The Vine
Written By Bev Stenehjem
The Guglielmo Winery ' s Family Legacy
Gene and George Guglielmo
As one of northern California’ s wine pioneers, the Guglielmo Winery holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously operated family winery in Santa Clara Valley. The winery was founded in 1925 by Emilio and Emilia Guglielmo – two Italian immigrants. After their arrival to the United States, the young couple toiled and saved their money for fifteen years before purchasing acreage and a home in Morgan Hill. It was then that they also started their winery. Their son, George W., along with his wife, Madeline, joined the family business in 1945. By the 1980s, the winery was passed on to their three sons— the third generation— George E., Gary and Gene.
Today, the house where Emilio and Emilia began is still standing and has now become offices for the winery. A fourth generation is in the early stages of being groomed with Angelia Guglielmo, Gene’ s newly hired daughter.
Guglielmo Winery produces a wide variety of award-winning varietals from more than 80 acres of Santa Clara Valley estate vineyards, as well as from other premium winegrowing regions within California. The winery is rich in the charm and tradition of Italy. Beyond iron gates and a cobblestone courtyard lie a tasting room and a covered lawn area popular for weddings, concerts and corporate events. gmhTODAYrecently caught up with George and Gene
Guglielmo for the following interview:
The first question that most people wonder about, is how do you pronounce your last name? Gool-yell-mo – with the accent on the second syllable.
Since your grandparents founded your winery in 1925, it is been regarded as one of one of the region’ s oldest and best wineries. What is the secret of your continued success? Perseverance, dedication and passion. This is where we grew up and it’ s our family name that is out there. So whatever we do, we want to uphold our family’ s traditions and reputation for making quality wines. The reputation we’ ve achieved over three generations reflects our commitment to wine and the community. It also helps that we are willing to improve and change with the times. We have had to morph into other arenas such as with our event center and the distribution of our wines.
Growing up, you were very close to your grandparents. What were some of the most important lessons that you learned from them? For a time, we all lived in the three-bedroom house that now serves as our office here at the winery. Our grandparents slept in one room, my parents in another and two of us boys in the third bedroom. We ate all our meals together. Mainly by example, they taught us the value of hard work and respect for each and every individual. Never run away from your commitments and always treat people right.
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GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN APRIL / MAY 2018 gmhtoday. com