Dunites Grenache Rosé San Luis Obispo 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.

The 2024 Grenache Rosé is a bottle that carries this ethos to its fullest. Crafted from hand-selected vineyards across the SLO Coast, it balances delicacy with depth, charm with backbone. While many rosés are made to be fleeting—pretty in the glass, then gone—this one lingers. The color is a pale, sunlit pink. On the nose, there’s wild strawberries, white peach, and a touch of citrus blossom. But stay a little longer and you’ll find something savory, a faint echo of sea spray and crushed stone, reminders of the vineyards’ maritime roots. On the palate, the wine is taut and refreshing, carried by a fine line of acidity that stretches into a clean, mineral finish. It’s a wine that feels as much about texture and energy as it does about fruit.

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.