Damouny Castle Vineyard
AVA: Santa Cruz Mountains

Year Planted: 2010
Acres: 2 total planted; 1 acre of Cabernet Franc
Varietal: Cabernet Franc
Elevation: 970 ft
Soil: Loam
Farming: Organic as of 2021

I discovered Nabil Damouny’s vineyard during my continuous search for organically farmed Cabernet Franc from the Santa Cruz Mountains. The first time I visited the vineyard in Saratoga to decide whether or not I wanted to work with it, I was impressed by the stunning location, steep slope, and the actual castle.
The wine from this vineyard is stellar, rustic, and the most old-world in style that I’ve ever made. It is a true testament to how each individual site can have such a personal signature. I’m very excited to be releasing this wine for the first time in fall 2020.

Part of the Margins mission is to work with growers to transition their vineyard to organic farming by providing guidance as well as assurance that the grapes will have a home. I believe that if I work with solely organic vineyards, I am not using my role in the industry to its full potential to enact agricultural change. I encourage the few growers I work with who are not organic (but are close) to transition to organics, and if they do not choose to go this route within a certain period of time, we part ways. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but I have to try.