Kerry Damskey

Consulting Winemaker

Kerry Damskey’s winemaking philosophy is simple: great vineyards that yield distinctive fruit will, ultimately, produce distinctive wines. He likens his role to that of a gem cutter. “You have to first identify high quality raw materials,” he says. “Then, it’s like cutting facets in a diamond to highlight what’s inside.”

By the time Kerry Damskey was in high school, he already knew that he wanted to be a winemaker. Growing up in the Bay Area, Kerry traveled widely throughout California’s great winegrowing regions with his family. When he was a high school senior his mother gave him a copy of the classic winemaking text, Table Wines, The Technology of their Production in California. That was all it took. Upon graduation, he enrolled in the enology and viticulture program at the University of California at Davis.

Fours years later, with a degree in hand, Kerry set his sights on Sonoma County as his winemaking destination. He worked for wineries from Lodi to San Diego, honing his skills and acquiring “nuts and bolts” knowledge. In 1986, Kerry achieved his goal of making wine in Sonoma when he was appointed winemaker for the old Zellerbach Winery in Chalk Hill. While at Zellerbach, he established himself among Sonoma County’s best winemakers, garnering both high marks from critics, as well as awards and for his wines.

After subsequent stints as winemaker for Gauer Estates and Associated Vintage Group, Kerry formed his own consulting group, Terroirs. The founding winemaker for Stuhlmuller Vineyards, Kerry helped to define Stuhlmuller’s signature style. Today, Kerry acts as a winemaking consultant to Stuhlmuller, working closely with winemaker Leo Hansen.