Herodotus “Dan” Damianos, owner of Pindar winery and a legend of the Long Island wine industry, has died.
The child of Greek immigrants, Damianos overcame an impoverished childhood in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen to make one of Long Island’s biggest and oldest vineyards.
He died Monday of pulmonary fibrosis at his home in Head of the Harbor, according to Kathryn Krejci, CEO of Pindar Vineyards. He was 82.
Born in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, Damianos grew up about as far from farm life as one can get.
“A tree may have been growing in Brooklyn, but it wasn’t on 41st Street,” he used to say. It wasn’t until he was a practicing intern on Long Island in the 1960’s that he discovered what would become his passion: agriculture.
In 1966, Dr. Dan (as he was known) moved his family into an old house in the suburb of Stony Brook. He found grape vines growing on the property, and though they hadn’t been tended for decades — “the size of tree trunks,” as Dr. Dan remembers them — the potential of the grapes enraptured him.
In 1979, Dr. Dan bought his first patch of farmland, 30 acres in the North Fork town of Peconic, and in 1980 began planting. His first wines were introduced with great acclaim in 1982, according to the Pindar Winery website.
True to his nature, he aimed high right from the start. He continued buying and planting land, enlarging Pindar Vineyards every year, learning as he went, although there was a lot of trial and error in the early days.
The commitment was nearly overwhelming but Dr. Dan managed to maintain his medical practice and spent what free time he had at his vineyard. But before long, the hard work paid off: by 1988, Dr. Dan’s wines were of such high caliber, they were served at the inauguration of President George H. W. Bush.
Besides his wife, he is survived by his sons Alexander, Jason and Pindar; daughters Alethea Damianos Conroy and Eurydice; and four grandchildren.
A wake will be held at Branch Funeral Home, 551 New York 25A, Miller Place, on Monday and Tuesday, 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. The funeral will be private.
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