Making wine: It's a family affair
By Wine Atlas, Tuesday 23 January 2007 :: Wine - United-States :: #132 :: rss
They're not actors, professional golfers or rock stars.
They're not race car drivers, movie directors nor Hall-of-Famers.
They don't bring celebrity names to their wine labels. But in the wine business, they're well-known. They've made names for themselves as successful vintners.
They're the Evenstads, the Gargiulos and the Swansons. All have Southwest Florida ties. For these part-time Naples residents, wine is serious business.
They'll show off their wines later this week during the Naples Winter Wine Festival, which they've helped put on the map as the most successful charity wine auction in the world.
During three of 18 dinners at exclusive homes in Naples on Friday night, they'll uncork their wines, as will more than 30 other world-renowned vintners.
Two of the three Naples vintners, the Gargiulos and the Swansons, helped start the three-day event, driven by their shared love of wine and desire to help children. The auction last year raised $12.2 million for Collier County children's charities.
While the wine industry is glamorous, it takes hard work, dedication and a big investment to be successful, the three vintner families say. None of them went into winemaking as a hobby. Grace and Ken Evenstad have owned a home in Port Royal for approximately five years and have run a small vineyard outside Portland for 17 years.
Grace and Ken Evenstad have owned a home in Port Royal for approximately five years and have run a small vineyard outside Portland for 17 years.
The Evenstads
Grace and Ken Evenstad, the owners of Domaine Serene in Dayton, Ore., came into the business in 1989 with a shared passion for pinot noir.
Continue reading: naplesnews.com
