• The Vision
• The Vineyards
• Team
• Photo Gallery
• Videos

DAOU Vineyards – The Team

Georges J. Daou - Proprietor

With a head for business and a heart full of passion for life, Georges Daou oversees the marketing and branding of DAOU Vineyards, keeping his sharp eyes on the direction of the winery and the steady growth of the family’s beloved vineyards. As children, Georges and his brother day-dreamed of a bucolic American ideal, replete with roaming cattle, ripening grapes and a thriving family culture.

Now, he wakes up most days simply amazed to discover that he’s living that dream. A warm, philosophical and very social man, he is an avid golfer, cyclist, and polo player. This love of both people and the great outdoors feeds his irrepressible joie de vivre. Georges' attention to excellent terroir, great climate and the fine arts of winemaking results in a unique experience not just for visitors to DAOU, but for wine connoisseurs around the world and, in fact, anyone who opens a bottle of DAOU wine. He looks forward to welcoming you to the top of DAOU Mountain, an inspiring place where life seems to stand still, and great times await you. Visit the winery and taste it for yourself.

“It takes nine months to make a baby, but nine years to make a great wine.” – Georges Daou

Daniel J. Daou - Winemaker & Proprietor

You could say that all of Daniel Daou’s aspirations for his ideal vineyard and winemaking experience have been reached.  The confluence of geography, climate, viticulture, and opportunity has allowed him to become the winemaker he always wanted to be. Winemaking is far more than just a job for Daniel. It’s a highly contagious passion, particularly for Cabernet Sauvignon, that is reflected in his wines. Although his prime motivation is passion, his background as an engineer informs his every decision as a winemaker. Daniel goes to extraordinary lengths, such as employing methods only used in producing first-growth Bordeaux, to ensure that his wines are balanced with nonintrusive tannins to provide structure for the full bodied fruit while the wine matures, first in the barrel and later in the bottle. In the vineyard, he walks a fine line by letting the grapes struggle, yet never crossing over to the point where the vines would shut down.

Often, friends and fans of his wines describe Daniel as a man both charismatic and passionate, yet always ready to listen to others. He is seen as a committed member of the community whose drive and resources will take Paso Robles to a whole new level. For Daniel, putting his cherished family name on the bottle means everything. What’s inside the bottle must warrant that privilege, so every day he thinks about how to ensure the level of excellence he expects from his wines.

“It's rare to have all the elements needed to achieve perfect balance and ripeness in a terroir. We found all these elements on our mountain and work hard to capturing that magic from vineyard to bottle” – Daniel J. Daou

Karen Hunt - President

As President of DAOU, Karen has the task of opening up national and international distribution of the brand. Representing not just the winery and the story of DAOU, Hunt also serves as an ambassador of the Paso Robles AVA, bringing deserved attention to California's Central Coast, home to some of the state's most unique terroir.

Karen is a 20-year veteran in sales and marketing, most recently VP of Sales for the Francis Ford Coppola and Rubicon Estate. She was also VP of Sales at Charles Krug winery and handled consumer sales and marketing at Ben & Jerry's and M&M Mars.

A graduate of the College of Charleston, with a BS in Biology, Karen’s interest in wine began twenty years ago, when she was introduced to the fine wines such as Karl Lawrence, Pride and Saddleback. Unable to find these brands on the East Coast where she lived, she set a goal: to become an integral player in the wine industry so smaller, finely crafted wines would have nationwide representation of their brands.

“Karen brings a unique blend of talents and values to the DAOU Family Vineyards. Her experience, dedication to the industry as a whole and love for our wines makes her our number one candidate to lead us to becoming a global brand for demanding wine consumers. Daniel and I welcome her to our family with open arms.” – Georges Daou.

“After studying and collecting wines over the last twenty-four years, I thought I had tasted the best of the best; however, I realized I was wrong when I finally tasted the DAOU wines. Daniel Daou is an incredibly talented winemaker who has blown me away with his Paso Robles wines. It is such fun to do blind tastings around the country (with some of the best wine palates in the industry), and consistently see them amazed when they taste DAOU wines. I’m extremely proud to be on this team!“ – Karen Hunt

Robin Daou - Proprietor & Tasting Room Manager

Robin is not only one of the Proprietors of DAOU, who has been busy designing and fine-tuning construction and operations of the our beautiful new Spanish inspired Tasting Room, she is also the Tasting Room Manager. Her background in Dietetics and Nutrition paired with the passion she and Daniel share for wine bring a unique perspective to the winery. She is dedicated to conveying the DAOU story and shedding light on the unique wine-making techniques as well as helping each and every visitor to experience the passion in every bottle.

“It is amazing to see what Daniel and I have dreamt about for many years becoming a reality. It is exceeding my expectations. We have an amazing team that makes it all happen and I am thankful for each of them. Every day I am learning something new about the winemaking process and this amazing industry and community that have welcomed us so warmly. I am so excited to be a part of it.” – Robin Daou

Melissa Hess

Melissa was born, raised and educated in New Orleans, and it was in that rich and storied culture that she developed an early appreciation for good food and great wines. Just as the Daou brothers did in France, Melissa grew up with a profound awareness of the importance of dining and living well. She has modeled both in New Orleans and New York City and has also worked as a flight attendant.  Within these careers Melissa was afforded opportunities to travel extensively and experience the cultures of the world through their people, food, and wine. 

When Melissa and Georges met, they continued to travel, explore, and experience the people and cultures of the globe. And yet it is in Paso Robles, with its sunny weather and attitude, wine-oriented culture, and outdoor lifestyle, that she now feels most at home.

“This is the place for me: the people are open and genuine, the wine is absolutely wonderful, and along with the bountiful produce of Central California in every farmer’s market, we also have an amazing array of fine dining options in Paso Robles. After all my traveling, I couldn’t imagine a finer place to settle down and call home.” – Melissa Hess

Chelsey Layous - Club DAOU Manager

Chelsey is the Club DAOU Manager and handles all aspects of the wine club such as the club shipments, member events and marketing.  She also manages and coordinates our “Local Liaison” services, which include recommendations for the best hotels accommodations, restaurants, transportation services and shopping the Central Coast has to offer.

Raised in the heavily agricultural Salinas Valley of California, as a teenager Chelsey worked for her father’s farm labor company. It was here that her interest in vineyards and wineries began. In 2007, she graduated from University of San Diego with a BBA in Business Administration and a minor in Spanish.  After a sports-marketing internship in San Diego, Chelsey took her first wine country job as a Tasting Room Associate at Clayhouse Wines in Paso Robles performing basic tasting room duties such as sales and retail. She then moved on to Robert Hall Winery, also in Paso Robles, where she spent two years as the Events Manager, coordinating weddings and private events as well as taking a hand in marketing.

In early 2011, Chelsey became the Manager of Club DAOU – a dream job for this ambitious and energetic professional. Nicknamed “Cheesy” by the DAOU family (thanks to the autocorrect on Daniel’s iPad), Chelsey also serves as a national sales and marketing assistant to Karen Hunt.  

“I love this region and all it has to offer.  At DAOU, in addition to handcrafting remarkable wine and creating extraordinary experiences, we all share a belief in community and are committed to help promote Paso Robles as a one of the best wine countries.  Our tagline says it all:  ‘Live the Dream.  Come to Paso!’” – Chelsey Layous

(left to right): Blake Brown, Chelsey Layous, Jessica Martinez, Ann Bedell, Misael Baltasar, Sonia Drevet, Amy Kolberg, Ramon Gomez, Melissa Hess, Georges Daou, Daniel Daou, Robin Daou