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DAOU Family Estates wines are now available at Fiserv Forum, and the winery also has a new private rentable lounge there

The DAOU Lounge is a new private space that groups can rent for Fiserv Forum events.
The DAOU Lounge is a new private space that groups can rent for Fiserv Forum events.

Here's a new partnership that Bucks game-goers who are also wine drinkers will probably be a fan of.

Several DAOU Family Estates wines will now be available on all floors of Fiserv Forum. This marks the California winery's first-ever NBA partnership.

The partnership also includes a new private space, called the DAOU Lounge, that groups can rent for arena events.

"Whether it's on the vineyard or on this court, there are a few things that make a difference between being great and being the best," Maeve Pesquera, DAOU's senior vice president of strategy and business development, said at a Wednesday news conference at the lounge. "That relentless pursuit of excellence happens here every day with the Bucks. And it happens on our mountain in Paso Robles."

Paso Robles is located in the Central Coast, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The mountain, which has an elevation of 2,200 feet, has soils like Bordeaux and a climate like Napa, according to Pesquera.

Here's what to know about the new partnership, including which wines will be available at the arena, where to find them and more on the DAOU Lounge.

Where to get DAOU wines around the arena

DAOU wines will be available for purchase by the glass at the majority of concession stands throughout the arena, in the Potawatomi Club and at a cart on the suite level. Each glass of wine costs $15.

Which DAOU wines will be available at Fiserv Forum?

The arena will serve some of DAOU's "favorite wines from the portfolio," including rosé, chardonnay and cabernet, Pesquera said.

Select locations will also carry Soul of a Lion, DAOU's "flagship wine," a cabernet sauvignon, she noted.

Several DAOU Family Estates wines will now be available on all floors of Fiserv Forum. This marks the California winery's first-ever NBA partnership.
Several DAOU Family Estates wines will now be available on all floors of Fiserv Forum. This marks the California winery's first-ever NBA partnership.

The DAOU Lounge: A new private rental space

The DAOU Lounge — located near Section 103 on the main concourse — is a private space that groups can rent for Bucks and Marquette games, as well as concerts, said Matt Pazaras, chief business development and strategy officer of the Milwaukee Bucks and Fiserv Forum. The rental includes seats with a view into the bowl, food and DAOU wines, he said.

"It's like your own private party," he said.

The lounge features a red, sleek spherical bar with a tree at the center, a long white couch with matching chairs, TV screens and a "DAOU Doe" that's red and has the company's name across it.

The space was originally a season ticket holder lounge, according to Pazaras.

For rental information, people can visit buckspremium.com or email Premium Sales at premiumsales@bucks.com, according to the Bucks.

This "DAOU Doe" is located in the new DAOU Lounge at Fiserv Forum.
This "DAOU Doe" is located in the new DAOU Lounge at Fiserv Forum.

About DAOU's proprietors

Courage, tenacity, dedication to craft and grit. Those are all qualities that the Bucks and DAOU's proprietors, brothers Daniel and Georges Daou, have in common, Pesquera said.

The brothers were children when a missile struck the sidewalk in front of their family's home in Lebanon, sending shrapnel tearing through the house, according to DAOU's website.

A couple years later, amid the Lebanese Civil War, the family moved to France to escape. It was there the brothers "first dreamt of a life in wine," the website said.

The brothers moved to California for college to study engineering, and eventually started DAOU Systems, a networking technology company that specializes in health care.

Years after taking DAOU Systems public and selling the company, Georges and Daniel, who is also DAOU's winemaker, founded DAOU Family Estates in 2007.

Why Wisconsin and the Bucks?

Neb Lukic, president of DAOU, traveled to Wisconsin for the first time last year to visit DAOU's distributor, General Beverage. He said he "instantly fell in love" with not only the state, but the people, and was "stunned" by how nice they were.

"When we had an opportunity to take DAOU on the road, if you will, the decision was very easy," he said.

"When we connected with the Fiserv team and the Bucks team, we knew that this was more than a traditional partnership," Pesquera said. "This was a way for us to connect with these amazing people here in Milwaukee and Wisconsin through the lens of wine."

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: DAOU Family Estates wines, the DAOU Lounge make Fiserv Forum debut