In 2001, we set out to make the best Pinot Noir from our Carneros vineyard. The heart of this pursuit has always encompassed the entire journey from vine to bottle. Our exploration has evolved with the addition of acreage as well as two other sites: our Winside Vineyard in Russian River Valley and Angel Camp in Anderson Valley. Today, Donum is recognized as one of California’s top pinot noir producers. Our quest to craft complete, beautiful, site-specific wines from our estate vineyards continues throughout each vintage.
Dan Fishman first fell in love with wine as an undergraduate at Cornell University as one of 800 students in Wine Appreciation 101. Several years later, as he contemplated life after graduate school, Dan began to explore a career in wine and decided to take an internship for the 2007 vintage in California. As luck would have it, this internship was at The Donum Estate, and an interest became a passion. Dan spent several years honing his skills with Donum and other wineries in Sonoma and New Zealand, as well as developing his palate through working in wine retail. In 2012, Dan was tapped to take over winemaking at Donum, where each vintage brings a chance to further refine his winemaking technique and take Donum to new heights. As of 2019, Dan took over the supervision of all of Donum's Estate vineyards.
Tony Chapman grew up in the small town of Fairfax just south of The Donum Estate in Marin County. Always fascinated with vineyards and the wine at his family dinners, he went on to study Wine and Viticulture at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. During his studies, he worked at Tablas Creek Vineyards where he was introduced to regenerative farming. Soon after graduating, he traveled to New Zealand, where he worked at Bell Hill Vineyards in North Canterbury. After his stint in New Zealand, he accepted a full-time position at Mac Forbes in the Yarra Valley of Australia. During that time, he traveled to Austria to work a vintage at Moric in Burgenland. After relocating back to California and working for several producers, he joined the Donum team in 2019. Tony’s approach is to use regenerative farming practices to grow resilient vines that create vibrant, site-expressive wines.