Kerry Damskey: The wandering winemaker

The wandering winemaker Kerry Damskey sauntered into our city, to share the ripeness of the grape, the texture of the soil and the bouquet of your sip. The man behind the rise and prominence of Indian wine, as director – winemaking at the Sula Vineyards, Kerry’s journey is rich with grape escapes. Indian wine is lacking, we ask? “I wouldn’t say it is lacking, but what we haven’t perfected is where to plant which grape varietals and which varietals are best suited to a particular site.”

Kerry has a travelling life, but California is home, “The northern Sonoma county wine grape growing region about an hour north of San Francisco, adjacent to Napa Valley is where I stay. I’m in India the month of February for harvest and May, June and most of July for blending,” shares the man who is popularly referred to as the ‘Indiana Jones of Winemaking’, and he laughs, “I picked up “wandering winemaker” as I wine in some wild extreme places. Israel in the high desert at 825 meters, in Costa Rica at 2,300 meters and in California I focus on winemaking using high elevation.

He grew up in the San Francisco bay area. Back in the late 60’s and early 70’s, when the wine industry was just taking off, Kerry attended and graduated from the University of California — Davis, one of the world’s leading winemaking and grape growing institutions of the world’s best, alongside University of Bordeaux.  He recalls, “Wine was a part of my growing up. We had wine at meals and I visited wineries throughout. I was an early adopter lucky enough to be recognised for my endeavours.”

They say water and a region creates its best of wines... but he explains further, “It is a wine’s terroir which defines that wine’s tipicity, or signature.  Terroir is defined as how site, soil, climate, grape varietal all interact to make a wine great.  In India, we have our own unique terroir which gives the wines unique identity.  Wines from India don’t taste like wines from France, Australia or California.  They taste like wines from India.  And I like that! While I enjoy wines from across the world, I appreciate they do not taste the same.  That said, California has 75 years on India with respect to perfecting the science.”

Kerry’s mom first gifted him the classic wine making text Table Wines: The Technology of their Production in California, and his journey has taken him to exotic worlds, giving the grapes their due. “I’ve been making wine for 42 years, it makes my life even more meaningful.  I am at base a scientist.  I always fall back on my science background as a foundation. Winemaking is not just science though as it involves artisan craft with desired holistic outcomes. I love the three disciplines. I’m a chef.  I’m a chemist. I’m a gardener,” says Kerry getting poetic about his calling.

As to how the Indian brand came into his life, he recalls, “I met Rajeev in 1997 in California through business school colleagues. We met for lunch in a wine town north of San Francisco. Rajeev went home and started planning a winery and vineyard on his family owned land outside of Nashik.  Our first vintage was 1999.  The rest is history.  An amazing success story!” About his family, Damskey says in typical dry humour, “I’m married to the same wife for 40 years, have two grown children, four dogs and two cats.  I live wine every day.  I cook.  I go to our cabin in the Sierra Nevada Mountains built in 1935. I enjoy being alive!”
Ask the connoisseur about his favourite wine, and he thinks nearly every Nobel grape variety is great.  Prod further, and he quips, “Maybe pinot noir.”

A lack of knowledge, he feels is that makes Indian prefer “phoren” wines, “About what Indian wine’s aroma and flavour signature is about.  As we mature, our grape growing will become more sophisticated as wines,” he adds. A life led exploring vineyards, grape vareitals, tastings, Kerry’s has a storehouse of knowledge and a Pandora’s box of experiences, but his early days in India are still the most amazing and mind blowing.