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02/10/2026

Who is behind DuWest Wines?

The team behind DuWest Wines is husband-wife duo Helen West and Casey Duncan.

A geologist by training, Casey fell in love with w**e during graduate school. His natural love of the land (especially 🪨 rocks), and science led to a very nerdy and precise style of w**emaking and in 2024 Casey started his first commercial production.

Helen met Casey in 2021, and has been along for the ride ever since. Not nearly as scientific, Helen is taking over the marketing and sales for the company and brings an admirable community-oriented mindset to our Cortez-centered w**ery. Casey and Helen married in 2023. Their last names (Duncan + West) are the inspiration behind DuWest Wines, celebrating their relationship and the love of everything “DuWest of the Rocky Mountains!”

🐾 Fun fact: Helen and Casey are proud cat parents of Mister PC and Joey, whose images are featured on the “PJ” label!

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27/09/2026

Sit, Stay, Rosé!

What’s in a name? This limited-edition label for the 2025 Rosé 🌹of Cabernet Franc was created for the dog-themed “Wags and Wine” 🐾 event hosted by The ZU on September 5th in . The event raised over $4,000 for For Pets' Sake Humane Society a humanitarian animal rescue based in Cortez. 🐈🐕

Maybe we should do more of what we so often say to our four-legged, furry friends and learn to “Sit, Stay, Rosé!”

31/01/2026

Up next for bottling is the 2024 Syrah-Viognier blend! After spending a year and a day in new French oak barrels, this w**e has developed a beautiful deep color, enchanting aroma, and dark fruity character that will pair amazingly with food! I’m thinking a ribeye steak with Gorgonzola-walnut butter and a buttery, fluffy/buttery baked potato will do nicely (I am from Idaho, after all). This w**e is all the more special given all the people that helped to get it to where it is now!

21/01/2026

Some very exciting happenings in the w**ery over the last several months! To say that making w**e/running a business while working a full time geology job in another state is a challenge is a huge understatement, but w**es are coming along nicely, from both the ‘24 and ‘25 vintages!

Photo 1: A beautiful rainbow of w**e colors showing the range in w**e styles in progress. From left to right: deep red/purple of the 2024 Syrah-Viognier co-ferment that will likely go into bottle in February or March; deep salmon to pink of the 2025 Rosé of Cabernet Franc; deep gold to amber of the 2024 Rkatsiteli Amber Reserve w**e; and the golden color of the 2025 Montezuma County Riesling that I’m making into a sparkling w**e in the Martinotti Method! All Colorado and all delicious!

Photo 2: The labels for the 2024 Rkatsiteli made in both white and amber versions have been approved and I’m moving forward with getting them printed ahead of their release in the next couple of months! The labels are a graphical abstract of how each w**e was made, since these two w**es started as the same harvest of grapes and tasting them side-by-side really showcases the role that w**emaking plays in determining what ends up in the bottle. Stay tuned in the coming months as I hope to start selling these w**es soon!

Photo 3: Please forgive the goofy grin, but I am ecstatic that my first w**e from grapes grown in Montezuma County is now officially in the bottle! It was a lot of work, but with the help of friends the end result was 25 cases of a Chardonnay-Pinot Noir field blend being made in the Traditional Method for sparkling w**e. The w**e will stay in the w**ery for about another year, where a second fermentation will happen in the bottle to carbonate the w**e and layer in additional complex aromas and flavors. The name of this w**e is the Cortez Cuvée and I’m very to get to make a sparkling w**e from amazing local grapes grown at Hawks’ Nest Vineyard near Dolores!

We still have a lot of work ahead of us to get w**es finished, bottled, labeled, and released, but stay tuned for some delicious and nerdy w**es to be available soon!

**e **ery **e **emaking

02/06/2025

I’m very excited to share that after several months of behind-the-scenes work, the very first vintage of DuWest Wines is starting to go into bottle! It’s such a rewarding feeling to finally get to hold a bottled w**e! The white version of the 2024 Rkatsiteli from Grand Valley, CO, has turned out quite lovely and perfect for sipping this summer! All that’s left to do is get labels finished and put on the bottle, and next to bottle is the amber version of the same Rkatsiteli and the Montezuma County Sparkling Apple w**e! Stay tuned, we’ve got some delicious w**es coming soon! **e **ery

26/04/2025

It’s always a relief when the vines finally emerge from their winter sleep! This little Cabernet Franc vine is entering its second year in Colorado, so we’re a couple years away from any w**es from this vine, but with luck (and water!) it’ll develop a good sturdy trunk this year!

03/11/2024

It’s been a great few days for DuWest Wines! We had a blast at our launch party, graciously hosted by the wonderful where we got to share some very hard won progress on the w**ery! Thank you all that came! Then yesterday, my Dad (thanks, Dad!) helped me to get the 2024 Syrah-Viognier into the barrels! Only a few minor spills, so my beautiful-new barrels are now simply beautiful-stained barrels from the incredible color of the w**e! These barrels are specially made from French oak for Rhône-style blends so I’m excited to see how the w**e evolves over the next year or two before release! A reminder that we have a Kickstarter going to help fund needed equipment and materials to get this w**e (and some other very exciting w**es) into the bottle, then into your glass! You can find the link to the Kickstarter in our bio. Many thanks to everyone that has shared the Kickstarter and for those that have backed the project!

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28/10/2024

Some really fun things happening with the w**ery this week!:

1. On Friday Nov 1, we’re throwing a party at to celebrate the w**ery and to officially launch our Kickstarter campaign! So, if you’re in Cortez, CO, stop by Zu Gallery between 6-9pm for free food, tastes of some w**es, great live music, and to see the progress we’ve made on the w**ery so far! We might even have samples of the ’24 vintage!
2. We’re getting the secondary fermentation going for our Montezuma County Sparkling Apple w**e to add the bubbles! We’ll be using the Charmat Method (aka Martinotti Method) so as to preserve more of the fruity/apply character of the w**e while giving it a softer carbonation as compared to traditional method.
3. The Syrah/Viognier will be transferred this Saturday to the barrels! We’re using 100% new French oak from the forest l’Allier and made by a cooperage in Burgundy. The tight grain of this particular oak and the toast of the barrel are specifically meant for Rhone blends, perfect for this w**e. We’re so excited to finally see w**e in these barrels!

More details about the launch party and the Kickstarter can be found by clicking the links in the bio. We hope to see you at the party!

**e **ery **elover ,

24/10/2024

“No man is an island”, and while the w**ery is technically a single member LLC, the DuWest operation is not even close to a solo venture. I am indebted to some amazing people that have helped make this crazy dream a reality! There are so many people to sincerely thank for their help: friends and family who helped plant the vineyard last year, friends that helped with w**ery renovations, friends and family who have lugged buckets of grapes and washed tanks, and friends and colleagues who have offered help and support and have even let me borrow key equipment!

And, of course, for too many reasons to list within the character limit I couldn’t have done this without my wonderful wife (she also runs her own small business .tours which you should follow and take a sunrise tour or a ghost tour!). Since she is such a community-minded person, she is the driving force behind our Kickstarter campaign, and she has done an amazing job, as always! I’m so grateful to have her support. And she even let me take over our detached garage to renovate into the w**ery facility!

In the vein of not going at it alone, we have launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund needed equipment and supplies to finish the 2024 vintage and ultimately get it to your glass! Your support now will help get w**es released in Spring/Summer 2025! And most importantly, the campaign really is meant to build community and excitement for some good, local w**e! Please consider supporting our project and share with friends, and join our email list by going to duwestw**es.com to keep up to date w**e releases and with activity in the w**ery and vineyard! You can find the Kickstarter here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/helentwest/duwest-w**es or click on the link in the bio!

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81321

Website

http://duwestwines.com/

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