Page 8 - Terroir_2014

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PRIDE
ZD Wines President Brett deLeuze’s parents came to the valley in the
1960s and Brett grew up around the winery, which was an all-consuming
hobby for the first decade of its existence. “My father’s engineering
job had to pay the bills in those days,” recalls deLeuze, who today can
boast about the winery’s medal-winning Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs,
and Cabernet Sauvignons. From purchasing used barrels that he re-
coopered himself to constantly updating and rewiring their equipment,
Norman’s engineering background was a great match for all of this work
and innovation. In 1978, he left engineering to become ZD’s first and
full-time employee. Later, his son Robert joined as a cellarman and Brett
finally joined after high school. “We all learned the wine business from
the ground up.” Today, a third-generation family member, Brandon
deLeuze, has joined as assistant winemaker.
“Family businesses have unique characteristics, and I believe that the
wine industry ties very nicely into many of them,” says Brett deLeuze.
“There is a special level of excitement behind creating and continuing a
successful, generational business.”
TRADITION
Everyone in the valley knows Jim Regusci, owner of Regusci Winery.
He’s the third generation of winemakers on this estate in the heart of the
Stags Leap District—an estate that was originally purchased in 1932, at a
time when growing grapes didn’t pay the bills. “My grandfather wrestled
a living from the land, growing corn, hay, walnuts, plums, and raising
cattle as well as running a dairy farm and slaughterhouse.” It wasn’t until
the 1960s that his father, Angelo, started planting grapes. “My father
was able to hold on to the home ranch during the hard times,” Regusci
explains. Now he farms more than 2,230 acres and considers it a privilege
to work and live on the same piece of ground that has sustained so many
generations. “My grandfather, father, myself, and my kids are very
blessed to have this way of life.”
Blood may be thicker than wine, but many of those family ties are
driven by bonds created in the vineyards, Regusci explains. “The Perez
family—two brothers—started with me in 1985, when I opened my
vineyard management company. Now all six of their sons run different
divisions of it. It’s more than just making wine for me. It is truly about
family—and not just my own.”
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