Darioush Winery - Definitely Worth A Visit

One of the most fascinating wineries we visited in California in October was Darioush Winery (http://www.darioush.com/)/ A visit to Darioush is a real trip - its architecture and atmosphere are extraordinary; ithas good wines; it is very popular, and the prices of its tastings are on the high side.

Darioush is the Persian word for Darius. The winery was founded and is owned by Darioush Khaledi, an Iranian-American. He grew up in the Iranian region of Shiraz - an area that used to produce wines before the 1979 revolution.

Khaledi was educated in Iran as a civil engineer. He immigrated to the US in 1976. He and his brother-in-law started, K.V. Mart, a chain of supermarkets that has over 20 markets. He is currently the CEO.

The winery is a huge stone structure which is architecturally very interesting. Its design was influenced by the palace of Persian Emperor Darius the Great at Persepolis near Shiraz in Iran. The palace was built in the late 6^th Century B.C. The yellow stone used in the building was quarried near Persepolis.

In front of the winery are 16 columns that are 18’ tall. At the tops of the columns are double bulls. They are copies of the columns from the Palace of Darius the Great. While at the Louvre last summer, I saw the real thing.

 The Palace of Darioush the Winery King

 A Capital from a Real Column, at the Louvre

The Persian influence continues inside the tasting room. Inter alia, there were life-size sculptures of Persian warriors.

 

Persian Warriors in the Tasting Room

The winery building was designed by talented Iranian-American architects Ardeshir and Roshan Nozari.

The tasting room was large, classy, beautiful and very busy.

The Tasting Room

The tastings cost $18 for two wines or $35 for five wines. We chose to share a $35 tasting. There were only five wines on the tasting menu - four reds and one white. We rated the wines very nice or excellent:

- 2009 Signature Chardonnay - very nice - $43

- 2008 Signature Merlot, 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc - very nice - $46

- 2007 Duel - Cabernet/Shiraz, 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Shiraz - excellent - $48. This wine is only sold at the winery.

- 2006 Signature Cabernet Sauvignon, 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec - very nice - $88

- 2008 Signature Cabernet Sauvignon, 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 4% Malbec - very nice - $88

While the wines were very good, I would not buy them because I think I can find wines I like more at a lower price.

With reference to the Shiraz grape, there are claims and counterclaims on where the grape originated. Some believe it originated in Iran and others that it originated in France. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrah#The_name_Shiraz). No matter, it produces wonderful wines.

With our tastings came a bowl of tasty pistachios. Pistachios originated in Iran. In the U.S., they are grown in California.

The winery has the typical shop with books, wine accessories, etc. Some of the items are different than those usually found at such shops. For example, there was an interesting book entitled, “From Persia to Napa: Wine at the Persian Table.” I bought a more pedestrian item - a Darioush hat for $21.55.

As a side note, California has a very large population of Iranian-Americans. Los Angeles has an estimated 700,000 - 800,000. There are so many that Los Angeles is called Tehrangeles by some.