Trump Doesn’t Own One Of The Largest Wineries In The United States [Fact-Checking]
In his speech on Tuesday, Donald Trump took a moment to share some “fun facts” about Charlottesville, Virginia with the press corps. Trump perhaps wanted to explain that Charlottesville was significant to him in some way. Or maybe Donald Trump was trying to explain how he knows many of the “very fine people” in that part of Virginia.
“Does anyone know I own a house in Charlottesville… it is the winery… I own actually one of the largest wineries in the United States.”
But what do we really know about the Trump Winery? Perhaps it’s time to do some fact-checking, and see if there is any validity to Trump’s comments. The Trump Winery is indeed in Charlottesville, Virginia on a beautiful piece of land. Donald Trump acquired the winery from the Kluge family after they defaulted on their bank loans. But Donald Trump’s first gaffe was when he said he owned the winery because the official Trump Winery website makes it clear that Donald Trump does not own the winery, and has no business or financial interest in it.
“Trump Winery is a registered trade name of Eric Trump Wine Manufacturing LLC, which is not owned, managed or affiliated with Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization or any of their affiliates.”
Yes, the Trump Winery does not belong to Donald Trump, but instead, it’s Eric’s.
Then there’s the talk about size, and while Trump says it’s huge, it’s not. Trump says it’s one of the largest wineries in the United States, but Town & Country says not only is Trump Winery not one of the largest wineries in the United States, it’s not even one of the largest on the East Coast.
While Donald Trump wasn’t specific about how he was measuring size when he made the statement about Trump Winery, the two measures are acreage and production. Trump Winery has 210 acres of vines planted and produces 36k cases of wine per year. Compare that to the largest winery in the United States, E. & J. Gallo in California which has over 23k acres of vines planted.
But the Trump Winery looks beautiful in photos of the Virginia countryside. The press information provided by Trump Winery introduces Eric Trump as the president, Kerry Woolard, who spoke at the Republican National Convention as the General Manager, and Jonathan Wheeler as the winemaker. Though Eric Trump does not live in Virginia, the site says that he oversees the entire operation.
“As President, Eric oversees everything from winemaking and marketing to global distribution and sales. Eric is a rising star in the business sector and has appeared as a keynote speaker for several international business [sic], winery and real estate conferences nationwide.”
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But in all fairness, the hotel on the property of the Trump Winery the Albemarle Estate is a Trump Hotel, which perhaps indicates some involvement by Donald Trump (though the Trump Hotels are supposed to be under the management of Donald Trump, Jr.). The hotel, which is more like an old manor house comes with all the luxury appointments one would expect.
“Albemarle Estate at Trump Winery offers guests the opportunity to stay at one of the most prestigious and architecturally significant residences in history. Experience our luxurious wine country estate at Virginia’s largest vineyard and see why the 26,000-square-foot 45-room mansion has been called ‘one of America’s true treasures.'”
Why do you think Donald Trump chose that moment at a press conference to talk about Trump Winery? Why do you think he gave false facts?
[Featured Image by Dylan Rives/Getty Images]
