BMI Signs DAOU Vineyards to New Wine and Song Partnership
BMI recently inked a long-term deal with DAOU Vineyards in Paso Robles, California, to be the Company’s exclusive wine partner. Founded on the premise that great wine should be accessible and shared with the world, DAOU Mountain is home to some of the most sought-after and top-rated wines in the country. By partnering with BMI, DAOU Vineyards aims to provide a purpose greater than combining wine and music: DAOU wants to provide an inspired setting for the songwriters themselves. DAOU wines have already been shared and enjoyed at BMI events, including the BMI Country Awards, the Maui Songwriters Festival, the Troubadour Awards and the Rooftop Series.
“DAOU came to us with some really unique ideas to support our writers and artists, not just to get visibility for their wine,” says Mason Hunter, AVP, Creative, Nashville. “They’ve invited BMI writers and artists to visit their mountaintop winery in the Adelaida District of Paso Robles, be inspired by the wine, the scenery and the DAOU brothers’ own unique story - and use it as a writer’s retreat.”
“We believe in the power of music and wine to create community and lifelong relationships,” says winery co-founder and Proprietor Georges Daou. “Just like the songs that BMI’s songwriters and artists create, wine is a story – not a product. We want to support and celebrate that for both of us.”
Later this spring, the winery has plans to host a series of songwriter retreats for a group of curated BMI musicians. A writer’s retreat provides an opportunity for songwriters to meld their creative talents by writing with other songsmiths. Writers are paired in different combinations in hopes that they will write new and interesting music. The winery will provide a beautiful and inspirational backdrop for the creative process. (For more information, contact music@daouvineyards.com.)
BMI hit songwriters Tim Nichols and Danny Myrick both visited and performed at the winery. “Their wines and mountaintop vineyard are spectacular. You really have to experience DAOU Mountain to truly understand. But the DAOU Brothers’ story is even more incredible,” says Tim Nichols, esteemed Nashville songwriter, member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and co-writer of smash hits like Tim McGraw’s 7-week chart topping single, “Live Like You Were Dying.”
Brothers Georges and Daniel Daou fled their homeland as children during the Lebanese civil war, after an errant missile hit their home. They moved with their French/Lebanese parents from Lebanon to France, then to the United States. “Struggle, love, loss, divine intervention… and success against all odds. Our story is all the things songs are made of,” DAOU Winemaker and Proprietor Daniel Daou said.
“Our journey to making world-class wine is really similar to what songwriters go through to get a hit song or to create a beautiful emotional expression that moves people,” Georges Daou added. “We want to support that struggle, that effort. So we’re developing this Artist-In-Residence program to give BMI artists and writers greater visibility on the national stage. And share a few glasses of fabulous wine along the way…”
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