DaMa Wines: owned by Dawn Kammer and Mary Derby.
As I’m on my way to Dawn’s house I pass Mary headed the other direction on her bicycle. Hmm. I could have sworn the interview was today. When I reach the house a comedy of errors ensues. I go to one door and it can’t be unlocked. I go to the side door only to be told Dawn is in the backyard. I go into the back garden in time to see Dawn head around the other side of the house. This is going to be good!
Eventually, we find each other and I pull out my notes. We sit down at a beautiful wooden table in the garden. Dawn gets me water with lemon. And we start to talk. Yes, Mary will be joining us.
I ask Dawn about the tasting room: People talk about your tasting room. What feel are you going for, what atmosphere do you want in the tasting room?
Dawn: Well, our long term plans were to have a space that was simple, elegant, but not at all girly. Beautiful but not intimidating. Fun. We didn’t need another Tuscan style tasting room in Walla Walla. That was the last thing we wanted.
About this time Mary and Simon, Mary’s son, arrive. Simon goes to play in the yard with Tessa, one of Dawn’s daughters, and the dog. Mary joins us at the table under a large umbrella.
They tell me they had an original idea for a gathering spot for women to come together to drink, talk about wine, books, and the like. “But then you need tables… permits… etc.”
So back to their tasting room, Tuscan was out. “But funky – a little bit.” They knew they wanted the funk for sure.
Dawn and Mary (they talk over each other here): Once we got that specific space… it felt right. Modern, but not… red for sure. Red white and black. Then we added that cool blue and light green.
Mary: Modern, but not austere, not cold.
Dawn: Then there was Brian. Brian is a movie set designer. [And long time friend of Mary’s.] He got involved and built everything around the logo. Asian cowboy!
Mary: So then we had a budget.
Dawn: He sent a little model. We loved it. Perfect!
I ask them more about the logo and their brand. This influenced every stage of their development.
Mary: We really like our wines, but it’s about the whole atmosphere. Is the wine almost secondary?
Dawn: It’s the selling of the image, the lifestyle. It starts with the tasting notes!
Of course the tasting notes are fun and sassy. And they come from the perspective of women, often mothers—from stay at home moms to those with full-time work outside the home. With this notion in mind I love hearing them talk about telling the designer to get stuff from Home Depot and Lowes. That was their budget. The process was fascinating.
The both bring up the chandeliers, reminiscing about Brian calling them to come check them out. They weren’t sure based on his description. But, as they both agree, “The chandeliers, they’re so bad they’re good!”
What are your goals for your wines?
Mary: We’re not looking to be putting out a scoring wine. I don’t really care about playing that game. We’re not playing the numbers game. I like our wines. It’s a good price. Why not come and just enjoy us? We’ve put wines out there for scores, but feel kinda creepy about it. Wine doesn’t have to be so serious.
Dawn: We want to put out a nice everyday wine that we could charge more for but we don’t want to…. And now people talk about us.
I know you two are full of ideas. What are your plans and ideas for the future of DaMa Wines?
Dawn: We want to pull in things we’re interested in. Trunk shows are good. We want to build it around a theme of our wine. Probably most important to us is the giving back part. We’d love to be big one day and be able to sponsor something really big. We’d love to franchise, go global, with that same feeling.
Both: I think our labels are more our babies than our wines.
Mary: we have an idea and then we make a wine that works with it.
What about franchising and expansion, including higher production? How do you want to go about that?
Mary: Our goal is to expand, taking on a board of women directors. Five or six women to help push us along to make it even more special. Production is now at 2500 cases. We want to expand now! Yes. In the next three years we’ll at least double if not more. It depends on where we can find the right fruit. But it has to fit the profile.
Here they share with me just a teaser of some of the big plans they’re keeping under wraps. And I’ve got to tell you, I’m excited. These are big ideas!
Mary: To make a difference, we have to be over 10,000 cases.
Dawn: We have to be outside of Washington. [Expansion.]
Mary: We’re not funded by Allen Shoup. We’re making it on our own right now, but we need to jump off the cliff and… we’re at the tipping point.
Dawn: Really, we like putting the whole idea together. And things have just fallen into place. Happenstance. Space. Labels. It’s all fallen into place.
I ask the women what they think of Walla Walla, what kind of reception they’ve had and what kind of support they’ve felt from the community. They remind me that Walla Walla is notorious for stingy old money. They have more out of town customers.
Dawn: But there’s a core of ladies that love us.
Mary: It’s the new crowd, the transplants.
The transplants. Is that what they’re called here now? Still, Walla Walla has its old charms.
Mary: But here’s this small town with a great symphony hall. I love being able to ride my bike, walking down the street and knowing people. It feels like my community.
Dawn: We feel loved and supported. The community has been supportive. From winemakers, friends, we love what you’re doing how can we help, even the girl from the cancer center… But location is so key!
Mary: And where else is there a women owned company? Ashley Trout [of Flying Trout Wines]. Can’t forget about her.
Dawn: She’s also pretty visionary, trying to do some neat stuff.
Mary: Lynn Anderson came on board with legal, bonding.
Dawn: Daymon [Bruck] offered his help. We all met through the loan center… [where Dawn's husband, Jack Kammer, works]
Daymon designed their labels, an essential part of DaMa’s creative process as they have already explained.
So in this community of people showing interest and wanting to be involved, how do you think you made it all happen?
Dawn: Not being afraid to take a little bit of a risk, or not knowing better. Not everything has been roses.
Finally I ask them about Success. They both agree that although they would love “a bizillion dollars in the bank and to be on Oprah,” they are successful. What they’ve created already makes them happy. In the moment, in that present happiness, is success. Mary looks around the back garden, squinting in the sun, talking about how she loves her work, she has a wonderful son, Simon, who plays just behind us, she feels she’s giving back. This project is their gift to the world. What else is there but right now? And Dawn and I couldn’t agree more.
In the present, I enjoy knowing these remarkable women, and I am enjoying the experience of DaMa Wines. I think they can help everyone learn a little about success.
DaMa Wines is on the rise. Experience the joy.
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