About Us
Making wine since
2011
Duo was started in 2011 by Mark Tillinger and Nathan Churchill. Mark and Nate were high school buds in Dunwoody, Ga. and college roommates at Vanderbilt University. After graduating in 1981, Nate moved to Brazil to pursue wine, women and samba while Mark embarked on a high powered career in consultancy.
Over the subsequent years Nate got involved in the Brazilian wine industry selling oak barrels and Mark became a wine expert through all his world travels. During a trip to Tuscany and inspired by several glasses of Brunello, Mark and Nate decided to put their common love of wine to work and the Duo Wine Company was formed.
Duo’s concept is simple: Seek out the best, most emblematic grapes from each region and combine them with the best 100% new barrels available, then let time work its magic.
Duo initially partnered to produce its first wines with Polkura, a Chilean winery in the heart of the the Colchagua Valley. With Polkura, Duo produced Cabernet Sauvignon wines in 2011, 2012 and 2013, all under the Duo label. The 2012 release was awarded a 90 by Wine Spectator.
Following a three year hiatus, Mark and Nate pivoted and partnered up with Alchemy Winery located in the heart of the Almahue Valley (itself a part of the Cachapoal Valley wine region). The first wines resulting from the Alchemy partnership are a wonderful 2019 Carmenere called Dueto (Flextank aged), and a barrel aged Duo Carmenere and Duo Cabernet Sauvignon (100% new Taransaud French Oak barrels). Duo has also launched a couple of Californian wines, a 2020 Zinfandel (100% new François Frères French Oak barrels) and a 2020 Cabernet Franc (100% new Canton Grand Cru American Oak barrels) from California’s historic Cienega Valley wine region, part of a partnership with DeRose Winery.
