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Raymond Twomey Duncan (October 23, 1930 – October 9, 2015) known as Ray Duncan was an American entrepreneur and vintner. Originally involved in oil entrepreneurship in Colorado and founder of Duncan Oil, he was the founder along with
Justin Meyer Justin Meyer (born Raymond Meyer, 11 November 19386 August 2002) was an American vintner, enologist, and member of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, Christian Brothers. He was the founder along with Raymond Twomey Duncan of S ...
of Silver Oak Cellars in 1972, a successful winery based in the
Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Napa County, California. The area was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on February 27, 1981, after a 1978 petition submitted by the Napa Valley Vin ...
and
Alexander Valley The Alexander Valley (Wappo language, Wappo: Unutsawaholmanoma, "Toyon Bush Berry Place") is a Californian (wine), Californian American Viticultural Area (AVA) just north of Healdsburg, California, Healdsburg in Sonoma County (wine), Sonoma County ...
. Today his sons David Duncan and Tim Duncan run Silver Oak Cellars, as well as Twomey Cellars. Duncan established the Durango Mountain "Purgatory" Ski Resort in 1965 and was chairman of the board for the ski industry organization Colorado Ski Country USA. He was inducted into the
Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame The Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame is a museum and hall of fame for notable figures in skiing and snowboarding, including athletes and sport builders. It has been in Vail, Colorado, at the Vail Transportation Center since 1992. Exhibits ...
in 2006. Raymond T. Duncan was inducted into the Colorado Business Hall of Fame by Junior Achievement-Rocky Mountain and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce in 2012.


Biography

Duncan was born in Illinois in 1930. He attended the
University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...
, graduating in 1952. In 1958, Duncan moved to
Durango, Colorado Durango is the home rule city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 19,071 at the 2020 United States census. Durango is the home of Fort Lewis College ...
to aid his father in exploring oil and gas reserves. He formed Duncan Oil Inc., which moved its headquarters to
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
in 1968. In 1965, Duncan established the Durango Mountain "Purgatory" Ski Resort and was involved in the ski industry organization Colorado Ski Country USA, later becoming chairman of the board. As a result, he was inducted into the
Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame The Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame is a museum and hall of fame for notable figures in skiing and snowboarding, including athletes and sport builders. It has been in Vail, Colorado, at the Vail Transportation Center since 1992. Exhibits ...
in 2006. In the 1970s, Duncan began to buy land in both the Napa and Alexander Valleys with the goal of planting vineyards and growing and selling grapes; he had no original intentions of entering the winery business. Duncan approached
Justin Meyer Justin Meyer (born Raymond Meyer, 11 November 19386 August 2002) was an American vintner, enologist, and member of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, Christian Brothers. He was the founder along with Raymond Twomey Duncan of S ...
, whom he'd met through mutual friends, and asked him to plant and manage his vineyards. Meyer agreed to manage his vineyards, but he also wanted to create a winery. Duncan agreed and Silver Oak was established in 1972. Named after its location between Oakville and the Silverado Trail in
Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Napa County, California. The area was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on February 27, 1981, after a 1978 petition submitted by the Napa Valley Vin ...
, Duncan and Meyer's vision for Silver Oak was to devote all their resources to producing a single wine – Cabernet Sauvignon. Silver Oak remains true to that vision today. In 1972, Duncan purchased a dairy farm in Oakville, Napa Valley, which is the site where the Silver Oak Napa Valley winery stands today. It was on this dairy farm in 1972 where Silver Oak's first vintage was produced using grapes from Silver Oak's Alexander Valley vineyards. Duncan and Meyer made the decision to produce only Cabernet Sauvignon and to attempt to produce the finest in the world, to age the wine exclusively in American oak barrels for 25 months and for an additional 15–20 months in bottle prior to release. Silver Oak produced 1,100 cases of 1972 North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon, Silver Oak's first wine. That same year, Duncan and Meyer began planting Silver Oak's first Napa Valley vineyard. Seven years later, Silver Oak harvested the grapes for the company's first Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Growth of the company from 1977 onwards enabled Silver Oak to purchase further vineyards in the 1980s and early 1990s, becoming one of the most successful Cabernet Sauvignon brands of the 1980s. In January 2001, co-founder Justin Meyer sold his share of the company to Ray Duncan. In 1998, Duncan was named Wildcatter of the Year by the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States, and in 2004 was inducted into the Rocky Mountain Oil & Gas Hall of Fame. In 2012, Duncan was inducted into the Colorado Business Hall of Fame and is also an inductee in the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. He has been involved in numerous philanthropic pursuits, including his alma mater, the University of Notre Dame, which named
Duncan Hall Duncan Hall (24 August 192518 January 2011) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s, singled out as having been amongst the greatest of the 20th century. He played in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership fo ...
(a men's dormitory) and the Duncan Student Center after him, and has provided investment into the
Crow Canyon Archaeological Center Crow Canyon Archaeological Center is a research center and "living classroom" located in southwestern Colorado, US, which offers experiential education programs for students and adults. Crow Canyon is a center for archaeological research, educ ...
near
Cortez, Colorado Cortez () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home-rule municipality that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Montezuma County, Colorado, United States. The ci ...
, the
Denver Art Museum The Denver Art Museum (DAM) is an art museum located in the Civic Center of Denver, Colorado. With an encyclopedic collection of more than 70,000 diverse works from across the centuries and world, the DAM is one of the largest art museums betwe ...
, and Castle Pines Golf Club, of which he founded. On October 9, 2015, Duncan died in Denver at the age of 84.


Family business and legacy

Duncan has four sons, Michael, Kevin, Tim, and David. David Duncan is President and CEO of Duncan Oil Inc., and Silver Oak, and
Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Sp ...
is Silver Oak's Vice President. Both serve as managing Partners for the family's second winery, Twomey Cellars, which Ray Duncan founded with his four sons. Michael Duncan manages the Duncans' Diamond Tail Ranch on the
Laramie River The Laramie River is a tributary of the North Platte River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 21, 2011 in the U.S. states of Colorado and Wyomi ...
in northern Colorado and Kevin Duncan is vice president of
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
-based Duncan Oil. Pat Kettles of ''
The Anniston Star ''The Anniston Star'' is the daily newspaper serving Anniston, Alabama, and the surrounding six-county region. Average Sunday circulation in September 2004 was 26,747. However, by 2020 it was approximately half of this. The newspaper is locally ...
'' stated that Duncan is "constantly looking for ways to improve Silver Oak by acquiring properties whose fruit reflects the unique flavors of their terroir. He works to maintain vineyard properties by farming sustainably, thus preserving Silver Oak’s heritage for future generations." , Duncan was still signing autographs at Silver Oak release gatherings.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Ray 1930 births 2015 deaths American businesspeople in the oil industry American people in the wine industry People from Durango, Colorado Businesspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area Businesspeople from Indiana 20th-century American businesspeople