned to the U.S. and entered the graduate enology program at California State University Fresno where he received his Master’s of Science degree in Agricultural Chemistry with an emphasis in enology.

Meet the Business Owner

Andrew Q.

Business Owner

Andrew and Laurel Quady left crowded southern California and their jobs in pyrotechnics and merchandising to pursue their dream: a non-​urban way of life making wine. Returning to school, Andrew graduated with a Masters in Food Science-​Enology from UC Davis and Laurel became a licensed CPA. In 1975, at the urging of friend Darrell Corti, they made their first port from Amador County Zinfandel at the now defunct Lodi Vintners where Andrew was working as an assistant winemaker. In 1977, settled in Madera in California’s Central Valley with Andrew working at Heublein, they built a small winery behind their country home and made port on evenings and weekends.