Family is Sustainability

An eight-generation family business manufacturing fine cloth in Lisle sur Sorgue,Provence, since 1808 and currently managed by father and son Pierre and Jean-Louis Brun. They use traditional production methods and are noted for working with local shepherds to encourage them to use historic breeds of sheepand to revive the French woollen industry. The family also work with Mongolian herders in the Gobi Desert to discourage over-pasturing and to add value to their camel wool.

A four-generation family businessfounded in 1909 in Kyoto that is fighting to revive the ancient Japanese tradition of lacquer use for tableware and artwork. The family has innovated by creating a UV-resistant lacquer from the urushi tree and Takauya Tsutsumiof the current generation, has worked with a renowned Australian surfboard maker to create elegant lacquer-coated wooden surfboards like those used by ancient Hawaiians. Projects such as this challenge accepted norms and the throw-away culture of plastics. Their lacquer has been used to restore important national shrines such as Nikko Toshogu.

A five-generation family business founded in 1903 by Cuban immigrants to feed workers in the hundreds of nearby cigar factories. The family reflect the best of the American dream with new arrivals working from nothing to create a successful legacy. They own Florida’s oldest restaurant and the 10th oldest in the USA still owned by the founding family, and now have six other Columbia locations plus five other restaurant brands. Multiple family members continue to work in the business, and they have a strong tradition of supporting local charities.

A bookbinding and hand decorated paper business founded in the Piazza Pitti,Florence, in 1856 who remain in their original location andshop. This family company is currently headed by GuidoGiannini and 6th generation Maria Giannini. They continue to decorate fine leather and parchment and the family were instrumental in creating the famous Florentine style in the 19th century. They have created a digital archive to reflect their centuries of work and to inspire new collections and applications in other sectors. The survival of such artisans for over 165 years is a testament to family craftsmanship.

In 1842 the Busatti family took back their Palazzo Morgalanti in the village of Anghiari in Tuscany which had been occupied by Napoleon’s troops and used by them to make uniforms for the French army. The familydecided to continue making textiles and have done so for 8 generations and are now the producers of some of Italy’s finest fabrics. The family are highly environmentally conscious and have started to use seaweed to make fabric as other materials require huge quantities of water in the production process, and they are strong supporters of their local community.

The Primum Familiae Vini are pleased to announce that the jury formed of one member of each of its twelve wine-making families has selected an independent eight-generation family-owned silk and wool manufacturer in France – Brun de Vian-Tiran - as the winner of the €100,000 PFV Prize of 2022.

Brun de Vian-Tiran was founded on the river Sorgue in 1808 in Provence and managed to survive through wars, crisis and international competition for 8 generations. Pierre Brun - 7th generation - searched for the descendants of Spanish merino sheep imported by Louis XVI in 1786 and there are now 15 local flocks with the original merino’s genes producing fine wool for them. Pierre and son Jean-Louis continue to buy wool from local shepherds in the Arles and Alp regions, but they also travelled to Mongolia to find local herders who were producing baby camel wool on the edge of the Gobi Desert, resulting in additional income for the herders, and creating a shining example of sustainability and the continuation of an ancient way of life.

The twelve PFV families believe that through this prize they can use their long histories - and the fame of their wines – to encourage independent family-owned companies to continue their projects and to encourage product excellence, generational succession and social responsibility. These values are para- mount to the twelve winemaking PFV members.

Priscilla Incisa Della Rocchetta, President of the PFV, said:

‘It was hard to select the winner from amongst so many good applicants, but our jury were impressed by the Brun’s commitment to family continuity, to its local community and to the origin of its raw-materials. Today with 50 employees (factory, shop and museum combined ) and with some of their staff being in the fourth or fifth generation working with them, they are a great model for all family companies.’