HOOPLA

Dante

Fun, lively, full of life with a non-conformist attitude. No, it’s not the tasting notes of our next wine, that was Dante, Spencer’s little dog. Some might say favorite child. The original boss around here.

This little pooch embodied the Hoopla spirit, that’s why his picture will always grace our label. He lived to the ripe old age of 137, in dog years of course, and kept working until the end. There was never a quiet moment for the wild turkeys who dared encroach on his vineyard while he was on patrol!

Maya & Sophie

After their beloved terrier, Dante, passed away, the family adopted two rescue dogs, littermates Maya and Sophie. Hoopla now represents fun-times-two! Lindsay calls them her super-model Corgis, as they have all the features except their sleek, long legs must come from a taller parent.

Irresistible, energetic and full of mischief, these girls love to dig up the Hoopes family flower garden. Their motto is ‘do what you want, and apologize later…but only if you have to.’ Maya and Sophie do help out though at harvest time. When this dynamic duo started eating the grapes from the vines, Spencer and Lindsay know it’s time to get picking!

Spencer Hoopes

Spencer grew up on a farm in southeast Arizona. Farming, though not grape-growing, has always been part of his DNA. A random meeting led Spencer to a wine tasting in San Francisco. Inspired, Spencer created a wine club with friends and started collecting wine. In the early 1980s, he bought ten acres in Oakville, Napa Valley and planted the vineyard with new Cabernet Sauvignon vines which are 35 years old now!
In 1999, the Hoopes family launched their own label. Today Spencer and Lindsay walk the vineyards and make plans for the future of this exceptional soil. “With the combination of the soil, the rootstock, the clone, and the way we are farming, we get a really unique Cabernet. The fruit produces a fantastic nose in the glass and you get really bright fruit flavors in the mouth,” says Spencer.
Spencer is an avid outdoorsman and accomplished marksman, who also has a passion for fly fishing, skiing and camping. Spencer’s love for family and the land is alive and well.

Lindsay Hoopes

Lindsay has always been a wine enthusiast, due in large part to growing up on the vineyard. She grew up walking in the vineyards alongside her dad, Spencer Hoopes. Together the family spent many afternoons talking about growing cycles and wine branding. This gave Lindsay a unique perspective. Those afternoon conversations have served her very well in the wine business, where since 2013 she has been one of the youngest winery General Managers in Napa and one of a very small number of women who run wineries in the Napa Valley.
An avid traveler, ski enthusiast, photographer, chef and animal lover, Lindsay brings a genuine passion and spirit of adventure to the winery. Lindsay has many new ideas for the winery, but retains a sincere reverence for the history of the region and her farm origins. Lindsay is a member of Next Gen, the “next generation” of winemakers who grew up in the Napa Valley, and in many cases worked alongside their families in the wine business before leaving to go to school or work in other places.