A portion of Castello di Borghese, Long Island’s first and oldest vineyard on the North Fork founded in 1973, is generating interest since it was first listed on the market last month.
Sixty-six acres of the south side of the Cutchogue vineyard, including the family farmhouse with vineyard views, are for sale, listed with Joseph DiVello of Century 21 Albertson Realty for $3.69 million. The tasting room on County Road 48, on the north side of the property, with 18 acres is not included in the listing brought to the market and will remain in operations, DiVello says.
“We’ve had a lot of interest,” since it went on the market on January 18, says DiVello. “We’ve had offers already . . . but we’re not going to counter until we find the right fit.”
The original vines on 11 acres — rows of pinot noir, sauvignon blanc, cabernet franc and merlot — are included in the acreage up for grabs. DiVello says the Borgheses want to continue to make wine, and would request that any buyer allows them to maintain it for a period of time.
The estate, located at 4782 Alvah’s Lane, includes the former home of the vineyard founders, Louisa and Alex Hargrave, pioneers of the viticulture industry on the East End. The vineyard was home to the first successfully grown Vitis vinifera (Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc) on Long Island, and has produced multiple award-winning wines ever since.
Hargrave Vineyard, which has become known as the birthplace of Long Island’s wine region, sold in 1999 to Marco Borghese, a native of Tuscany, and Ann Marie Borghese, who renamed the vineyard Castello di Borghese, or Castle of the Borgheses, a nod to Marco’s noble Italian lineage. In 2014, their son, Giovanni, took over operations when his parents died tragically just a week apart.
The property has much potential, DiVello says, including equestrian, agricultural and development opportunities. “This listing really doesn’t exist anywhere else. We’re getting people calling from all over the place.”
There are technically four tax parcels apart of the offering. They include a 3.74-acre building envelope and a 5.16-acre residential plot featuring several detached barns dating back to 1680. There is also a 6.85-acre parcel where the development rights have been sold. Lastly, there is the largest parcel, the 50.23 acres.
The vines include approximately 5.5 acres of the original Pinot Noir, 2.5 acres of the original Sauvignon Blanc/ Semillon, two acres of the original Cabernet Franc, and 3.5 acres of the original Merlot.
The well-appointed, 3000-square-foot house looks out over the vineyards with large bay windows. There are even views from the second-floor master bedroom. The original south side of the home contains wide plank wood floors dating back to 1680. There are a total of four bedrooms and three and a half baths.
A newly renovated gunite pool has a patio that overlooks the entire estate.
Several detached structures, some that currently store wine barrels, can also be found near the house.
One unique feature is what they call “a real prohibition room,” hidden below an 1800s hand-hewn barn. “The prohibition room filled with booze was discovered in the 1940s, which is written about in Louisa Hargrave’s story, The Vineyard,” DiVello says. The room is now encompassed by a large cellar addition, he adds.
See it for yourself this weekend. An open house, by appointment only, will be held there on Saturday, February 6.
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