About founder David Hejl

David’s passion for fine wine began while putting himself through school working as a waiter, sommelier, and chef, but he found his true inspiration while living in Paris working for Nabisco in his early twenties. It was there that he first experienced the art of wine, food and culture in a way that was truly spiritual, all in the beautiful City of Light. Having traveled around the world fifty times on international assignments and visiting every major wine region in the world, each of these adventures was never complete without discovering and enjoying the local food, wines, and culture. This project is a culmination of three decades of experience.

In 2015, Daivd left Kosta Browne Winery as their CEO and General Manager, as the value creation successfully led to a sale to pursue his own luxury label, Domaine Della, which was his project while CEO of Kosta Browne. Domaine Della’s mission is to craft intense and adventurous wines, partnering with the very best growers, a true expression in harmony and balance from the place where they were grown. These wines are extremely limited production and sourced from the finest vineyards in the Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast, and Santa Lucia Highlands.

David’s gratitude for his accomplishments extends across his lifetime, saying “I am grateful to my family, many mentors and life teachers over the years to get me to this place.”  Prior to joining Kosta Browne in 2011, David accumulated over 30 years’ experience in growth-oriented strategy execution within the food and beverage/consumer products industry. David is also a noted speaker and on the Wine MBA faculty at Sonoma State University. He received his BS in Accounting and Finance from the University of Nebraska and MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

About Domaine Della

We sell 85% of our wines through the direct-to-consumer channel and have a waitlist, 10% for fine dining restaurants, resorts, and retail, and we hold back 5% as library wine for new customer acquisition or to participate in meaningful ways to give back. Our wines are released three times a year, in the Spring, Summer, and Fall, over a three-week period to active “list” members. In the Spring (March), we release our appellation wines, and, in the Summer and Fall, we release the Single Vineyard and Special Blend wines.

Domaine Della’s 3-5 year aggressive growth-oriented strategy and initiatives have resulted to-date in the perfect 3-tier partnerships in California with Domaine & Estates SGWS, Georgia and Washington State with Prime Wine & Spirits, Breakthru in Florida and Colorado, Bacchus in the mid-Atlantic states, Nevada with J&P|SGWS, New York with Empire Merchants, Tennessee with Empire Distributors, North Carolina with Tryon Distributing, Hawaii with Ohana Beverage Co., and in Mexico with Great Fine Wines, relationships for which we are very grateful.

You may have wondered, or not, about the Iris on the label, this was our mother Della’s favorite flower. Della was an extraordinary woman who believed in living the life you always imagined and in pursuing one’s dreams, no matter the obstacles. She also believed in family, and tradition. Domaine Della embodies these values.

Irises have rich meanings dating back to Ancient Greek times to include faith, hope and wisdom, passion, courage, and admiration. The Greek Goddess Iris was a messenger to the gods who was thought to use the rainbow as a bridge between heaven and earth. The red petal, was a moment I had while we were creating the label, later brilliantly painted by my sister Lela Hejl LeRoy, then made real and immortalized by the most gifted Mindy Kreck.

The single red petal represents whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is real, whatever is pure in the blueprint, discovery and execution of our lives is for us to consider that we were born to be loved and this petal reminds us of the Love, Beauty and Romance all around us. Whatever our pursuits, never relent. Our wines are made with passion, obsession, and love to celebrate what we live for. Our joy, is to play a part in making your life experiences and special moments memorable by taking your breath away—always, now, and forever.