New book delves into Europe’s great wine families

A new book by Fiona Morrison MW aims to offer an unparalleled introduction to 10 of Europe’s leading winemaking families.

’10 Great Wine Families’ – the second book from Steven Spurrier’s revived Academie du Vin series – sees Morrison spend time with the Frescobaldi, Gaja, Torres, Perrin, Thienpont, Knoll, Niepoort, Palacios, Müller and Liger-Belair families, to see what makes them tick and drives the passion they have for their vines and wines as well as the challenges facing wine and family businesses.

Originally published in Flemish, the book has now been brought to an English-speaking audience to offer, “a book from a viewpoint no other writer, as far as I know, has ever possessed: a seat at the heart of the action,” said Spurrier.

Morrison said: “I am full of admiration for the 10 families I have chosen to profile in this book and I hope that they will still be running their domains for generations to come.

“Harvard Business School estimates that 70% of family businesses are sold or taken over before the second generation and only 12% survive to the third. There is more motivation to succeed in the new global wine business than ever before. Whereas a couple of generations ago, famous wine producers’ children were heading to the cities to find a different career, it is with pride that today’s generations take on their parents’ mantles knowing that they can fulfill their ambitions. Oenology schools and viticultural colleges have never been in such demand.”

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