Darioush Napa Valley Wine Tasting Friday, January 30, 2026 7:30 PM and all the Darioush wines in the store on SALE!!
"Drinking wine is just a part of life, like eating food." - Francis Ford Coppola
Drinking wine is my life and although we get a little too busy to keep our focus on this task during the month of December, we have a great line-up of events to start off the month this year. Almost every event we have hosted so far in 2026 has been SOLD OUT!!
We have been following the handy work of Darioush Winery for decades now and we visited the winery as it was being built. We just received an incredible collection of older vintages wines including their top wine Darious II that are now 10+ years old and should be drinking at or near their peak! Don’t wait to long to respond to this e-mail as the price of this tasting costs less than some of the wines on the table!!
Join us as we experience an array of older vintage wine from this great Napa Valley estate. The fee for this tasting is $350 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.
Darioush Napa Valley Wine Tasting
Friday, January 30, 2026
7:30 PM
2023 Darioush Chardonnay Napa
2024 Darioush Signature Viognier Napa
2013 Darioush Pinot Noir Signature Russian River
2006 Darioush Signature Merlot Napa Valley
2012 Darioush Signature Merlot Napa Valley
2012 Darioush Signature Shiraz Napa Valley
2013 Darioush Signature Shiraz Napa Valley
2013 Darioush Signature Series Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
2013 Darioush 'Darius II' Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
2012 Darioush 'Darius II' Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
Menu
Selection of Cheese and Charcuterie
Lobster Enchilada with Salsa Verde Sauce Garnished with Olive Tapenade, Tomato Concasse and Onion Confit
Poblano Chili Pepper Stuffed with A5 Japanese Filet and Farrow served over Black Bean and Pepper Puree with Avocado Fries Crème Fraiche
Key Lime Tart with Limoncello Whipped Creme
The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $350 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com. Please let us know when you make your reservations if you have any dietary restrictions and chefs Toni and Dani will be happy to accommodate you.
A bit about Darioush Winery:
Darioush Khaledi grew up in Shiraz, one of Iran's prominent wine-growing regions. His father was a hobbyist winemaker and as a young boy, Khaledi used to sneak sips from the barrel; as a young adult he became a devoted collector of fine wines.
"The opening of the new winery and visitor center is, without a doubt, one of the most exciting moments in my life. Ever since I was a young man, when I began my passion for great wine, I dreamt of this day."
Trained as a civil engineer and with a career in construction, Darioush left Iran in the late 1970's and emigrated to Southern California where he was faced with the challenge of rebuilding his life. Darioush and his brother-in-law pooled their resources and purchased a failing grocery store in the city of Los Angeles. Now thirty years later, together they operate one of the most successful independently owned grocery businesses in the United States, which alone employs over 1500 people.
As the success of his grocery business grew, his passion for fine wine transformed from collector to producer. No longer was Darioush interested solely in collecting the world's finest wines he was driven to create hand-crafted wines with the highest quality standards.
Darioush sought out one of the most talented winemakers in Napa Valley, Steve Devitt. Steve was working next door at Signorello Winery so he know the area like the back of his hand and today Steve is both the Winemaker and Vineyard Manager of Darioush.
Steve manages all winemaking and viticulture activities at Darioush. His understanding of microclimates, the local soils and the wines they produce enable him to create Estate wines that best express the character of each individual vineyard. As a winegrower, he believes that the best winemaking begins in the vineyards. Steve personally manages the Estate's extensive new vineyard developments and all aspects of the Estate's wine production.
Focused to the limited production of red Bordeaux varietals and small lots of Chardonnay, Viognier, and Shiraz, Darioush employs minimal intervention or 'ancien' winemaking techniques. The Darioush Estate is committed to hand harvesting and handsorting each grape cluster prior to crushing. This is a meticulous and labor-intensive method, but it ensures that only the finest, fully matured grapes are used in our Darioush wines. This approach includes small lot whole cluster pressing, destemming, cold soaking, extended maceration, barrel-to-barrel racking and bottling without filtration.
This minimalist approach preserves and expresses the true varietal character of Darioush Signature wines. The main focus at Darioush is to grow a classic red Bordeaux blend that displays the finest qualities of the Estate's unique soils and microclimate.
Darioush welcomes guests to its new visitor center and winery beginning August 16, 2004. The new architectural building comes after five years in the making, and combines materials, castings, and furnishings from distant lands and exotic locations. The 22,000 square foot winery, the first in America to combine architecture, design and Persian culture, provides a unique and exhilarating experience in California’s most renowned wine destination. Reminiscent of the great noble architecture that once existed, the imagery of the Darioush building evokes Persepolis, the illustrious capital of ancient Persia.
The Khaledi's Persian heritage is the inspiration and vision for the winery, designed by architects Ardeshir and Roshan Nozari, incorporating clean, contemporary lines with historical references to Persia’s ancient capital city. One of the most important aspects of the Persian culture is hospitality, and the winery is designed to create a welcoming, enjoyable as well as a rich and intriguing environment for guests. Visitors will receive unparalleled service and a sensational experience.
“The juxtaposition of modern clean lines and historical references represent the philosophy of our office,” states Ardeshir Nozari, who incorporated many intriguing architectural elements throughout the building. Among the design features of interest are the 16 monumental 18’ freestanding columns with capital bulls, which act as stone trees at the entrance of the winery, elevating visitor expectations. Richly textured travertine-stone cladding surrounds the entire building. This yellow stone was quarried near the region of Persepolis and exported to Turkey and Italy for cutting and tumbling before it reached the Silverado Trail in Napa. Additional design features include pre-cast moldings, furniture, fireplaces, ironwork, lighting, cellars, and an amphitheatre for performances and events.
The Visitor Center boasts a state of the art facility offering a unique one-on-one experience to taste the complete line of signature wines with options for indoor and outdoor seating. Six outdoor water features with fountains and one indoor rolling wall of water comprise some of the sights and sounds of the guest experience. Lush and varied landscaping creates a sequence of continuous gardens, which lead the visitors to the winery.
Darioush is the culmination of the worldwide search for the ultimate vineyard estate. The Darioush Estate's ninety-five acres are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Chardonnay and Viognier. Darioush is the culmination of this search. Inspired by the complexity and style of Bordeaux’s cooler-climate wines, Darioush Signature Cabernet Sauvignon exemplifies how meticulous farming in southern Napa Valley’s fog-influenced districts and hillsides results in powerful, personality-driven Cabernet Sauvignons with extraordinary character, depth and poise.
Darioush's cooler climate, southern Napa Valley vineyards produce wines with extraordinary depth and character.
The quintessential offering of the Darioush estate. Reflective of Darioush's individualism and dedication to crafting a Cabernet Sauvignon that bridges Bordeaux's old world complexity and poise with Napa Valley's modern and progressive style, stature and depth.
All the Darioush wines in the store on SALE!!
2024 Darioush Signature Viognier Napa
Price: $67.50 Your Price: $59.40
Darioush Viognier beautifully expresses the eclectic and exotic character of this varietal. Grown in the cooler locales of the Oak Knoll appellation, with its dense early morning fog and afternoon breezes, enables this rare and finicky variety to ripen slowly yet completely, revealing layers of bright fruit, floral and tropical flavors which define fine Viognier.
2023 Darioush Chardonnay Napa
Price: $67.50 Your Price: $59.40 Quantity in Stock: 3
Fruit sourced from Darioush's cool vineyard sites in Napa Valley, Oak Knoll and Carneros supports slow, even ripening which results in a wine that balances light acidity and gorgeously textured fruit.
2013 Darioush Pinot Noir Signature Russian River
Price: $110.00 Sale Price: $89.00 Quantity in Stock: 12
Signature Pinot Noir is a vineyard-driven wine sourced from one of the most cherished micro-regions in the Russian River Valley. Largely comprised of Goldridge soil, a fine-grained, sandy loam formed from the erosion of ancient marine sediments, the gently sloping vineyards we farm also benefit from southeastern sun exposure and cooler climates with ample fog coverage due to their proximity to the Pacific Ocean. All these elements combine to develop multi-layered wines with compelling structure, freshness, and flavor.
2022 Darioush Merlot Signature Napa
Price: $93.50 Your Price: $82.28
Rocky, well-drained volcanic soil, a marine influence and the due east sun exposure describes the terroir of our unique Mt. Veeder estate Vineyards planted on the steep hillside balance the ripeness and yield of one of the most vigorous of the Bordeaux varietals—providing the fruit and resulting wine, with great depth, texture and aromatic complexity.
2011 Darioush Signature Merlot Napa Valley
Price: $94.00 Sale Price: $74.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
(92 Points) The big tannin presence to this wine suggests cellaring through 2020–2021. Around its girth are herbal elements of sage and smoke, a core of rich, red fruit and mocha. It's both generous and complex. — Virginie Boone Issue date 3-1-2015 Wine Enthusiast
2022 Darioush Shiraz Signature Napa
Price: $82.50 Your Price: $72.60
Darioush Signature Shiraz is crafted to coax the inherent complexity, structure, and age-worthiness from this versatile variety. Southern Napa Valley’s cooler microclimates, along with meticulous vineyard management naturally restrain vigor while intensifying its rich, spicy, and soulful character.
2013 Darioush Signature Shiraz Napa Valley
Price: $99.00 Sale Price: $79.00 Quantity in Stock: 10
(91 Points) This burly, robust wine is smoky in oak, with a twist of cedar and sage. The tannins are sizable and soft, providing weight and structured body, while the fruit remains elusive behind dried herb and cracked black pepper. (VB) Review Date: 12/2016 Wine Enthusiast
2012 Darioush Signature Shiraz Napa Valley
Price: $99.00 Sale Price: $79.00 Quantity in Stock: 9
(94 Points) Voluptuously rich and concentrated, this full-bodied wine is spectacular in leather, tobacco and a whiff of grilled game. While dense, and age-worthy, now through 2022, it remains balanced and vibrant on the palate and would make a wonderful companion to hearty foods. *Cellar Selection* (VB) Review Date: 10/2015 Wine Enthusiast
2009 Darioush Signature Shiraz Napa Valley
Price: $99.00 Sale Price: $79.00 Quantity in Stock: 2
2020 Darioush Duel Cabernet Sauvignon - Shiraz Napa Valley
Price: $61.50 Your Price: $54.12
Winery Notes: Duel is the idyllic marriage of two distinguished varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. This unique blend varies year to year, seeking to harmonize the deep satisfying fruit and earthy minerality of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz’s vibrance, plushness, and exotic spices. Duel is a wine with style, soul, and substance. Opening with a flourish of dense black and red fruits, 2020 Duel exhibits generous layers of fruit balanced by savory herbs and delicate spices. Juicy blackberries, fresh currants, morello cherries, and mission fig expand on the palate, mingling with hints of dried violets, licorice, sandalwood, and spiced tobacco. The wine’s tightly wound frame is supported by firm, ripe tannins— reminiscent of toasted hazelnuts and cedar— and finishes with fantastic freshness, vibrancy, and lingering minerality.
2022 Darioush Cabernet Franc Signature Napa
Price: $90.00 Your Price: $79.20
Grown from Darioush's cool vineyard sites in southern Napa Valley, Cabernet Franc develops slowly to reveal vibrant dark fruits, earth and spice. This classic Bordeaux varietal attributes much intensity of fruit and dark, earthy components to Daroush's final blend of Signature Cabernet Sauvignon each year. On its own, Cabernet Franc possesses great power with poise.
2022 Darioush Cabernet Sauvignon Signature Napa MAGNUM
Price: $307.50 Your Price: $270.60
2022 Darioush Cabernet Sauvignon Signature Napa
Price: $150.00 Your Price: $132.00 Quantity in Stock: 5
The hallmark of Darioush Signature Cabernet Sauvignon is its seamlessness, the result of decades of meticulous vineyard management of our cooler climate, Southern Napa Valley sites. Our estate vineyards in the Mount Veeder and Napa Valley AVAs have hit their stride, producing fruit with splendid concentration, compelling freshness, and graceful complexity. The final composition strikes a tightrope balance of youthful energy, structure, and restraint; our flagship wine rewards with extraordinary depth and poise.
2013 Darioush Signature Series Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
Price: $169.00 Sale Price: $139.00 Quantity in Stock: 11
(93 Points) Darioush Cabernets are among the richest, deepest, and tastiest that are produced in these parts, and that might be good enough on its own to make them likeable, but the reason why they have been so very popular is that they also have carried plenty of juicy, well-focused varietal fruit. And, this wine is not only clearly made in the winery style, but it is among their most impressive yet. Its generous aromas of black cherry, cola and graphite are lifted by lashings of creamy oak, and its full-bodied sense on the palate is supple to start with a bit of a fleshy feel and is nicely supported by evident yet polished tannins that will hold everything in good stead for years to come. *Two Stars* Review Date: 08/2013 Connoisseurs Guide
2014 Darioush Signature Series Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, USA
Price: $193.75 Sale Price: $155.00 Quantity in Stock: 2
(93 Points) From the producer's estate vineyard on Mount Veeder, this is a thick, concentrated wine of tremendous flavor. Rich black fruit dominates around an orbit of sweet tobacco, dark chocolate and crayon wax, with just a touch of reduction nipping at the finish. This is a full and robustly powerful wine. Virginie Boone- WIne Enthusiast
2009 Darioush Signature Series Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Price: $175.00 Sale Price: $139.00 Quantity in Stock: 2
(90 Points) Very dark, rich and tarry, with black licorice, mocha and dried blackberry fruit that's also firmly tannic, ending with a chewy edge. Best from 2013 through 2022. Review Date: 11/2012 Wine Spectator
2008 Darioush Signature Series Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Price: $175.00 Sale Price: $139.00 Quantity in Stock: 3
(94 Points) *Cellar Selection* This tastes fresh and juicy, like ripe blackberries picked on a hot summer day. The fruitiness disappears in a swirl of tannins and oak spice, leading to a long, dry finish. Fine, complex and elegant, this should develop over the next 8-10 years. Review Date: 08/2012 Wine Enthusiast
2007 Darioush Signature Series Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Price: $175.00 Sale Price: $139.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
(93 Points) The beautiful 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon is more complex with a more opulent texture, full-bodied richness and plenty of sweet black currant fruit intermixed with cedar, spice box and Asian spice. (RP) Review Date: 12/2010 Wine Advocate
2021 Darioush 'Darius II' Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley MAGNUM
Price: $825.00 Your Price: $726.00
2021 Darioush Darius II Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
Price: $412.50 Your Price: $363.00
The Crown Jewel of the Darioush Estate, Darius II is a refined, age-worthy collectible that captures the singular and exceptional qualities of each vintage from our Napa Valley vineyards. The time-honored artworks selected for each label span thousands of years of creativity and reflect the craftsmanship and integrity of Darius II.
THE LABEL ART: This striking label design is drawn from a mid- 19th-century tile from Tehran, Iran—acquired in 1876 by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, as part of a larger collection of “modern tiles” showcasing the stylistic range of interior architecture of that era. Painted in vibrant blue over white, the chevron motif emulates the flowing, feathered edges of silk ikat—an ancient weaving technique prized for its complexity and movement. Though made of earthenware, it evokes the fluidity of fabric, reflecting the artistry and innovation at the heart of Persian design.
2013 Darioush 'Darius II' Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
Price: $399.00 Sale Price: $329.00 Quantity in Stock: 15
(96 Points - Wine Advocate) Once again, the top wine in the vintage for Darioush is their 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Darius II. This is a stunner and compelling, a powerful, classic Cabernet Sauvignon with an opaque purple color and notes of incense, graphite, crème de cassis and blackberry. It is long and rich, with an extra dimension compared to the 2014 version. This wine is accessible now, but should be even better after 3-4 years of cellaring and last 25 or more years. (RP) Review Date: 10/2016
2012 Darioush 'Darius II' Cabernet Sauvignon Napa MAGNUM
Price: $850.00 Sale Price: $699.00 Quantity in Stock: 2
2012 Darioush 'Darius II' Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
Price: $395.00 Sale Price: $329.00 Quantity in Stock: 10
(92 Points) Beautifully crafted, offering a powerful yet elegant and refined mix of zesty, extracted blackberry, black licorice, spice, cedar, mineral and mocha notes, ending with a long, lingering aftertaste that keeps repeating the fruit themes. (JL) Review Date: 11/2016 Wine Spectator
2021 Darioush Caravan Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
Price: $52.50 Your Price: $46.20
Juicy flavors of ripe berries, cherries and plum mingle with hints of cola, chocolate and coffee. Abundant Petit Verdot lends a violet floral note while Malbec adds a juicy blueberry finish. This Cabernet is youthful but approachable with a soft palate and lingering finish.
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