Our calling: to make California “first growth” wine from DAOU Mountain, fulfilling the Adelaida District’s destiny as the world’s next benchmark for Bordeaux varieties.
Brothers Georges Daou and Daniel Daou set forth across California to find an unrivaled terroir for producing Cabernet Sauvignon—a quest that led them to a place of foretold greatness.
THE JOURNEY TO DAOU MOUNTAIN
The moment that the Daou brothers first set eyes on a staggering mountain overlooking the Adelaida District in Paso Robles, they recognized it as the place they had imagined all along. They also soon discovered that it was a land of destiny.
Indeed, it was precisely here in the early 1970s that renowned winemaking
authority Andre Tchelistcheff had spoken of great things to come, as he saw immense potential in the mountain’s calcareous clay soils, soaring elevation and phenomenal climate.
Then known as Hoffman Mountain Ranch, this property produced notable wines
for many years and was widely considered the birthplace of modern winemaking in Paso Robles. Yet its full potential lay unfulfilled for more than three decades.
So it was with a sense of fate that the brothers settled here and answered the call
of this predestined terroir.
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The Daou brothers pictured in San Diego, California in 1983.
THE JOURNEY TO DAOU MOUNTAIN
Georges and Daniel both dreamed of living a winemaking life long before they came to the United States. It was an aspiration rooted in their agrarian heritage in Lebanon, and inspired by their father’s love of fine wine while they were growing up in France.
Pursuing opportunities in higher education, the Daou brothers traveled to
California in the early 1980s, where they attended the University of California San Diego. Georges received an M.S. in Electrical Engineering and Daniel a B.S. in Computer Engineering. Industrious and driven to succeed, the two brothers started their own networking technology company.
Ten years later they would find themselves at the top of their industry and ready
to return to their roots. It was now time for their winemaking dream to prevail.
Their journey led to Napa and Sonoma, but it did not end there. It was only
after years of intense searching and researching that Georges and Daniel were led to the Adelaida District. Finally, they found everything they had been seeking, all in one property with an impeccable confluence of soil, aspect and climate—a place that would become known as DAOU Mountain.
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P H I LO SOPHY
“If we are to extract DAOU Mountain’s promise, we must become its humble shepherds. Nothing can be left unconsidered in this responsibility. The forces of art, physics, technology and philosophy are all in play. Only then can we fully express this place in the bottle, so that others may take utmost pleasure in it.”
- GEORGES J. DAOU, PROPRIETOR
We will stop at nothing less than producing the perfect Cabernet Sauvignon, in steadfast service to DAOU Mountain and its incomparable terroir.
We view our quest as a sacred trust, one that extends to all who step foot on the
mountain, and to all who experience the luxuries of DAOU wines around the world.
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(Top Left) Joseph Daou in his 20’s (Bottom Left) Georges Daou as a child
(Middle) Joseph and Marie Daou pictured at their home in Rancho Sante Fe, California, in 2006 (Top Right) Marie Daou in Paris (Bottom Right) Daniel Daou as a child
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T H E DAO U FAMILY
DAOU is the realization of a childhood dream. It is built upon unbreakable family bonds from brother to brother, generation to generation, Old World to New World. Patriarch Joseph Daou grew up in Beirut, in a modest, urban family. Joseph was 10 before his father, an orphan, was able to buy the family’s first bed. The prevailing culture of Joseph’s youth was one of genteel French colonialism—Lebanon having only gained its independence from France in 1943.
Matriarch Marie Haykel grew up in the French Caribbean colony of Guadeloupe—her Lebanese-French
family owned the only department store on the island. Like Greece today, Lebanon was then a Mediterranean vacation destination, and it was there that Marie’s father bought groves of ancient olive trees. He was a passionate gentleman olive farmer, and he loved to bring his family from the Caribbean to spend time in this bucolic getaway.
Marie met Joseph on her first visit to Lebanon, in the Beirut airport. It was love at first sight, and they were
married two weeks later, on February 11, 1956. The couple put down roots in Beirut, where Joseph created one of the largest interior production companies in the Middle East, providing furniture to 91 Intercontinental Hotels around the world. Five children were born into the Daou family; the first son, Antoine, passed away at the age of nine.
On early visits to their maternal grandfather’s expansive olive groves, the children fell in love with the rural
way of life; the cows and horses; the intimacy with the land; and most of all, a sun-kissed joie de vivre.
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The Daou Family pictured in Lebanon in 1967. Georges age 6, Marie age 39, Daniel age 2, Joseph age 39, Marie Jo age 9, and Michelle age 8.
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T H E DAO U FAMILY
But Joseph and Marie’s life in Lebanon was not to continue. In 1973, the first rocket fired in the Lebanese civil war went astray, landing on their home and nearly killing two of their young children—Georges, 12, and Daniel, 8—and injuring their sister Michelle, 14. After the children were nursed back to health, the Daou family emigrated to France, leaving behind their successful furniture business to begin an entirely new life. It would be 20 years before any of them set foot in Lebanon again.
Safely ensconced in France, Joseph and Marie raised their family with a powerful sense of purpose,
responsibility, and destiny. They instilled their growing children with a respect for the fruits of the earth—most notably, the fruit of the vine, and the fine wines that so eloquently express the character of place and grape. Summers were spent in the seaside community of Cannes, and their lives were filled with Mediterranean grace and elegance. It was in the South of France that the young brothers began to dream again of a life lived off the land, cultivating vines and making wine—a calling born in the olive groves of Lebanon.
In families that have experienced hardship, the ties that bind are enduring and strong. To cultivate and
improve the precious land of DAOU Mountain—and to act as its humble stewards—is a gift to the Daou family: past, present, and future.
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T E R ROIR
“We have challenged ourselves to produce Cabernet Sauvignon that will rival the greatest. There is no question that we have the terroir. Success will come through reverence for this land—the idea that we are not ‘making’ something from it, but rather mirroring all that is already there.”
- DANIEL J. DAOU, PROPRIETOR / WINEMAKER
DAOU Mountain stands alone at an elevation of 2,200 feet, rising from the heart of the Adelaida District in the rugged coastal range west of Paso Robles. It is a terroir of power, purity and symmetry, with every natural asset necessary to pursue the perfect Cabernet Sauvignon—including calcareous clay soils that evoke Bordeaux’s Right Bank and a climate that closely corresponds to St. Helena.
The slopes here are steeped at angles reaching 60 degrees, with uniform exposure
to the elements across the estate. The wines are never acidified, as the optimal level of acidity is achieved organically. Additionally, the phenolics produced on the mountain are uniquely high, yielding wines of prodigious color, texture and structure.
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W I N E M AKING
Winemaker Daniel Daou is relentless in his pursuit of fruit purity, implementing an array of proprietary techniques and technologies to create one of the most rigorously innovative winemaking programs in the world.
All fruit from DAOU Mountain is hand picked, then sorted by cutting-edge
optical technology. The wines are made from 100-percent free run juice that is fermented with native yeasts cultivated from the estate. Each fermentation is customized in accordance with intensive phenolic analysis, ultimately ensuring exquisite mouthfeel in each wine. With these and other proprietary techniques, Daniel is able to make ageworthy wines that consistently exhibit depth, proportion and first-growth elegance.
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BA R R IQUES
All DAOU estate wines are aged in 100-percent French oak barrels selected from France’s finest cooperages, including Sylvain, Boutes, Taransaud, Saury, Seguin Moreau and Ana Sélection. Winemaker Daniel Daou also supervises the coopering of his own proprietary barrels made from a fine-grain pink oak known as bois rosé. This rare wood is aged in the elements for up to five years, and is prized for imparting an array of complex yet subtle flavors. The bois rosé barrels are also finished with Daniel’s custom toasting, which reduces char in order to bring nuance and length to the wine’s finish.
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AC C O LADES
“Winemaker Daniel Daou called 2014 the vintage of his career. This was backed up in my tastings and these are easily the greatest Bordeaux blends I’ve tasted from Paso Robles. ... Located at one of the highest spots in the appellation, it’s worth noting this tiny micro-climate of this estate and it has more in common with Napa Valley than Paso Robles.” — JEB DUNNUCK, ROBERT PARKER’S WINE ADVOCATE
“Paso Robles’ Cabernet wave continues to rise. At the forefront are brothers Daniel and Georges Daou, who started buying land in the mountainous Adelaida District west of the city of Paso Robles in 2007.” — AUGUSTUS WEED, WINE SPECTATOR
“I cannot be more impressed with what Daniel and Georges have created at DAOU. Their vision of stewardship of this historic property is completely hands on and passionate. Their research, execution, and commitment to excellence is reflected throughout the vineyards and winery. The wines are outstanding and the Cabernet Sauvignon is nothing short of superb.” — FREDERICK L. DAME, MASTER SOMMELIER
“A growing number of Paso Robles vintners are proving that world-class Cabernet is not exclusive to Napa Valley, and this bottling from Daou emphatically makes the point.” — CHARLES OLKEN, CONNOISSEURS’ GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA WINE
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E X P E R I E N CE DAOU
Experience the exquisite wines of DAOU Vineyards & Winery at our mountaintop estate. Here, you will share in the Daou family’s tradition of graciousness, enveloped in views of immaculate vineyards and breathtaking horizons. To make reservations for a wine tasting flight, private tasting experience, or a wine and food pairing, please contact our Guest Relations Team at visit@daouvineyards.com, 805.226.5460, or visit our website at daouvineyards.com. We look forward to our time together.
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GEORGES J. DAOU proprietor
“I am determined to make the most of every moment. Daniel and I have dreamed of this life since we were kids in Lebanon and I am thankful to be living it on DAOU Mountain.�
“My journey to becoming a winemaker started with my father. I have memories of him describing the flavors, the label, and the grape with every glass he drank. It ignited a passion that I could never ignore.�
DANIEL J. DAOU
winemaker / proprietor
“Our promise is to be the two best shepherds you have ever met, in both wine and fellowship.”
— DANIEL J. DAOU, Winemaker / Proprietor
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— GEORGES J. DAOU, Proprietor
Take a journey with us through the transcendent seasons of DAOU Mountain. Each passing juncture encompasses the evolution of a jewel of ecological elements and a winemaker’s dream terroir.
SPRING on daou mountain
SUMMER on daou mountain
WINTER on daou mountain
FALL on daou mountain
“For once in my life, I have created something that is much bigger than I will ever be. I am in awe of what is to come.” — G E O RG ES J. DAO U, Proprietor
“The moment I first set eyes on DAOU Mountain, I recognized it as the land I had imagined all along—a terroir of power, purity and symmetry.” — DA N I EL J. DAO U, Winemaker / Proprietor
2 7 7 7 H I D D E N M O U N TA I N R O A D , PA S O R O B L E S , C A L I F O R N I A 9 3 4 4 6 805.226.5460 DAOUVINEYARDS.COM VISIT@DAOUVINEYARDS.COM