Dunites is a small wine company named after a group of metropolitan refugees (a collection of free thinkers, artists, nudists and poets known as Dunites) from the 1930's who settled on the Oceano dunes of San Luis Obispo County, living as their own independent community. The husband-and-wife team of Tyler and Rachel Eck aim to produce transparent wines that respect the coastal influence of vineyard sites on the SLO coast. By using whole cluster vinification, minimal amounts of sulfur, native yeast fermentation, gentle extraction methods, lees aging, neutral oak maturation and bottling without fining or filtration, Dunites are making some of the most remarkable wines in all California.

Dunites' Syrah-Grenache blend is made from hand-harvested fruit that was fermented with native yeasts using 48% whole clusters and no added sulfur dioxide. The wine was aged for 10 months in neutral French oak puncheons and barriques and bottled without fining or filtration and minimal SO2. This hands-off style of winemaking produces a direct, energetic wine that genuinely reflects its origins and shows why the SLO Coast is such an exciting American Viticultural Area. Light ruby color in the glass, the Dunites red blend emits complex aromas of just picked blueberries alongside notes of red plums, dried herbs and wet earth. The palate is an incredible drinking experience: vibrant acids, ripe fruits, savory minerality interplay with suave tannins and a cooling menthol note, all of which lifts the wine, imbuing it with tension and excitement as it flows into a long, lip-smacking finish that pirouettes across the palate like a ballerina.