Darioush – A Persian Paradise in Napa

A BIT OF HISTORY

Darioush Winery is a great example of what happens when you follow your passion and turn a dream into a reality. Darioush Khaledi grew up in the Shiraz region of Iran, where Syrah originated. As a young boy, he would sneak sips from the barrels of his father’s hobby wines. As a young man, he began collecting fine wines. Today he is recognized as one of the top wine collectors in the US. Darioush made quite a journey, both literally and figuratively, to achieve his dream of opening a winery and creating his own handcrafted wines.

In 1968, Darioush graduated from Tehran Polytechnic with a master’s degree in civil engineering.  In 1976, at the age of 30, he immigrated to Los Angeles with his family. He and his brother-in-law joined forces and opened a 14,000 square-foot grocery store, Top Valu Market. Today, they own one of the largest independent grocery store chains with 25 stores serving the Southern California market.

In 1997, Darioush Winery was founded on a 115-acre Napa Valley estate. In 2004, the winery opened its magnificent 22,000 square foot Visitor Center, modeled after the ancient capital city of Persepolis, a nod to Darioush’s Persian roots.

Darioush Winery produces 20,000 cases a year. The winery focuses on limited production “old world” style wines and features the Signature Cabernet Sauvignon as the cornerstone of their production. Darioush wines are sold direct to the consumer at the winery and online. Additionally, the wines are featured at a select number of restaurants and retailers.

THE EXPERIENCE

John and I visited Darioush on a Tuesday with our friend Garrett (another Sommelier classmate). We were helping Garrett move to Napa to begin his “vinternship” at The French Laundry and used the trip as an excuse to visit a few wineries along the way. 

Talk about a grand entrance – the long driveway led us through the gate, past the vineyards to the massive structure of Persian travertine, featuring sculpted columns and fountains. After taking a dozen (or more) photos, we made our way to the entrance of the Visitor Center. Walking into Darioush Winery, we were captivated by the large interior space. At the center was a large granite bar with four counters.  The front counter served as the hospitality area. The other three counters had high bar chairs for tasting. In the center of the bar was an island that featured a stunning arrangement of daffodils and greenery. Around the perimeter of the bar were alcoves of glass tables, couches and chairs to sit and enjoy the wines and the atmosphere in the Visitor Center. Behind the central bar were stairs and an elevator leading down to the Barrel Chai, where the red wines age in French oak barrels. Past the stairs is the Fermentation Tank Room featuring floor-to-ceiling glass to view the stainless steel tanks.

  

Ricardo welcomed us as we entered the Visitor Center. He gave us a tasting menu so that we could choose either the Signature Flight ($25 for a tasting of four Signature wines: 2008 Chardonnay, 2008 Cabernet Franc, 2007 Merlot, 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon) or the Amuse Flight ($12 for the 2008 Signature Chardonnay and the 2007 Duel, a Cabernet/Shiraz blend). They will waive each tasting fee with a two-bottle purchase.

The bar was a bit crowded so Ricardo directed us to one of the corner seating areas. These areas are typically reserved in advance for a tableside host-guided portfolio tasting. What’s nice about the tableside tasting is that there is no additional fee other than the standard tasting fee – and you get a host to pour at your table. Ricardo started us off with the 2009 Signature Viognier and a bowl of roasted pistachio nuts.  The Viognier had a bright, crisp flavor and paired well with the salty pistachios – it was a really nice way to start our tasting experience.  Darioush imports the pistachios from Persian producers and sells them by the bag at the Visitor Center and online.

The three of us decided to go for the Signature Flight. I whined a bit because I love blends and really wanted to try the 2007 Duel. Darioush Winery is one of those places where the tasting room hosts take pride in their wines and are willing to pour off of the tasting menu. The Duel delivered a harmonious blend of the two varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz with earthiness, chocolate, red fruit and spicy flavors.

After we tasted the Viognier, Chardonnay and the Duel, the bar cleared out and we were able to move over to high bar chairs. I prefer to sit at the tasting bar to be in the middle of the action and to see everything that’s going on in the room. Ricardo took a break and Aida came over to pour for us. After seeing our enthusiastic response to the wines, Aida also poured off of the menu. In addition to the Duel, my favorite wines were the 2008 Cabernet Franc, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2008 Signature Shiraz and the 2008 Capataz Malbec. The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon is the flagship wine at Darioush Winery. It’s a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Malbec. With aromas of blackberry and chocolate, it tastes of cherry, berry and mocha. It’s a really intriguing wine in that it’s both smooth and savory with a lovely finish.

I cannot say enough about the tasting room hosts at Darioush Winery. Ricardo was warm and welcoming. Aida was funny and engaging – and she made Garrett feel like a part of the community by sharing insider tips and recommendations for places to go and people to meet. Darioush, the founder, stopped by the tasting room to greet a few VIPs. While he was there, Aida made sure he came over to the bar to meet us and to sign our bottles of Signature Cabernet Sauvignon.

TOURS AND TIDBITS

In addition to the Signature and Amuse tastings, Darioush Winery offers special tasting experiences each day. There’s a 90-minute wine & artisan cheese pairing at 2:00pm in the Barrel Chai ($50/guest), a 120-minute wine experience called “By Invitation Only” at 11:00am that features limited-release wines and small bites ($150/guest). For a one-of-a-kind opportunity, you can schedule a 120-minute “Quintessential Wine Experience” to visit Darioush Khaledi’s private wine cellar, select a bottle from his collection of Bordeaux, and taste it alongside Darioush wines and small plates ($300/guest).

OTHER DETAILS 

Darioush

4240 Silverado Trail, Napa, CA 94558

707.257.2345

Visitor Center hours: 10:30am to 5:00pm daily

Tours are available by appointment only

Trefethen Family Vineyards – One Family. One Estate. One Passion.

A BIT OF HISTORY

Gene and Catherine Trefethen moved to Napa Valley in 1968 and created a 600-acre wine estate by purchasing six small farms and the old 1886 Eshcol Winery. Gene’s son, John, and daughter-in law, Janet, produced their first commercial vintage in the renovated winery in 1973. More than 40 years later, Trefethen Vineyards has a few notable distinctions. It continues to be a family business with John running the winery, Janet managing all marketing efforts, and their children, Loren and Hailey, working at the winery full time. In 1988, the winery was recognized as a National Historic Landmark. And Trefethen is one of the only American wineries that has never purchased a single outside grape to make its wines.

THE EXPERIENCE

Trefethen is one of those wineries you need to plug into the GPS navigation system – it’s on Oak Knoll Avenue off of Highway 29 in Napa. If you're not looking for the road sign, it's easy to miss. Once you turn onto Oak Knoll, you need to do a series of left turns to get to the winery parking lot. It’s a beautiful drive and worth the extra five minutes. The driveway runs through the middle of the vineyards and ends at the historic winery and tasting room.

John and I visited Trefethen on a Saturday with two of his friends from the sommelier course, Frank and Mark. We got to the winery at about 10:15am – it was right after they opened, so there were only a few other visitors. As we entered the lobby, we were welcomed by three of the tasting room staff. One of the associates, Keith, took us around the corner and into the tasting room. Keith is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, NY and is planning to take the sommelier exam so there was a lot of discussion about the test and how everyone was preparing for it. As a professionally trained chef, Keith also does a lot of Trefethen’s food / wine pairings and events (Twilight at Trefethen) – some of his recipes and pairing recommendations sounded amazing. Keith was friendly, really knowledgeable about the wines, and passionate about how food and wine go together to provide the ultimate tasting experience.  

The Trefethen tasting room was warm and inviting with lots of wood and deep red hues.  It was decorated for the holidays with twinkle lights, Christmas trees and holiday displays. I really liked the tasting room because it felt roomy and relaxed. There were two bars at different ends, as well as a few overstuffed chairs and some barrel tables (wine barrels turned into high cocktail tables). While the tasting room filled up, the variety of bar and seating options enabled everyone to spread out and enjoy the wines with their friends and family. Additionally, there was a really pretty side room set up for private tastings.

The tasting room features a “tasting passport” of two options – an Estate Tasting and a Winemaker’s Reserve Tasting. The Estate Tasting is $10 and you choose four wines from a total of eight featured wines (the tasting wines that day included a 2009 Dry Riesling, 2008 Chardonnay, 2008 Viognier, 2008 Quandary – a white blend, 2007 Cabernet Franc, 2006 Merlot, 2007 Double T Red – a “Bordeaux blend”, and a 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon). The Winemaker’s Reserve Tasting is $25 and includes a selection of five special, limited release wines (our featured wines included a 2007 Harmony Chardonnay, 2008 Pinot Noir, 2007 Dragon’s Tooth, 2002 Library Cabernet, 2006 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon).

Sometimes it pays to hang out with the sommelier guys as Keith poured wines for us from both tasting options. My favorite wines were the 2007 Dragon’s Tooth, the 2002 Library Cabernet and the 2006 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.  Dragon’s Tooth is a blend of 61% Malbec, 22% Petit Verdot, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc. It’s got a deep purple color and aromas of berries, cherries and chocolate. In addition to the jammy fruit, it tastes of oak, nutmeg, chocolate and spices – the Petit Verdot gives it a nice peppery kick. Yum.

During our tasting, Keith treated us to a private tour of the barrel room and the historic production area.  When John and Janet Trefethen restored the winery, they kept the Eshcol winery’s original de-stemmer/crusher and the gravity-flow system. Trefethen was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as the only 19^th-century wooden gravity-flow winery in Napa Country. The barrel room is gorgeous with its casks and painted barrels that are used to age the winery’s Bordeaux variety red wines.  

TOURS AND TIDBITS
In addition to the Estate and Reserve tastings, Trefethen offers tours and special tastings.  There’s a 30-minute winery tour daily at 10:30am and includes a tasting of the current releases ($25/guest) and a “Twilight at Trefethen” event on Friday evenings at 6pm that features a private reception, winery tour and barrel tastings ($100/guest). 

OTHER DETAILS

Trefethen Family Vineyards
1160 Oak Knoll Avenue, Napa, CA 94558
707.255.7700 / 866.895.7696
Wine tasting hours: 10:00am to 4:30pm daily
Tours by reservation: 10:30am daily