From Ellis Island to Eagle Hills
A Multigenerational Journey of Family, Heritage, and Wine
Tammy de Weerd
This will hide itself!
From Ellis Island to Eagle Hills
A Multigenerational Journey of Family, Heritage, and Wine
We were travelling when the message came, “I would like to learn more about Spoken Wines and how Rolling Hills Vineyard can collaborate with your company.” We hadn’t even launched our business so to hear from Mark Pasculli, a respected businessman and Idaho wine industry leader, was exciting. We also recalled how incredible their Cab Franc wine was at the 2022 Savor Idaho event.
Rolling Hills aligns with our mission of discovering exceptional wines with captivating stories from around the world. We met Mark, last November, in their Garden City tasting room upon returning from four months in S. Africa and Australia’s wine regions. We were so struck by how Mark and Lori worked seamlessly together with their kids that day. We were sold, we wanted to tell their story. We showcased Rolling Hills Vineyards on YouTube in May. Here are excerpts from that interview with the Pasculli’s - Mark, Lori, Daniel, Savannah, Zach.
Tell us about your family business.
Lori: Mark and I love to be with our kids. We had bought this beautiful property and this old vineyard that we needed to rehabilitate. Our kids were interested in helping. Daniel was in the Marines getting ready to finish. He was interested in farming and winemaking with Mark. Zach loves videos, pictures, [and marketing]. Savannah is our tasting room manager. I like the design aspect. There is a lot of work to be done; we have our own job responsibilities and we also work very well together.
Photographer: Tammy de Weerd
How do you communicate and work together as a family?
Daniel: There is constant communication. We have a group chat – all the ideas go there – and get together once a week on various things.
Zach: It’s not always smooth. Being in a business as a family we sometimes must drop those family privileges that can get in the way of business. We work to operate as co-workers that care.
Savannah: Overall, it works very well for us. We have our different strengths and weaknesses. The way it all comes together, we kind of balance each other out in the perfect way. There is a lot of mutual respect.
Photographer: Zach Pasculli
What was the motivation behind Rolling Hills?
Lori: My grandfather had a small vineyard in central California where I grew up. My grandfather would throw me on his lap on the old tractor and we would go up and down the rows. I look back on those times with real fondness. I wanted something like that for my kids. So, when we found this old vineyard, it was just calling out to us.
Mark: I’m a first-generation immigrant of an Italian family. My grandfather came before WWII started, unfortunately the rest of my family arrived after the war. Both our families came to America through Ellis Island. We have great appreciation of what our families went through – both during war, and Lori’s family was part of a genocide. You don’t go through those things personally, but you learn from their story the importance of family in staying together and working together. What is more important than that?!
Photographer: Zach Pasculli
May 7, 2024
From Vineyard to Inbox
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