Raymond Duncan, founder of Silver Oak Cellars, dies at 84

Raymond Twomey Duncan, a onetime Colorado oil prospector who later founded Silver Oak Cellars in Napa and Sonoma counties and helped make cabernet sauvignon the premier varietal on the North Coast, died Friday in Denver.

He was 84 and died after a recent illness, said his son, David Duncan, president and chief executive officer of Silver Oak.

Duncan, who had a home in Oakville, was known locally for founding Silver Oak in 1972 after purchasing several vineyards in Napa Valley and the Alexander Valley. His original goal was to sell the grapes to wineries, but after meeting with winemaker Justin Meyer, they decided over a case of beer and a handshake to start Silver Oak.

The two focused on a single variety of grape — cabernet sauvignon — which at the time was unique, since most wineries offered a selection of different varietals. Silver Oak also stood out among smaller wineries by having a presence in both Sonoma and Napa counties, making blends from fruit grown on its estate vineyards in both valleys as well as grapes farmed by other local growers. The winery sells its wine under both appellations.

In 1999, Duncan and his sons David, Tim, Kevin and Michael founded Twomey Cellars, which focuses on other varietals such as merlot, pinot noir and sauvignon blanc.

David Duncan on Monday said his father, a former oil worker, or 'wildcatter,' and Meyer took a big risk starting a winery. They weren't able to sell the first vintage until about five years later, after it aged properly.

'I think it was crazy in that day and age to do it ... it was such a long production cycle,' David Duncan said. 'I think it was definitely the wildcatter part of him.'

Duncan got involved in the wine business after being enamored with Napa Valley during a 1970 visit with college friends Jack and Mary Novak, founders of the Spottswoode Winery.

'Don't go to Napa in the springtime; you will buy too much land,' he later recalled.

Before entering the wine business, Duncan found success in the oil industry, founding Duncan Oil Co., and also started Purgatory Resort, a ski resort in Durango, Colo.

He was born in South Bend, Ind., and attended nearby Notre Dame University, graduating in 1952. In 2008, he endowed a men's residence hall at the university and this year, Notre Dame broke ground on the Duncan Student Center — a nine-story, 400,000-square-foot facility scheduled to be completed in 2017 — that the family helped fund.

A Korean War veteran, Duncan is survived by his wife, Sally; his four sons; a stepson, Michael Folwell; a stepdaughter, Karen Watson; and 16 grandchildren.