Giovanni Borghese and his sister Allegra Borghese in the Castello di Borghese vineyards Julie Platner for The Wall Street Journal
Children of Wine Makers Ask Themselves Whether They Want to Carry on the Family Business
When your parents choose a life in the wine business, does that necessarily mean that it becomes your life, too?
The question is one that many second-generation family members may ask themselves but few more urgently than Giovanni, Allegra and Fernando Borghese of Castello di Borghese winery in Cutchogue, N.Y.
The Borghese siblings lost parents within a week of one another at the end of June. Their father, Marco, was killed in a car crash not far from their Suffolk County home less than a week after their mother, Ann Marie Borghese, died of cancer.
The couple—Mrs. Borghese was 56 years old and her husband was 70—was much beloved in the Long Island wine community. Beyond the sudden loss of their parents, the children are coping with decisions about the future of the winery, including whether they would they will stay with the business or sell.
The questions weren't long in coming. After all, none of the younger Borgheses had been much involved with the winery and there had been rumors that the winery had been for sale off and on for years.
I met with Giovanni Borghese at the Castello di Borghese late last week. He wanted to stave off this sort of speculation and to set the record straight. The time since their parents' death has been quite surreal, he added.
Mr. Borghese had been home for only four weeks; he was in Rome, midway through a sailing trip around the world, when he received word of his mother's death.
At the time Mr. Borghese, who just turned 29, was taking a break from his career in digital media. His sister, Allegra, 26, is pursuing a master's degree in counseling and art therapy and their brother, Fernando, 35, is a digital-media executive in Philadelphia.
Mr. Borghese returned home and a few days later, his father died.
Had there been discussions about the future of the winery with their parents? Had his brother or sister planned to join the business?
There was no pressure to decide, replied Mr. Borghese.
"My parents always wanted us to do what we wanted to do. It was a go-with-the-flow mentality."
A photo of Ann Marie and Marco Borghese on a winery counter Julie Platner for The Wall Street Journal
Ann Marie and Marco Borghese were atypical in many ways. They were living a comfortable and cosmopolitan life in Philadelphia when they took a trip to Long Island in 1998. But unlike most tourists, they decided to buy a winery there. And not just any winery but the iconic Hargrave Vineyards, founded by Louisa and Alex Hargrave in 1973.
The Borgheses plunged into the wine business together; Mr. Borghese, an Italian-born descendant of a noble Roman family, oversaw the vineyards and winemaking while Mrs. Borghese handled the public relations and marketing, which included regular visits to the Greenmarkets in New York. Today, The winery produces about 10,000 cases a year.
Giovanni Borghese said he had planned to help his parents out at the end of his voyage.
"It was a seven-day workweek for them. I wanted to see my parents relax," said Mr. Borghese. Now, of course, he and his siblings must do everything. "We are doing this by way of fate," he said. "There are people here who depends on us and we have to be leaders," he said.
Other North Fork winemaking families have had the luxury of a more gradual transition from one generation to the next.
Brewster McCall, 33, of McCall Vineyards in Cutchogue became involved in the family business in 2009. His father, Russell McCall, planted the first McCall vineyards in 1997.
The younger Mr. McCall intended to be an actor. But after working as a bartender in New York for several years, he decided to work with his father instead. He's in charge of public relations, marketing and sales—and whatever else comes up.
A Borghese wine Julie Platner for The Wall Street Journal
"I basically do whatever is needed," said Mr. McCall.
Although Mr. McCall has a sister and a brother, neither is involved in the wine business.
Meanwhile the entire Massoud family is involved with Paumanok Winery in Aquebogue.
Charles Massoud and Ursula Massoud are the company's founders and their eldest son, Kareem Massoud, is the winemaker; his two younger sons, Salim and Nabeel, are in charge of administration and vineyard management, respectively.
It is a lot to support four families, noted Kareem Massoud, who will be married next month and whose brothers are both married and live on the farm.
That's one reason why they're recently expanded their holdings. They have 80 planted vineyard acres and another 30 acres they could plant as well.
"You need to hit a certain size for your whole family to make a decent living," said Mr. Massoud who is talking with his brothers about how they will work together in the future.
The winery produces 10,000 to 11,000 cases, but Mr. Massoud noted they might be "more comfortable at 15,000 cases plus."
And what of the Borgheses?
First, they will get through the busy summer season and the fall harvest, said Giovanni Borghese. And then they will discuss the future.
"Every effort of every day will be toward keeping it," Mr. Borghese said. "It is all about the team, the vineyard, the region. It isn't about us."
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