Drew Damskey

Drew Damskey’s winemaking and grape-growing career trajectory began with grandparents Ray and Constance Damskey and then continued with parents Kerry and Daisy Damskey. Drew has seamlessly evolved into their circle of passion.

Drew describes a natural winemaker’s course as going to Davis or Fresno, working in a cellar, traveling abroad for experience, and then putting together a resume. He admits to definitely not doing that. He went to a liberal arts college, played Lacrosse, and studied anything without chemistry. Next, he lived in Australia for a year, continuing Lacrosse.

A complete paradigm shift happened when Drew moved to India, where his father was deeply involved in the “Sula Vineyards” project. He began working on importing and exporting spirits, beers, and wines then returned to Geyserville. He attended Sonoma State University, where he earned an MBA in business, thinking he wanted to be on the international side of wine.

Drew began working for a PR/marketing firm and decided it was time to make that pivot, working with the family’s Palmeri Wines. His entire life his parents had offered it to him as, “Something if you want it to be there for you.” It was the first sales and marketing project. Still, his parents were saying, “Drew, you’re very good at marketing and sales. It’s an important skill. If you really want Palmeri to be yours for the long term, maybe you want to apprentice under your dad, for a few years.”

Drew spent a few years quietly observing his father, learning as much as possible. With a better understanding of winemaking and vineyard mechanics, he started inputting info. His father remained a sounding board, and his mother was a really wonderful, encouraging support structure to excel.

Drew also began working with Ted Elliott, who was extremely generous with their knowledge and passion of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Meanwhile, Kerry was always in the background. It evolved that Drew started making more decisions on the winemaking and vineyard sourcing sides. Today, Drew continues working with top-tier vineyards and growers.

Drew’s philosophy: Our business is consulting cooperation. My father Kerry is working on the technical winemaking side, my mother Daisy is running flight control, making sure that we’re on top of things, and my own wine career is being established, to the point where barrel selections are my passion and defining point. It’s wonderful to have a family business, where everybody’s opinion is important and matters. This is now Drew’s present and future.

Today, Drew Damskey is General Manager of Terroirs, Inc. Production is shared with Kerry Damskey; both Kerry and Drew take the lead at various points.