Vineyard Estates at Kluge Estate Winery
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Vineyard Estates at Kluge Estate Winery
WHAT Residences adjoining a winery.
WHERE Charlottesville, Va.
AMENITIES Custom house designs include options like swimming pools and outdoor kitchens, among others.
PRICES Homesites start at $1.29 million.
STATUS The first house was completed last August.
DEVELOPERS Kluge Estate Winery and First Colony Resorts.
CONTACT (434) 220-5902 or www.vineyardestatesonline.com.
DETAILS Hard-core oenophiles may scoff at the notion, but there is indeed an emerging wine industry in Virginia. Currently 134 wineries are spread across the state, approximately 20 of which having opened over the past two years, according to the Virginia Wine Marketing Office. One standout is Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard, about 10 miles south of downtown Charlottesville in Albemarle County. Not far from Monticello, the estate of Virginia’s wine patriarch, Thomas Jefferson, Kluge began planting vines in 1999 and now turns out Bordeaux-style red blends, sparkling wines made with chardonnay grapes and other wines with the help of well-known consultants Michel Rolland and Laurent Champs (the head winemaker is Charles Gendrot). A few years ago, the winery decided to set aside about a quarter of its 2,000 acres for this project — 24 houses on lots that range from nearly three to more than 32 acres. The project’s first house, an Early Virginia-style, five-bedroom cottage designed by David Easton on 2.89 acres, is listed at $7 million. Most of the sites will include spaces for vineyards, which owners may choose to help tend themselves or leave to Kluge’s professionals. Other than the pools and outdoor kitchens, there will be options for features like formal gardens designed by George Carter, wine cellars, tennis courts and stables. Round-the-clock concierge service will be available, and the winery’s tasting room has a high-end grocery and a dining area. Flights arrive at the Charlottesville airport from New York and elsewhere.
Barbaron Luxurious Residences
WHAT Beachfront condominium hotel.
WHERE St. Maarten.
AMENITIES A casino and a spa, among others.
PRICES Residences start at $198,000.
STATUS Scheduled to be completed in December 2009.
DEVELOPER DeBarons Real Estate N.V.
CONTACT (011) 599-5444-200 or www.barbaronsxm.com.
DETAILS The Caribbean island of St. Maarten has been divided between the Dutch and the French, who know it as St. Martin, since 1648. These days, more than a million visitors arrive there each year, drawn by developments like this condominium-hotel project on the southern, Netherlands-governed side. Fronting Little Bay just west of the capital, Philipsburg, it has plans for 204 studio to three-bedroom furnished condominiums, including 15 penthouses. The units are sold in full-ownership, but owners will be able to enter them in a revenue-sharing rental program to serve as hotel rooms when they are away; so far about 40 percent have been sold. There will be balconies off most units, and the penthouses, two of which are much larger than the rest, will have private pools. A short swim off the project’s beach will be a small island for sunbathing. And amenities like the casino, which will have around 25 gaming tables and 300 slot machines, the full-service spa, two beachfront pools, a fitness center and restaurants will be offered. The Princess Juliana International Airport is nearby.
Breaking Ground is a weekly look at projects, planned or under construction, that include weekend or vacation homes.