As the winery that bears her name marks its tenth anniversary, Patricia Kluge seems ready to head for other pastures. Or at least another home. Following the auction earlier this month of some of her silver, the Wall St. Journal today reports that her estate, which includes 300 acres and a 45-room neo-Georgian main house, measuring 23,538 square feet, is on the market for a cool $100 million. Price tag includes the house (eight bedrooms and 13 bathrooms), a pool, pool house, log cabin, a greenhouse and "staff cottages." Don’t forget the croquet lawn.
In 2007, at the height of the real estate fantasy boom, Kluge aggressively marketed Vineyard Estates, a high-end planned community that would be situated on some 500+ acres surrounding Albemarle House, the property that is now for sale. She envisioned two dozen giant “turnkey” homes, priced between $6 million and $23 million. Though the advertising campaign included The New Yorker, the Robb Report, and a vanity online video ("awaken to ‘America’s Eden’"), the development never really got off the ground.
2007 brought other issues, including the abrupt shuttering of Fuel, the bistro-gas station the concept of which she once promised would sweep the nation, and an embarrassing lawsuit brought by a cleaning service for $22,847 in unpaid bills.
What does today’s "For Sale" announcement mean for the winery and vineyards, all 220 acres of them? Kristin Moses Murray, Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard spokeswoman ("I am not Mrs. Kluge’s spokeswoman," she corrected us, in reference to an earlier post), answers, nothing at all. The winery and vineyards are not included in the property that has gone on the market. Murray referred us for further comment to the family’s attorney.
Patricia Kluge, 61, may be looking to downsize. First she put the silver on the market, and now she’s listed her property for $100 million. But this need not portend serious change for the local wine industry as Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard spokeswoman Kristin Moses Murray says the winery and vineyards are not included.