Winemaking

In 2014, after more than a decade as a member of the Duckhorn Vineyards winemaking team, Renée Ary was named the fourth winemaker in Duckhorn’s history. In the years since, Renée has emerged as one of the finest winemakers of her generation and a leader in the Napa Valley wine community. With an approach that combines the detail-oriented precision of a scientist, the intuitive, sensory-driven style of an artist and a deep respect for the viticultural side of winemaking, Renée is widely recognized for producing many of the finest wines in Duckhorn’s storied history, including Wine Spectator’s “2017 Wine of the Year,” and Wine Enthusiast’s “2023 Wine of the Year.”

Raised on the East Coast, Renée moved to California to attend Saint Mary’s College where she earned a degree in chemistry and art. After graduation, Renée spent four years at Robert Mondavi Winery, where she worked alongside winemaking luminary Genevieve Janssens. Fascinated by the intersection between science and art, winemaking quickly became Renée’s passion, and she augmented her scholarly understanding of enology and viticulture through classes at UC Davis and Napa Valley College.

After joining Duckhorn Vineyards in 2003, Renée learned “the Duckhorn way” working alongside her two winemaking predecessors. She quickly emerged as an invaluable member of the team and a rising star, rapidly rising through the ranks from assistant winemaker to associate winemaker before being named winemaker in 2014. In 2017, Renée caught lightning in a bottle when her debut 2014 vintage of the Duckhorn Vineyards Three Palms Vineyard Merlot was named “Wine of the Year” by Wine Spectator—an honor that announced Renée’s arrival as a winemaking powerhouse, while cementing Duckhorn’s reputation as the New World’s greatest Merlot producer.

Since the inaugural 2012 vintage of Duckhorn’s Napa Valley Chardonnay, Renée has carefully guided the wine’s stylistic evolution, with a focus on harvesting earlier, refinements to the barrel program and seeking out the finest growers and appellation for Chardonnay. Alongside her handpicked winemaking team, many of whom have worked with her for over a decade, Renée has further elevated Duckhorn’s Cabernet Sauvignon to world-class levels. She has achieved this by focusing on crafting texturally driven, terroir-inspired wines from a vineyard program that includes nine renowned estate sites and enduring relationships with premier growers in Napa Valley’s most prestigious sub-AVAs.

For Renée and her team, this means an artisanal approach that includes performing hundreds of small fermentations each vintage to preserve the charm and character of each site. As a testament to Renée’s focus on elevating Duckhorn’s Cabernet Sauvignons to the same stature as the winery’s famed Merlots, the 2019 Duckhorn Vineyards Monitor Ledge Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon was selected as the #1 wine on Wine Enthusiast’s 2023 list of Top 100 Wines.

In 2019, in recognition of her empowering leadership style, winemaking artistry and innumerable contributions to The Duckhorn Portfolio’s success, Renée was named Vice President of Winemaking, Napa Valley.