Napa Valley’s Darioush: Producer profile plus 10 wines tasted

Many high-end producers along Napa Valley’s storied wine routes took on wine as a second (or third) career after securing their fortunes in other lucrative fields. None of them have quite the same story as Darioush Khaledi.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 10 current releases from Napa’s Darioush

Today, Khaledi is famous for being the proprietor of Darioush, an eye-popping merger of a winery and hospitality centre he and his wife Shahpar designed.

The winery doubles as a showroom for their homeland’s Persian art and culture. It is inspired by the architecture of Persepolis, the ancient capital of the kings of Persia – specifically the 13 stone columns which still stand in the hall of King Darius I, ruler of the Achaemenid dynasty from 522-486 BC.

A wine style

Darioush sources grapes from the estate home vineyard (the oldest vines) on the southern tip of Silverado Trail, just below the Stags Leap District boundary. Fruit also comes from an Oak Knoll property planted on alluvial soils and a site planted up to 670m (2,200 feet) on Mt Veeder.

Over the years, they’ve specialised in slightly cooler sites that help to balance Napa’s natural tendency towards ripeness and intensity. Plantings include Napa staple varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Malbec, Viognier and Shiraz.

Blending is critical to creating their signature style. This activity involves Khaledi, director of winemaking Hope Goldie (formerly of Opus One), Darioush president Daniel de Polo and consultant Michel Rolland. ‘We blend complexity by site more than by varietal,’ notes Khaledi.

‘We begin with a process of elimination. At first, we’re looking for the best of Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah and so on. And when we find the best, we start to see which one, if blended, can enhance the base.’

Their focus on blends is, in many ways, a reflection of Khaledi himself. A complex blend of cultures, ideas and experiences. His long and circuitous journey from Iranian construction entrepreneur to Napa Valley vintner has been anything but predictable, adding a level of authenticity and depth to Darioush’s hospitality-focused approach and their critically acclaimed wines.

Iranian roots

Long before becoming a civil engineer in his native Iran, Khaledi (born 1 April, 1946) first encountered his homeland’s wine culture as a youth while living in the city of Ghazvin. His father – a commander in the Iranian calvary, and an occasional home winemaker – was away from home for long periods, protecting migrating tribes.

As a young man (too young to be drinking wine), Khaleldi discovered the result of drinking it, and one thing is clear: ‘My dad gave me the gift of wine,’ he says with a devilish grin. And he loves telling and re-telling the story of his first inebriated experience, which one imagines has taken on a life of its own over the years.

‘One day, I visited the big clay vat [in the family basement]. I remember there was a lot of hand-crushing and foot-stomping of grapes and fermenting and ageing it [in the vat]. My dad knew that the wine was ready when the skin cap sank. But the wine would diminish and be so far down in the vat it couldn’t be reached. So, I grabbed a towel, lowered it toward the wine, let it soak up, then wrung it out into my mouth.’

He recalls that it made him rather giddy. He invited his sister to join in the fun. ‘We both became very happy. Later on, I learned the correct way of consuming wine,’ he assured me.

As a young adult, however, wine was far from his mind. In 1964, Khaledi enrolled in Amirkabir University of Technology (AUT) – only 200 students were accepted each year out of 40,000 applicants. Khaledi was number 135 – and he graduated in July of 1968 with a master’s degree in civil engineering. Much has been written about what happened four months later. In just one day, Khaledi paid off his student loans, formed a construction company with two classmates and married Shahpar Hashemi. As the story goes, there would be no honeymooning, for the company, named Shalman-Kar, was awarded its first contract, and Khaledi set out for work.

Tumultuous times

Lucrative government contracts (hundreds of millions of dollars) poured in to build highways, tunnels, bridges, and airports across Iran. His schedule grew so hectic that he would sleep in a car while travelling between sites up to 25 days a month.

In 1976, after eight years of that gruelling schedule, he took a year-long sabbatical to America – to Redondo Beach. He bought a home near the ocean and reconnected with Shahpar. Meanwhile, reports of unrest in Iran were growing more concerning by the day, and the Khaledis postponed their return home.

By the end of 1978, the changing political tides led to an uprising. In 1979, the world witnessed the overthrow of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, the collapse of the government, and a shift from monarchical rule to the Islamic Republic, led by conservative religious rebels who formed a theocratic government.

Because Khaledi’s construction business held lucrative government contracts, the rebels considered him and his business partners friends of the Shah – and their enemies. Khaledi contends he never met the Shah. The insurgent rebels didn’t care for details and began making demands that they give money back. Things got worse.

He made the life-altering choice not to return but to make America his new home.

Darioush at a glance

Winery established Khaledi purchased the 13ha (33 acre) property in 1998; doors opened in 2004

Grapes planted Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Shiraz

Winemakers Steve Devitt (1998-2018), founding winemaker and director of viticulture; Hope Goldie (2005-present) joined Darioush as oenologist, becoming director of winemaking after Devitt retired; Michel Rolland (2013-present), consultant

Annual production 300,000 bottles

An American success story

‘I don’t know if you ever can imagine when all of a sudden you are left with only the clothes you have on,’ he explains. ‘You know, I had a house, real-estate holdings and a share of the company. I lost everything.’

Khaledi, whose second language was French, began learning English. During his sabbatical, he realised he could obtain a green card by purchasing a business.

He and his brother-in-law, Paul Varzin, decided to buy a supermarket in Torrence, California. When it became clear that running the grocery was to be his work in America, he brought to the business the same zealous work ethic he maintained in the construction business.

In a short time, Khaledi and his brother grew from one store into a veritable empire named KV Mart. At its apex, it operated 41 shopping centres. Khaledi would even serve as a director on the board at Unified Grocers Inc.

Meanwhile, in the embrace of his new American life, one vital element – wine, which he sold in copious amounts through his supermarkets – held the keys to a world that was never too far from Khaledi’s mind.

Why Napa Valley?

Khaledi fashioned a taste for Bordeaux during his professional career but didn’t catch the Napa Valley wine bug until a fateful anniversary dinner with his wife while in California.

‘I really didn’t have any knowledge of the wine of Napa. To me, wine meant Bordeaux.’ While dining at Auberge du Soleil on a trip to Napa Valley, the sommelier recommended that he try the 1984 Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon.

‘This is a serious wine! This is a good wine,’ Khaledi thought. It was so good that he set up a meeting with Caymus’ Charlie Wagner. He was determined to explore the possibility of crafting his world-class wine in Napa Valley.

Once the Khaledis identified their first potential site in 1998, they had to close on the vineyard property in record time, as the seller, George Altamura, had a contract with Robert Mondavi Winery. The only way they could break that [contract] was to sell the property,’ according to Khaledi. ‘So I had to close it before the harvest. And the harvest was 12 days later. Otherwise, they would come and pick up the grapes. Really? Okay!’

After ten minutes, Khaledi and Altamura brokered a deal for the 12ha (30-acre) parcel, just east of Silverado Trail and just north of the town of Napa. Perhaps five minutes later, it hit Darioush that he was going into wine – and would do it his way.

Connection to culture

His way meant building an unorthodox tasting room (once deemed controversial but now considered a must-see stop on the Silverado Trail), which had its own set of challenges. Fashioned after the palace of King Darius, Khaledi wanted to use Iranian stone from the ruins of Persepolis in the construction. Due to an embargo, however, getting the stone material from Iran proved to be a complex endeavour, eventually being routed to California through Turkey.

The winery opened its doors in 2004. Its 2,000sqm (22,000 square feet) includes a state-of-the-art winemaking facility and barrel cellar (including Khaledi’s 4,000-bottle private cellar, where some elevated wine experiences are hosted), a tasting salon and garden hosting area, a small amphitheatre (seats 150 people), commercial kitchen, offices and the family residence.

For Khaledi, the most unique and essential calling card for Darioush is its focus on hospitality. This comes from a deep connection to Persian culture and was built into the concept of the winery from the start.

‘Persians say when you open the door of your home, you open the door of your heart,’ Khaledi tells me. ‘So this is our second home. There’s a sort of consistency or a commitment that you don’t throw people away. Wine is part of taking care of people, food is part of caring for people. But relationships are the most important thing.’

Khaledi became a US citizen in 1982 and was one of just six Iranian Americans in 2008 to receive the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. It rewards immigrants who enrich American culture while preserving their cultural identity.

Khaledi no longer drinks wine wrung from towels, but is just as happy, having achieved the American dream in Napa Valley. But it takes more than dreamers to achieve success – it takes the audacity to build a palace.

Darioush: Tasting notes and scores for 10 current releases

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