Gerret van Sweringen Copeland

Gerret’s father, Lammot du Pont Copeland, was the 11th president of the DuPont Company. Perhaps more influential to his son’s passion for wine, he was also a founder of the Wilmington, Delaware, chapter of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin. His mother, Pamela Copeland, a noted horticulturist, enjoyed fine wine as well and was the first woman in the U.S. invited to join the Chevaliers du Tastevin. Today, Gerret continues his parents’ legacy in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware. After a career in finance, during which he developed a successful New York Stock Exchange brokerage firm, he helped establish the Brandywine Conservancy in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The Conservancy continues to protect the Brandywine River Valley from pollution and over-development. He is also active with Longwood Gardens (the world famous gardens in Pennsylvania), The Mount Cuba Center for Piedmont Flora (his childhood home, and now a major horticultural center in Delaware), and is the Chairman of the Delaware Art Museum (founded by his grandmother).