About Us
Welcoming You to the Hudson Valley
Meet Your Hosts
Barry & Sang Milea
Proprietors
With Milea Estate Vineyard, Barry and Sang have realized a longtime aspiration of bringing sustainably produced regional wines to New York City while supporting local farmers in the Hudson River Valley.
Sang grew up on a farm in Korea, and is the driving force behind the organic gardens at Milea Estate Vineyard. Sang is also an accomplished equestrienne, practicing the elegant and demanding sport of dressage. A food lover with a discerning palate, Sang and assists our winemaker, Bruce Tripp, with blends.
Barry spent his youth driving trucks and working construction before launching his own business, Milea Auto Group in the Bronx. Through this work, Barry became a leader in importing and selling electric commercial trucks in the United States. In 1984, Barry and his father, “Papa Joe” Milea, purchased the farm that is today Milea Estate Vineyard.
Meet Our Mascots
The Hudson River Valley is legendary for its stables and horse farms. Barry and Sang Milea are both avid equestrians, and Sang continues to compete in Dressage. On our estate, we provide homes for three retired competition horses, who greet guests who have booked a private tour. We are also proud supporters of horse-rescue organizations such as Lucky Orphan Horse Farm and 13 Hands Ponies.
The Milea Estate Story
After the 1908 Messina earthquake and subsequent tsunami devastated his home in Calabria, Italy, Anthony Milea immigrated to the United States. He purchased a farm in the Hudson River Valley in the 1920s, where he grew fruit and raised his family.
Six decades later, his grandson and great-grandson, Joe and Barry Milea, returned to the Hudson Valley and purchased the historic Rymph Family Farm as an homage to their forefathers. Today, that property is Milea Estate Vineyard.
The River That Runs Both Ways
For some ten thousand years, members of the indigenous Lenape (also known as Delaware) tribe lived alongside the Mahicannituck (“The River that Runs Both Ways”). French Huguenots arrived in the 1660s, and soon after, began planting grapevines. The oldest continuously operated vineyard in the United States today was planted in the Hudson Valley in the 1700s.
This stretch of the river later gained renown for its grand Gilded Age mansions, but farming never ceased to be the primary activity. Milea Estate Vineyard is located just north of Hyde Park, in the quiet hamlet of Staatsburg. Our property includes a pre-Revolutionary farmhouse dating back to 1747. Owned at one time by Reuben Spencer, a colleague of George Washington, it is now a luxury lodging available for rental.
A Taste of Centuries Past
The Hudson River Valley is the second-oldest wine region in the United States, with French Huguenot vineyard plantings documented as far back as 1677. Today, Milea Estate Vineyard supports the preservation of antique grape cultivars through our Hudson Valley Heritage Wines.