DAMAS’ means ‘ladies’ in Spanish, but it is also an acronym for the vineyard founders: Deborah and Mara and Scooter - our original canine vineyard manager. We bought a hobby farm in the Sierra foothills in the early 1990s, but quickly learned that we did not enjoy tending finicky peach and pecan trees. We started taking courses in vineyard management at UC Davis, and found that we did enjoy caring for the grape vines - our “training vines” that had been planted in uneven rows in random blocks. We decided to redesign the vineyard and orchards.
We tore out the pecans and peaches, as well as the training vines. In 1998, we planted over 1,200 new vines grafted onto phylloxera-resistant 110-R root stock–and DAMAS vineyards was born. We later added 50 Petite Sirah vines and a dozen Alicante Bouchet vines for field blending. They enhance the complexity and color of our estate-grown vines, and add more color to our vineyard. Every season brings new challenges and learning experiences, but thirty years later, we still enjoy tending our vineyard and producing award-winning wines. We also produce award-winning estate grown extra virgin olive oil. Most of the year, we enjoy organically-grown fruits, nuts and vegetables from our own gardens and orchards.
