Donati Winemaker Dan Kleck  has been producing premium wines for the past 28 years. He began his career in the mid-1970’s, focusing upon the Long Island region in New York. In 1998, he migrated west to California, crafting elite Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from select premium estate vineyards in Monterey County. Learn More>

Crafting exceptional, expressive wines begins with optimally ripened fruit. Working closely with Vineyardist Matt Donati to elicit full flavor development in the vineyard, Dan views his role as one requiring minimal intervention in the wine cellar. “It is a pleasure to work with top-quality fruit with natural balance and distinctive personality,” says Dan.

The barrel program for Donati Vineyards was developed with the idea that fully ripened grapes that truly express varietal character need the appropriate vessel for optimal maturation. To achieve that goal, we have selected barrels from cooperages in both France and the U.S. that have a unique house style that we feel naturally complements our fruit intensity and flavor characteristics. “By blending a small percentage of tight-grain American oak with select wood from the forests of Allier and Nevers in France, our wines evolve gracefully in their journey through our cellars.”

“We feel it is important never to overwhelm the natural, best fruit expression of the wine, but rather, that the oak imparts a seamless balance to the wine, giving it a sense of impeccably integrated structure and flavor,” Dan says.

Inevitably, the winemaking program takes into account the innate character of each varietal, and its inherent capacity for self-expression. Using a “less is more” approach to his winemaking style, Dan feels that allowing the fermentations to proceed with as little outside influence as possible ensures that the resulting wines will offer vivid fruit character that truly expresses the flavors of the vineyard site. “We want our wines to taste like no other. The real essence of fine winemaking demands that we respect the vineyard for its natural potential to flavor and structure the wines, without imparting significant outside influences.”