“The door of our house is always open to you.” The Persian greeting is a philosophy Darioush Khaledi and his wife, Shahpar, wholeheartedly embrace, both at home and at their Napa Valley winery, Darioush. Raised in Shiraz, the Iranian city known for its ancestral winemaking culture, Darioush grew up watching his father make wine as a hobby. “It developed into a dream of owning our own winery,” he says.
The Khaledis were living in Los Angeles when they visited Napa Valley for the first time to celebrate their 20th anniversary. (“We’ve now been married 56 years,” Darioush adds proudly.) A longtime Bordeaux collector, he had initially looked to the famed French region’s Right Bank as the site of a potential winery, but Napa Valley’s lesser-explored southern stretch offered more freedom and flexibility.
While tasting wines throughout the valley, Darioush met and befriended legendary winemaker Robert Mondavi, who is credited with elevating Napa vintages to the level of some of the world’s great wine regions. “We had lunch, and I told him, ‘Bob, I have a dream of owning my winery,’” Darioush recounts. “He said, ‘Go for it,’ and he’s been my mentor ever since.”
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Darioush Sage Vineyard Mount Veeder nwwf honored vintner
This year’s Honored Vintners shaped their estate around shared beliefs in craft, generosity and the power of wine to build community.
In 1998, when the couple bought the 30-acre estate where their winery now stands, it was only vineyards. Darioush wanted to build a tasting room on the property—something more upscale and inviting than the ones he had visited locally—envisioning a Four Seasons-level experience. “Hospitality is in the DNA of Persian culture,” he says.
As they built out the tasting room, Shahpar—whose background is in fashion and boutique retail—brought her eye for design to the project. She muses that she’s been entertaining since she was a child, when her parents would invite friends and family over. “When we started Darioush, I brought this experience of entertaining to the winery,” Shahpar says.
As the winery matured, the next generation began stepping into the industry. Their daughter, Sally, joined the winery five years ago, and their son, Kashy, is writing another Napa success story with his own winery, Ashes & Diamonds.
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Darioush Barrel Chai Tasting Room nwwf honored vintner
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Darioush Signature Shiraz nwwf honored vintner
The Khaledis’ dedication to producing quality vintages is matched by their commitment to their community. Making good wine is simple, Darioush says, but uplifting others takes purpose and persistence. Community health is a pillar of their many philanthropic endeavors, which include support for Napa-based OLE Health and St. Helena Hospital Foundation, as well as Breakthrough T1D, the world’s leading foundation for type 1 diabetes research. (Their granddaughter has the chronic autoimmune disease.) This year, in addition to serving as the Honored Vintners at NWWF, they’ll act as Honorary Chairs for Auction Napa Valley 2026, the festival’s California wine country equivalent.
NCF trustees and fellow vintners Valerie Boyd and Jeff Gargiulo invited the Khaledis to the NWWF for the first time in 2012. “I had tears in my eyes,” Darioush recalls. “When I saw how the festival is changing the lives of so many children, I said ‘I’d like to be involved’— and we have been ever since.”
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