Kareem Massoud

Kareem Massoud was born in Bahrain in 1972. By the late 1970s his parents, Charles and Ursula Massoud, had moved to Connecticut where they began a search for a site to plant a vineyard. In 1983 they founded Paumanok Vineyards in Aquebogue, NY, on the North Fork of Long Island. After earning a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Kareem had a brief career in New York as a private equity analyst at a private investment firm. He decided to move on and ended up back at his family's estate winery. Although he has been working full time at Paumanok for the last 10 years, Kareem Massoud has been actively involved in his family's wine making business since its inception. Kareem is a second generation winemaker, having learned the trade under his father's tutelage. His international travels to South Africa, Germany, New Zealand and Chile have given him a wide range of experience in the art of wine making. Paumanok has been recognized with numerous accolades over the years including Wine Spectator's Critic's Choice Award, NY Wine & Food Classic's "Winery of the Year" Award and "outstanding" reviews in Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. Outside of Paumanok, Kareem serves on the Riverhead Farmland Preservation Committee, on the Executive Board of Long Island Farm Bureau as Treasurer, and is currently Chairman of the New York State Wine Grape Task Force.