Winemaker
In 2022 after Trione’s 17th vintage, they welcomed John Duckett as head winemaker. Although John has yet to have a Trione harvest under his belt, he is highly regarded and has already been very busy implementing measures of quality improvement in the cellar.
John is a native to Sonoma County and turned a passion for gardening and science into a career in winemaking. A competitive swimmer, John went to UC Davis to be on the swim team but he soon decided to shift gears and focus on academics. He explored enology and viticulture and after just one class he was hooked.
Seeking experience, John interned at J Winery and Korbel Winery during the summers and headed to Delegat Wine Estate in New Zealand after graduation. Returning home, John was offered the position of enologist at Jordan Winery, further increasing his knowledge of fermentation science and soil mapping. In 2016, John was named assistant winemaker for Jordan where he expanded his winemaking repertoire making Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.
True to his gardening roots, John's style is to showcase the fruit by gently elevating the natural aromas and flavors that come directly from the terroir. He believes when you have top tier fruit, all that is needed is a healthy ferment and subtle enhancements from quality oak aging. This allows the varietals to stay true to their character and the place from which they originate. John looks forward to working closely with vineyard manager Kris Hicks to further fine tune fruit selections for Trione.
When he is not at the winery, John and his wife Tanya are chasing around their two boys Callan and Harrison and dog Shaina, while working in his large, regenerative garden. John has emphasized native plants for pollinators, no till gardening and uses no chemical fertilizers. Amongst his garden John has 19 fruit trees of all different varieties along with two beehives to look after.
John is thrilled to join the winemaking team as Trione’s head winemaker and to continue the brand's legacy of producing award winning, fine wines from carefully selected blocks at estate vineyards in Sonoma County.
