Dunites Dune Song Red Blend SLO Coast 2024

There’s something magnetic about the coastal dunes of San Luis Obispo. The air is salted, the wind both wild and nurturing, the sands shaped daily by shifting tides. It’s a landscape that holds history—whispers of dreamers and outcasts who, nearly a century ago, found refuge among the dunes. They called themselves the Dunites: free thinkers, artists, poets, nudists, dissenters. They built a community rooted in expression, curiosity, and the belief that life could be lived outside convention.

When Tyler and Rachel Eck set out to create their small wine brand, they knew the name Dunites was the truest expression of what they wanted to embody. Like the eccentrics of the 1930s, they are devoted to carving their own path, choosing vineyards defined not by ease but by character. Their focus is the SLO Coast, a region where vines grow in ancient sand and uplifted seafloor, where cool Pacific winds shape flavors with precision, and where every site tells a story of both struggle and beauty. In honoring the spirit of the original Dunites, Tyler and Rachel are not simply making wine. They are continuing a tradition of experimentation and freedom, of listening closely to the land and allowing expression to flourish. Their brand is a nod to those who came before, and an invitation to us, now, to slow down, savor, and maybe even rebel a little against the rush of everyday life.

2024 was a vintage primed for Rhône varietals in the SLO Coast AVA. When vines began flowering, the area experienced poor weather, resulting in exceptionally low yields for the more delicate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay varietals. The Syrah and Grenache got along better, yet also experienced lower-than-normal yields, which led to greater concentration in the wines. Tyler and Rachel hand-harvested a blend of 62% Syrah and 38% Grenache from two vineyards for their 2024 red blend. Native yeast fermentation kicked off with a quarter of the lots remaining as whole clusters. After 10 months in neutral French oak barrels, the wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered in July 2025. They lovingly refer to this wine as “Côtes du SLO,” as it mirrors the structural intensity of a classic Rhône blend, but with vibrant acidity derived from the California coast. “Generous purple flower and crunchy plum flavors are balanced by a subtle base tone of wild anise, reminiscent of our local chaparral.”~Winemaker Notes