Dan Duckhorn, Co-Founder of The Duckhorn Portfolio, Dies at 87

It was a trip through France in 1977 that swayed Dan Duckhorn to focus on Merlot in Napa Valley. And not just for blending purposes, as most Napa vintners were doing at the time, but to have it stand on its own. His pioneering spirit charted the course for his family’s Duckhorn Wine Company, which he grew for the next four decades while also playing a leading role in the wine community at large. Duckhorn died on Feb. 25 from congestive heart failure at the age of 87.

“Dan had a remarkable and historic influence on the Napa Valley we know today,” said Doug Shafer in a statement. “He was the force in the winery’s growth, as Duckhorn became one of the most well-known, respected and admired wine brands throughout the world.”

"Dan and I came to Napa Valley around the same time," grapegrower Andy Beckstoffer told Wine Spectator. "People told him he would never succeed with Merlot. He proved them wrong. He was also a good man."

A Northern California native, Duckhorn earned his master’s in business administration from the University of California, Berkeley. He held managerial positions at several major companies before becoming president of Vineyard Consulting Corporation in 1971. The company focused on propagating bench-grafted grapevines while farming almost 1,500 acres of vines for various wineries. Duckhorn learned the ins and outs of vineyard management and grapevine propagation. The position would prove influential for his next leap: vintner.

Duckhorn and his family were living in San Francisco at the time, and he was regularly commuting to Napa Valley to oversee the company. He eventually moved his family to the valley in 1973 and further immersed himself in the wine culture. Duckhorn began recognizing that higher-quality vines were being propagated through a selection of new clones and rootstocks, something his company wasn’t focused on. As a result, business for Vineyard Consulting Corporation began to decline, and Duckhorn began to wonder what his next step would be.

A Winery Takes Flight

In 1976, he and his then-wife, Margaret, with the help of a few silent shareholders, founded Duckhorn Vineyards and purchased a 10-acre property in St. Helena that would later become the winery’s tasting room.

Having recognized the push toward premium grapevines, Duckhorn set out to make world-class wine. Influenced by that trip to France’s Bordeaux region and its Right Bank estates—along with the advice of winemaker Ric Forman, who travelled with him and eventually introduced Duckhorn to winemaker Tom Rinaldi—Duckhorn made the choice to focus on Merlot.

“We had become friends through a mutual acquaintance. He was just getting started when he asked me for some fruit from Three Palms. But I said if you’re going to do this, let’s go to France so you can see how it’s done,” said Ric Forman. “I pointed him in the direction, and it clicked. He went nuts for it. He did a great job with it all. And darn, if that ’78 Three Palms he made with Tom wasn’t better than the one I made at Sterling.”

Duckhorn was a steadfast champion of Napa Valley Merlot.

Thoughtful, strategic and curious, Duckhorn saw potential where others didn’t. He developed an affinity for Merlot’s approachability, compared to the burly flavors of Cabernet Sauvignon. The decision would prove revolutionary for California wine.

In its inaugural vintage of 1978, Duckhorn’s winery produced 800 cases of Merlot, sourced from the now-famed Three Palms Vineyard, and 800 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from vineyards in Stags’ Leap and on Howell Mountain. The Merlot was a hit, and it became the signature bottling for the winery while helping lead a Merlot category that would grow steadily through the next two decades. All the while, he championed vineyard-designated wines and helped advance the importance of terroir in California winemaking, aligning Napa more closely with European fine-wine traditions. Rinaldi would continue on as Duckhorn’s winemaker during that time, leaving in 2000 after more than 20 vintages.

After a decade, Dan slowly and meticulously began expanding the company, diversifying with the addition of several brands, including Decoy. The value-priced wine was originally a red blend; today, the label has grown to offer multiple different bottlings and is one of the most popular value brands in the marketplace. With Paraduxx, Duckhorn allowed his winemakers the freedom to explore using Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and other varietals. With Goldeneye and Migration, the focus was on cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Excited about the quality and character of Washington State wines, the company was among the first in the region to expand north when it established Canvasback in 2011. Dan was a lover of all things outdoors, especially waterfowl, and all of Duckhorn’s labels featured ducks.

Duckhorn was instrumental in broadening Napa’s reputation beyond Cabernet. He emphasized vineyard-driven quality, long-term investment and brand integrity, while showing how a winery could scale up while preserving luxury and quality through what became the Duckhorn Portfolio.

“I had the good fortune of knowing and working with Dan for over two decades, and I was able to spend some time with him these last few months. When I asked him recently what he would want to tell our employees as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the company he founded, he said, ‘Make great wine, provide great returns for your shareholders and have fun while doing it.’ Simple, but profound advice that I continue to live by,” said Duckhorn Portfolio’s chief operating officer, Zach Rasmuson, in a statement.

Over the years and through the winery’s steady expansion, Duckhorn’s Merlot bottlings remained among the leading examples from Napa Valley, even after the variety fell out of fashion—spurred in part by the famous scene in the movie Sideways, whose lead character apoplectically states he will not be drinking any Merlot. [Note: The Duckhorn Vineyards Merlot Napa Valley Three Palms Vineyard 2014 was named Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year in 2017, long after Duckhorn had moved on from the operation.]

Handing Off the Reins and Expanding a Legacy

In 2007, Duckhorn sold a controlling interest of his company to GI Partners, a private equity firm based in the San Francisco Bay Area, and left day-to-day operations, though he remained actively involved as founder and chairman of the board. The winery changed ownership again in 2016 and then went public as Duckhorn Portfolio in 2021. In 2024, it was acquired by Butterfly Equity, a Los Angeles–based private equity firm, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1.95 billion. Today the company produces an estimated 800,00 cases annually.

Always active in the wine community, Duckhorn served on the board of directors of the Wine Institute, the American Vintners Association and Family Winemakers of California. He served as president of the Napa Valley Vintners Association and the Wine Service Cooperative and is a past chair of the Napa Valley Wine Auction.

Shafer called Duckhorn “passionate and fun-loving” and reflected that “he also mentored the generation that followed with wisdom, enthusiasm and joy. If there was ever a Mt. Rushmore of American wine, he would deserve a place on it.”

In addition to his wife, Nancy Andrus Duckhorn, Duckhorn is survived by his three children, John Duckhorn, David Duckhorn and Kellie Duckhorn; a stepdaughter, Nicole Andrus; nine grandchildren; and two siblings. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the California Waterfowl Association.

—With reporting by James Molesworth