Very glad to hear it! You will soon be in the minority, but it's really nice to hear from those that will remain family owned for the foreseeable future.

Keep up the great work

from my end of it I think the answer is "yes". Anytime a family winery gets sold to a large corporation (whether they are a newer winery or a multi-generational winery) it is a sad moment, because the goal of the winery changes from an artistic expression in the form of wine to a purely profit driven business. Don't get me wrong, we'd all like to make money, but not at the sacrifice of style, interbusiness and consumer relationships. Family wineries don't want to make McCabernets

I agree ... I don't necessarily like corporate ownership but I do think when done right it can work. The example I always use is the Kendell Jackson Family of wines here in California.

What tends to happen there is that Jess Jackson, who started with his own winery, will purchase smaller wineries but keep the original ownership in place as employees to direct the production. In fact, I would argue that many people don't even know they are having a KJ wine because the like to keep ownership separate from the label.

I think in any industry that family owned businesses give you a chance to have a real experience whether it is a winery, a restaurant or a car repair shop. Corporate ownership takes some of that away but there is always opportunity for someone new to jump in and start.

I don't believe that the family owned winery is dead ... I do believe that the a winery that is owned for multiple family generations is dying.

Very often the wineries are started up by people who have been successful in a previous career and are now indulging their passion to start a winery. Their children don't have this same passion and didn't grow up in it. The kids have their own careers.

There's nothing really wrong with this (other than the extreme taxation). New wineries will start up and some will succeed, some will not. That's what makes the wine business so exciting.

It's also great to find a young winemaker whose wines you enjoy and get to know them and their wines and follow their careers. Three stars in the making from the Central Coast are Larry Shaffer (Tercero), Mikael Sigouin (Kaena) and Blair Fox (Blair Fox Cellars).

Larry,

Wanted to say thanks for the kind, and humbling, words . . . . Blair, Mikael, and I are just three of many winemakers working to make a difference down here along the Central Coast. It's an exciting time and an exciting place. (By the way, Larry, the three of us, along with Dave Potter of Municipal Winemakers, will be releasing a joint side project called Thread shortly (check out http://www.threadwines.com)

As far as family wineries go, this is no different than most industries in our country and others. A business is started and built by a family and then grows larger than a) the family can handle or b) the family wants it to or c) bigger than the next generation can run it or d) big enough to get the attention of larger competitors who purchase it. Fairly common . . .

Of course, as Larry points out, as big companies get bigger, more opportunities arise for 'newbies' to jump in and fill 'niches' left behind . . .

Cheers!