Table of Contents

Dan Duckhorn, BS 60, MBA 62, Famed winemaker

In Memoriam

By

Haas Staff

Person in a plaid shirt stands in front of a row of barrels.


Dan Duckhorn, the founder of Duckhorn Vineyards who was dubbed the “king of American merlot” by the San Francisco Chronicle, died in February of congestive heart failure. He was 87. Duckhorn opened his vineyard with his late ex-wife in 1976 and is credited with helping put Napa Valley on the map as the destination for American wines. A trip to Bordeaux, France, endeared the Duckhorns to merlot and led them to buck the trend of fellow Napa vintners focusing on cabernet sauvignon by introducing merlot into their product line. The decision triggered a nationwide obsession with the varietal and made Duckhorn Vineyards one of Napa Valley’s most internationally recognized wineries. After 30 years of success, the Duckhorn family sold the vineyard to a private equity firm in 2007. 

In Memoriam

Marcia Commins, BS 45

Paul Kadden, BS 45

Nelda Wicklund, BS 47

Arthur Riklin, BS 48

Theodore Saenger, BS 51

Edmund Green, BS 52

Robert Fisher, BS 53

David Dezell, BS 56

Robert Fitzgerald, BS 57

James Nitsos, BS 57

Robert Fraser, BS 58

Dave Cushway, BS 60

Chen Wang, MBA 60

William Cuneo, MBA 61

Lynn Crystal, BS 62

John Roper, BS 62

Samuel Welles, BS 62

Paul Zitlau, MBA 62

Michael Wood, BS 63

Robert Ilgen, MBA 64

Hans Lindholm, BS 65

David Wilson, MBA 65

Timothy Robbins, BS 71

Linda McCoy, MBA 71

Ronald Kojima, BS 75

Michael Geltz, BS 76

John Kinsella, BS 82

George Anderson, MBA 83

Robert Calix, BS 85

Scott Adams, MBA 86

Katie Coughlin, MBA 97

Masanobu Idehara, MBA 02

Joseph Tambornino, MBA 02

Bhavik Joshi, BCEMBA 08

Larry Lollar, Former Staff

Guy Chapman, Friend

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