Meet Tyler Eck | Owner, Winemaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tyler Eck and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tyler, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My dad was a finish carpenter who had a warehouse where he ran his business out of. It was definitely his influence that led me on a path to learn a craft and turn that skill into a business. Growing up and through college I never knew what I wanted to do for a career. It wasn’t until I learned more about the wine industry that it clicked and I realized that winemaking was a craft that I could use to build a business. It took a handful of years of studying and working to form a voice and style of winemaking where I had the confidence of starting to make wine for myself. At that point, I had also met my now-wife and being able to build a family business was an exciting idea.

What should our readers know about your business?
We make wines exclusively from the San Luis Obispo Coast AVA. This is a newer wine region compared to many in California, but we are committed to the unique characteristics of the land, soil, and marine influence. Stylistically, we take a minimalist approach to our winemaking. This includes farming organically and regeneratively as much as possible (we lease and farm one vineyard while purchasing grapes from the rest), fermentation with native yeast, and using neutral barrels that do not contribute any additional flavors to the wine. The goal of our approach is to make wines that are delicious and respectful of the sites where they were grown.

Over the years we have matured into a style that suits our vision, but there have been many challenges. Finding consistent vineyard sources that share our values has been difficult at times. This has led us to take responsibility of farming one of our vineyards, which is an opportunity we hope to expand in the future. It is also difficult to forecast your needs in this industry. We make our wines a year before we start selling them, so being in the growth phase and trying to grow into the demand is really hard. We constantly have to remind ourselves of the good things that are happening and to not get overwhelmed by the one detail or challenge that may not even be in our control.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
San Luis Obispo is an amazing place to visit! We are surrounded by nature so the best way to start the day is take someone for a hike, mountain bike ride, or surfing depending on what they are interested in. Afterwards we would pick up some sandwiches from High Street Deli and take them to our tasting room to have a glass of wine with the best sandwiches in town. Our tasting room is in downtown SLO, so after lunch we could walk around Mission Plaza and pop into a few of the really cool local stores like Len Collective or Moondoggies Surf Shop. For the evening, we would head out of town to drive onto the sand at Grover Beach, where you can build a campfire right on the sand and watch the sunset while enjoying a glass of wine. From there, you are only two blocks away from our favorite restaurant, The Spoon Trade, where Brooke and Jacob Towne are making some really incredible food with a unique and fun menu.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
100% my wife, Rachel. Dunites Wine Co. is our business and any success we have had with building our company could not have happened without her. Rachel farms a vineyard that we lease, works with me on winemaking and blending, and is responsible for the aesthetics of our brand, social media, and tasting room. Her insights also make me more thoughtful and measured, as I tend to rush into decisions that I am excited about.

Website: www.duniteswineco.com

Instagram: @dunites

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/dunites-wine-san-luis-obispo