Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/74662
EAST MD OH WV KY TN These suits involving Farm Credit are not the first financial problems that Kluge and Moses have faced. At approximately the same time they obtained the Farm Credit loan in 2007, they were planning to build an "upscale wine community called Vineyard Estates" on more than 500 acres of the Kluge property. The lien holder, Sonabank, foreclosed on a $17.4 million loan for the planned subdivision earlier in 2010. Kluge and Moses covered debt of $3.7 million and moved into the only house, known as "Glen Love," that had been built. The realtor for the project, Frank Richmond Kluge VIRGINIA NC Estate DE Hardy, sued Kluge and Moses in Febru- ary 2010 for $1.9 million; that case was settled out of court. In 2009, Kluge and Moses listed their mansion, Albemarle House, for sale for $100 million. The price was dropped to $48 million in February. The property, still listed on Sotheby's website, is not part of the foreclosure on the winery property. Approximately 15,000 cases of Kluge Estate wine were auctioned Saturday, December 11, in Madison, Va. However, the auction sold only 4,000 cases, some for as little as $2 and $3 per case. Kluge Moses Science Building In 2005, Kluge and Moses donated $1.2 million to Piedmont Virginia Community Col- lege in Charlottesville, toward construction of a new science building. At the time, theirs was the largest single gift the college had received, and when the building opened on Sept. 16, 2010, it was officially named the Kluge Moses Science Building. When the financial difficulties of the Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard became Farm Credit's auction included winery equip- ment and other items. apparent in October, many in the wine industry were concerned about the status of the Kluge-Moses pledge to the college. In November, Mary Jane King, director of institutional advancement and develop- ment at Piedmont, stated that half of the pledge has been paid, and that the col- lege has been assured by Moses that the remaining $600,000 will be paid over the next five years. —Linda Jones McKee Wines & Vines JAnUARY 2011 107