Borghese sells portion of vineyard, retains winery, land
The owner of Borghese Vineyard and Winery in Cutchogue has sold some acreage and will continue to operate the winery. Credit: Newsday / Mark Harrington
The owner of Borghese Vineyard & Winery last week closed on the sale of a 66-acre portion of his family’s Cutchogue vineyard, barns and home in a transaction that allows him to use the property while continuing to own and operate the winery, tasting room and an 18-acre tract of Long Island’s oldest vineyard.
In an email last week, Giovani Borghese, the son of founders Marco and Ann Marie Borghese, said closing of the transaction represented the accomplishment of the “original goal I set out to achieve” by keeping the core of the family’s operation while farming the land he sold to an unspecified buyer. He'll also lease back the family's former home on he property.
Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed but Borghese originally put that portion of the property on the market for $3.69 million, Newsday reported. Borghese later in 2021 considered putting the entire 84.39-acre property up for sale for $6.5 million, but earlier this year a buyer came along willing to accommodate his original plan to sell the 66-acre tract.
“Borghese will continue indefinitely and is a much stronger business now having paid off my parent's old mortgage as well as the debt that was raised buying everyone out over the years,” Borghese said in the email.
Borghese retains ownership of 18 acres of mostly white grapes in a portion of the vineyard north of the LIRR rail tracks that run through the property, as well as the Borghese-branded tasting room on Route 48 in Cutchogue and all of the inventory.
Joseph DiVello, the agent for Borghese at Century 21-Albertson Realty in Southold, said the buyer worked out an arrangement for Borghese to farm the approximately 20 acres of the 66-acre tract that are planted with primarily red, Pinot Noir grapes — Borghese’s signature wine.
DiVello said the arrangement "worked out perfectly for both sides."
"The new owner can enjoy having his farm for his family and kids, maybe plant crops, while not complicating things by having to run a vineyard," he said.
Just over eight acres of the sold property have development rights intact, chiefly those associated with the house and wine barns, while the remaining acres are preserved farmland, DiVello said.
The Borgheses bought the property from the Long Island wine-pioneering Hargrave family in 1998, renaming it Castello di Borghese. Marco and Ann Marie died in 2014. Next year will mark 50 years since the Hargraves first planted grapes on the property.
“This is a big step and it allows us to grow our focus on viticulture, winemaking and the customer experience while continuing our top priority of creating a warm and loving atmosphere in which you can enjoy some of the best wine the North Fork has to offer,” Borghese said in his email.
Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.
