Toby Turlay and Chris Dukelow of Ducleaux Cellars
Toby Turlay and Chris Dukelow met on Match.com at a time when nobody admitted such a thing. He had 3 sons and a daughter, and she had two daughters, and the new blended family called for lots of blended red wine. They started making wine in their Issaquah garage, and still refer to their winery as a garagiste, though it has a new home. In 2018, they purchased 10 acres in the Rocks District of Milton Freewater that came with a 1920s craftsman-style house requiring lots of vision. They went to work on the house, the Belle Roche estate vineyard, and a winery facility that are now Ducleaux Cellars. The name is a play on Chris’ last name Dukelow, and a reflection of Toby’s and Chris’ French roots. They even have a bilingual English/French website and a Huguenot cross on their labels.
The couple decided early on that separate roles at the winery were essential, so Toby is the chief winemaker and Chris assists with tasks at the winery, while spending lots of time with visitors in the tasting room. They have a passion for sparkling and Rhone wines, and so most of their wines are made in these two styles. The sparkling wines are pet-nats made with diverse grape varieties, including Grenache, Roussane, Cinsaut, and Dolcetto. The Dolcetto pet-nat was made secretly by Chris and appropriately named “I’m Already Sorry.” This Ducleaux wine name and many others such as Anarchy, Raucous, One Night Stand, and Love and Chaos reflect the humor and back story that underlie everything about Ducleaux Cellars. As they say on their website, we make “Serious wine…handcrafted by not so serious people.” Listen to the interview to learn about the serious wines, fascinating back stories, and much more.
Listen to the Interview: