On my actual birthday, I had an early dressage lesson, then parked my horse in front of two fans, and went to escape the heat myself, first in the pool, then the house- which my long term friends will be surprised- is air conditioned. And, I occasionally don't hate it.
This week has had some wonderfully July days, with upper 90 degree marks. That is mid-30s for my readers outside the USA, Federated States of Micronesia and the Bahamas. Off topic, but really, America? Is a scale based on 100 really too strange? Anyway, I really enjoy the heat of the summer, maybe for the excuse to stop doing manual labor.
So, in honor of my birthday week, despite the fields being behind on mowing and the impending storms of Elsa, Huz and I mowed for 4 hours of the morning and then escaped to a pool swim and a trip in the air conditioned car for a Winery Wednesday Adventure.
He mowed longer than I, so I made the plan. I chose Mount Ida Reserve Winery in Scottsville, Virginia.
It is the southernmost of the local wineries, so the selection held a bit of logic, but it is also on the market, and boy do I love real estate!
I was interested to see what I could get for 75 million. That is 75,000,000. Gulp. But, NO! While sipping a glass of Rosé in the beautiful tasting room, a check of Realtor.com showed the place to be on clearance... only 55,000,000. The real estate market is HOT, but seems to slow down at the 8th digit.
What you get for that? A lot of acres- Over 3000. The tasting room/event space for the 170 acre winery-the largest around; larger than Trump winery. A Hem. I digress. Another Party Barn for large events; two historic (renovated) houses, each with an 8 stall stable; carriage houses- for actual carriages; 5 lakes; river frontage; large sand beach; 180ft waterslide; go-cart track; 19 four-bedroom rental houses positioned in a perimeter around the property; 25 springs; fiber optic cable internet; 5 diesel generators...the list proceeds.
The estate had belonged to Bernard Arnault, an ubër-rich, multibillionaire tycoon, Frenchman, CEO of LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Henessey) . He is so wealthy, for a few minutes in 2021 he surpassed Jeff Bezos as the world's wealthiest man with over 187 billion. But, then, sigh, I bought some more lightbulbs, solar pool floats and a book my niece recommeded, and BOOM. Bezos back on top.
My (totally amateur) sleuthing leads me to believe Monseiur Arnault sold Mount Ida in 2002 for a steal at 16 million. At that time, I believe it had the historic houses and not much else in place, but LOTS of land. It was purchased by a Washington DC cellular network CEO who sold his company to AT&T, cashing in and moving to the country! That fellow put a good bit of capital into the property (rumor was 100 million? sounds just like a rumor) to make it an event mecca. If you need a 12,000 sq.ft. party pavilion, they have you covered. I don't know how many buildings it came with in 2002 either. But, now with 26 homes, barns, 5?event barns, the man-made lakes, etc. who knows? Maybe he did spend 100 million.
We visited the Tasting Room and Taphouse. We were the only ones in the parking lot on arrival, and a few others came and went while we were enjoying our wine and the views. The views are "long views" of the Blue Ridge mountains, through a formally laid out garden with a large stone fireplace, fountains and patios with umbrella tables.
We decided it will be spectacular in autumn!
As for wine and fare, we sampled two glasses each. Huz had a Cab Sav, and a House Red, I had the aforementioned Rosé and the House White. He also had a light bite of pimento cheese with olive oil, sea salt crackers. The wine was nice, my preferred was the House White, Huz liked the Cab Sav. The wait staff was cheerful and helpful without being over-present. The interior of the tasting room is furnished in heavy velvets and leans toward "ormulu commode" and passementarie, maybe more suitable for January? But the outdoor areas are tidy and fresh feeling.
We purchased one of their wine glasses, a weighty but balanced glass with the Mount Ida logo, an "M" on the glass to add to our collection of local winery glasses.
A picturesque drive on back roads to Foxcroft Farm topped off our after noon adventure.
We like Mount Ida Reserve, so if you are in the market to purchase a property in our area, and you can drop 55 mil, we would be happy to stop in and welcome you here by sharing a bottle of your wine!
You got me at "... mowed for 4 hours of the morning and then escaped to a pool swim..."
ReplyDeleteI love it.