Three of the best wines from California’s Donum estate
- Two pinot noirs and a chardonnay from entrepreneur Allan Warburg’s beautiful, art-filled winery in Sonoma County
- Each Donum vintage is marked by an Ai Weiwei zodiac animal
A decade ago, China-based entrepreneur Allan Warburg was offered an opportunity to acquire a Californian winery in financial difficulties. By 2011, he and his wife, Mei, were the owners of Donum wine estate. Initially, Warburg thought it would be a short-term investment but he changed his mind once he saw the property.
“Often, the good things in life come by coincidence,” Warburg says. “We had enjoyed the wines from Donum for many years before purchasing the estate. We have also been collecting art since the early 2000s. In 2014, we combined these loves and started placing large-scale works throughout Donum.”
The winery’s labels combine the owners’ love for art and their connection to Asia, with each vintage marked with that year’s Chinese zodiac animal, based on Ai Weiwei’s Circle of Animals (2011).
Donum, meaning “gift” in Latin, was conceived in 2001 and strives to produce top quality pinot noir and chardonnay from its Sonoma County vineyards. Pinot noir thrives in the Russian River Valley, where fog rolling in from the Pacific moderates temperatures and helps preserve acidity and delicate aromatics.
Carneros is a historic wine region with vines planted as far back as the 1830s. Bracing winds from San Pablo Bay keep temperatures down, but yields are reduced due to lower grape moisture retention. Carneros pinot noir is fresh, elegant and ripe with pure varietal expression.
Donum chardonnay 2016, Russian River Valley, US$75
