Jeff N.
Yelp
This was a special stop for us, given my wife gave us the Culture of Wine experience as a first-anniversary present. Darioush was on the top of my wife's list of wineries for us to discover for our first proper trip to the Napa-Sonoma Valley. This winery was where we concluded our first wine tour of the area (not the last), and it was one of the most magical.
The main winery building is designed like a Persian temple with towering columns, pristine fountains, and manicured bouquets of flowers and bushes surrounding it. The inside is quite luxurious, with high-rise ceilings and more columns, very Persian in style and feel due to the owners who immigrated here and started something extraordinary.
The tour started in the vineyard north of the main tasting house under a canopy, where we enjoyed glasses of their 2019 viognier and shells with caviar inside them, which paired nicely. We made our way down one of the vineyards before returning to the main winery house via the basement level, with oak barrels of wine aging. We walked through the basement passed the tasting room, where we would enjoy our primary pairings through another barrel aging room before being shown the wine cellar, which was beautiful. There were tremendous bottles of all varietals of wine from across the globe. Hell, they even had bottles of Petrus, which are expensive and hard to find.
The tasting itself was quite amazing, with the chef explaining each of the pairings that were served with the wines that had been poured. The wines served were the 2019 Chardonnay, the 2018 Shiraz, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, and the 2018 Darius II Cabernet Sauvignon -- the latter is Darioush's signature and the one many wine enthusiasts in the know want to enjoy at least once in their lives.
The food pairings were delicious. They served roasted beets with beet puree, fromage blanc, and pistachio pesto. This went quite well with the Shiraz. There was ricotta ravioli with swiss chard, kale, lemon garlic cream, and ricotta salata. I enjoyed the ravioli a lot with the chardonnay, and the local mushrooms with truffle served with parmesan foam. My favorite was the Sonoma Duck Confit Arancini, which I rotated between the Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. Both of these wines were truly delicious, especially with the duck confit. The final food serving was the Mesquite Grilled Rib Cab with DK Gaden Carrot Puree. Naturally, I paired this with the Cab and with the Darius II. Tasting Darioush's crown jewel was quite an experience that had both richness and earthiness.
To conclude, our trip to Darioush was undoubtedly magical. The winery is a true gem in a region filled with great wineries.