Keeping it all in the family

It was a game the three girls played with their dad. “Close your eyes. Smell this. Taste this. Guess what it is…” Moe Momtazi was determined to help his daughters heighten their senses and develop their palates. It worked.

In 2007, just six years after Moe and his wife Flora founded Maysara Winery, daughter Tahmiene took over as winemaker. Despite a family winemaking tradition that goes back four generations to Persia, it wasn’t a foregone conclusion. In fact, she’d actively rejected the idea and was considering medical school. But an advisor at Linfield College encouraged her to spend a summer around the winery, applying her scientific mindset. And Tahmiene was hooked.

Today, dad runs the vineyard, mom handles the books, sister Naseem is the sales manager, and sister Hannah runs the events. And it all works beautifully.

The three sisters have even collaborated on a wine called Three Degrees — a project to produce an affordable and enjoyable Pinot Noir for their friends.