PATRICIA KLUGE,
Founder & Chairwoman
Patricia Kluge, the founder, owner and chairwoman of Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard, planted her first vine in 1999 at her estate, Albemarle House. Her dream was not only to create a world-class vineyard and winery in her beloved Charlottesville, Virginia, but also to develop a genuine wine region. Armed with a strong business acumen, honed at the respected Kluge Investments Ltd., Patricia’s instincts were keen -- as a pioneering woman in the Virginia wine industry Patricia watched her new crops flourish and the state’s burgeoning industry explode. Today, Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard is poised to become one of the largest and most influential winemaking facilities in the Virginia. The Monticello Appellation, particularly Patricia’s corner of Albemarle County, is also making a name for itself on the global wine map.
Patricia Kluge brings her signature style and creative streak to the art of fine wine and winemaking. A connoisseur of wine, food, design and decor, Patricia conveys the taste and lifestyle of the Virginia country. The winery and vineyard are a platform from which Patricia can spread a message about wine, culinary arts, the country lifestyle and living as one with the land. This essence is also incorporated into the Kluge Estate Farm Shop, the winery’s tasting room, gift shop and gourmet food outpost; Fuel Co., her restaurant in downtown Charlottesville; and Vineyard Estates, her real estate project on the grounds of Kluge Estate in which vineyards are laced around architecturally stunning homes and gardens. Her partner in these endeavors is her husband, Kluge Estate CEO William Moses.
After living in Virginia for 30 years, Patricia is a true Virginian in mind, body and spirit. In addition to the wine, one of the most important aspects of Kluge’s endeavors is the actual land. “I consider myself a steward of the land and to be a great farmer and vintner one must learn about the soil, the flora, the fauna, and the seasons to best nurture and protect the land, the wildlife and the future of both. We are doing more than making wine here, we are creating a community with nature,” she states. Patricia has immersed herself in projects that celebrate the land, such as festivals, charities and strategic conservation easements.
Patricia and William also support local charities that focus on children and education, which Patricia calls “our future,” through the Kluge-Moses Foundation. Under the Kluge-Moses Foundation’s umbrella is the St. John the Baptist of the Woods Foundation whose current tent pole project is Club Yancey, an organization close to Patricia’s heart. Club Yancey assists and enhances the educational and community opportunities for underprivileged children that attend Yancey Elementary School in Esmont, Virginia with an after-school curriculum designed to expand their educational, social, recreational and nutritional spheres. Most recently, Kluge and Moses established viticulture and oenology programs throughout the state of Virginia with Piedmont Virginia Community College, located a few short miles from Kluge Estate. Patricia’s other philanthropic involvements and political causes are broad-based. Currently, she sits on the board of The Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study. In her adoptive home state, Patricia also founded the Virginia Festival of American Film at the University of Virginia and established the Kluge Children's Rehabilitation Center, the Francis Hooks Scholarship and after-school programs for under-privileged children.
Patricia’s activism has not been limited to Virginia. Previously she served on the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation, National Public Radio Foundation, the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia, the Board of the Virginia Environmental Endowment (VEE), and the Board of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She was also a board member of the Paramount Theater and Cultural Center and the Sexual Assault Research Agency, New York University and was a council member of the Dean's Council at Tisch School of the Arts. Additionally, she was a trustee of the Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association, Inc. Patricia was also a founding member of the Catholic Instructional Television, the National Board of the American Foundation for AIDS Research, The Asia Society, and a member of the United States Information Agency.
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GABRIELE RAUSSE
Consulting Winemaker
Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard is pleased to have Gabriele Rausse, the famed Virginia winemaking expert, on board as a consultant. He has been single-handedly credited with revolutionizing the Virginia wine industry, having revived Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello grapes and lending his expertise in winemaking and the art of blending to local wineries. By those he has worked with as well as by the press, Mr. Rausse has been called the father of viticulture in Virginia. Some say he picked up where Jefferson left off.
Born in Italy, Mr. Rausse relocated to Virginia about 20 years ago. During this time he has watched the state’s wineries grow from a handful to over 75 today, among which Kluge Estate is one of the newer ventures. “Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard is poised to become the next great Virginia wine,” says Mr. Rausse. “The combination of their team, their winemaking methods, their dedication and, above all, their true love of wine, infuses their efforts with vigor, the result of which will be seen in their wine.”
In addition to working in the Central Virginia region, consulting with several local vineyards, Mr. Rausse is also the Associate Director or Garden and Grounds at Monticello. Near that historic home, Mr. Rausse runs his own boutique winery, Gabriele Rausse Winery.
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MICHEL ROLLAND
Consulting Winemaker
From Pomerol, France, world-renowned Bordeaux specialist Michel Rolland, joins the Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard team as a consultant on red wines. Christened by Wine Enthusiast as the Winemaker of the Year, 2000, Rolland is known for creating a style of wine that uses very ripe grapes, new oak and fruit to achieve a specific taste, identifiable by its ripeness, low acidity and very soft tannins. His self-titled “Rolland Method,” also known as the New Bordeaux Style, has been credited with increasing the quality of wines at several properties throughout the globe.
Rolland boasts over 20 years of experience in the field, a degree in oenology from Bordeaux University and he possesses a legendary passion for his work. It is considered an honor to work with him. He consults with over 100 wineries throughout the world, with clients in St.-Emilion and Pomerol reading like an exclusive list of elite properties. The Kluge Winery is among a very few American wineries with whom he works and the team shares his enthusiasm in the creation of their New World Red.
In addition to his four chateaus in Bordeaux – the most widely recognized is Le Bon Pasteur – Rolland, together with his wife Dany, an oenologist in her own right, helms their consulting operation, which includes a winemaking lab and equipment store. He currently lives Saillanes, near Pomerol, where the Rolland family still works the vineyards that have been in their family for three generations.
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WILLIAM J. MOSES
Chief Executive Officer
William Moses is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard in Charlottesville , Virginia . Several years after retiring from the technology industry, Mr. Moses, who graduated with honors from the University of Virginia , relocated to the town where he attended college. With his background in Internet, broadband and sports, developing and running a state-of-the-industry vineyard and winery might seem a curious step, but there is more behind it than just a love of wine -- true love was the motivating factor. Originally in 2001 Mr. Moses stepped in to help his wife, Patricia Kluge , with her burgeoning vineyard and this quickly evolved into a full-fledged second profession. The couple's passion for wine, enthusiastic work ethic and ability to merge and execute their diverse ideas led them to work together full-time, further developing the brand and growing the business.
Previously based in PanAmSat's Greenwich , Connecticut corporate headquarters, Mr. Moses was the Senior Vice President of PanAmSat and President of NET-36, the company's satellite-based Internet broadcast network. Before joining PanAmSat, Mr. Moses was at IBM as the Vice President of Broadband Distribution where he co-authored the IBM digital media strategy and was responsible for developing and executing the company's corporate strategy in broadband industries. While at IBM, Mr. Moses also served as Vice President of Broadcast, Cable and Sports for the company's Global Telecommunications and Media Division. In that role, Mr. Moses also created and launched ventures that resulted in the PGA.com and NHL.com Internet sites, ushering the sports business and leagues into the new media age during the 1990s.
Mr. Moses' extensive experience also includes positions at Credit Lyonnais Securities Corporation, where he was responsible for the investment bank's media industry merger and acquisitions group in the United States and Europe . He was also Senior International Vice President for the NFL and at Time Life Films, Inc., where he served as the General Counsel and head of the legal department and business affairs for the company's first endeavor into the film and television industry.
Mr. Moses, who earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania , School of Law , has served on the Board of Directors of NHL Interactive Cyber Enterprises (NHL ICE) and PGA Interactive (PGA of America), both of which he established as IBM joint ventures. He is also an Associate on the International Council, National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, a member of the Board of Directors of Commonwealth Public Television and the Albemarle County Police Foundation. Virginia Governor Mark Warner appointed Mr. Moses to a two-year term on the Virginia Wine Board and named him to Co-Chair the Gubernatorial Wine Industry Study Commission in 2000. Subsequently, Mr. Moses was reappointed to the Virginia Wine Board by Governor Kaine and has served as Chairman for the past four years.
With his growing role in the Virginia wine community and the expansion of Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard, Mr. Moses and his wife look forward to the future. “We have created a restaurant called Fuel Co. which is a local hot spot that also provides a way to share our wine with Charlottesville and we are in the midst of building an upscale wine community called Vineyard Estates on 511 of the property's 2000 acres. The goal is to bring the vineyard life to others. We are literally seeing the fruits of our labor becoming a family business with my daughter Kristin heading up the public relations and marketing departments,” says Mr. Moses. “This as an exciting long-term family project for years to come.”
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CHARLES GENDROT Winemaker
Joining a world-class, top-ranked team of experts at Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard in the Commonwealth of Virginia is Charles Gendrot, an experienced winemaker from France's famed Bordeaux region. Gendrot's aim is to work closely with Kluge Estate's esteemed consultant winemaker, Michel Rolland, to establish the Estate wines to the level of "Cru Classé" and realize Kluge Estate's ambition of creating one of the most influential, state-of-the-art winemaking facilities in America. Gendrot will be involved on a day-to-day basis with every stage of production from planting to supervising laboratory testing of the soil and vines.
Gendrot was born into one of Bordeaux's most-respected oenological families and has consulted with over a hundred chateaux in the Bordeaux, Margaux, St. Estephe, Listrac, Pauillac and Haut Medoc regions of France. He has established a strong reputation for micro cru winemaking - using the latest technology to create wine to the highest possible standards of precision and quality. Sharing Mr. Rolland's opinion that Virginia shows great promise for winemaking, Gendrot notes the similarities in climate between Virginia and his home of Bordeaux. With a commitment to the latest technologies for monitoring both the terroir and the winemaking process itself, Gendrot is confident that Kluge Estate's Virginian wines will emerge amongst the most exciting and prestigious new wines in North America.
Born in 1961, the year of a spectacular Bordeaux vintage, Gendrot began his education at Bordeaux University, graduating with a degree in Science. Following in his father's footsteps, Gendrot's passion for the art of winemaking soon led to him supervising a huge number of wineries throughout the Bordeaux region. His 16 years of experience in the southwest of France from 1984 to 1999 resulted in him gaining unique experience in the management and production of some of the highest quality French wines. Most recently, Gendrot worked with the Jackson Family Farms at Vérité Winery in California where he was responsible for all aspects of the winemaking process from vine quality control to laboratory management and analysis.
Located in Albemarle County, central Virginia, Kluge Estate's 1200 acres is just seven miles from Monticello, the historic home of Thomas Jefferson, the father of American and Virginia wine history. With 40 acres under vine and 150 acres to be planted with Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard represents a serious dedication to quality winemaking in this historic region. The address of the winery - 100 Grand Cru Drive - tells it all. Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard is poised to become a serious contender on the world market.
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LAURENT CHAMPS
Sparkling Wine Consultant
Laurent Champs is the owner and Champagne Master of Vilmart & Cie, an independent, estate-based Champagne house located in the village of Rilly in Montagne de Reims. Vilmart has gained cult status among Champagne aficionados, and the house owes part of this success to Champs, who took over for his father, Rene Champs, in 1990.
Before taking the reins at Vilmart, Champs trained in the vineyards and wineries of several Champagne Houses, including Charles Heidseick, and in Bordeaux. He received his Viticulture Professional Certificate (1985), Oenology and Viticulture Technical Certificate (1987), and Superior Certificate of Oenology and Viticulture (1989) at the University of Champagne in Avize. He then received a Superior Certificate in Business and Marketing from the Chamber of Commerce in Reims.
Once at the helm at Vilmart, Laurent continued his father’s work and introduced the practice of new oak barrel ageing for their top cuvees. In addition, he implemented labor-intensive biodynamic vineyard methods. As a result, Vilmart's primarily Chardonnay Champagnes, like the great Coeur de Cuvee, cultivated the admiring attention of the international wine press, as well as that of the export markets.
Champs’ expertise in the vineyards makes him a natural fit for Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard, one of Virginia’s top producers of sparkling wine. At Kluge Estate, Champs works with winemaker Charles Gendrot on the pioneering vineyard’s production of SP, a blanc de blancs made in the methode traditionnelle, as well as SP Rose. Champs is excited to work with Kluge Estate in creating world-class sparkling wines, and one of his first orders of duty is in the Pinot Noir vineyards – creating the winery’s first blanc de noirs, to be released in 2007.
Champs was drawn to Virginia, and to Kluge Estate especially, because of what he sees as its potential to make outstanding sparkling wines. The unique microclimate at Kluge Estate, located on the southeast slope of Carter’s Mountain in the Blue Ridge Mountains range in Albemarle County, fosters ideal conditions for the production of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes. Champs explains, “I make wine first and bubbles second. I like to work with what nature gives me.”
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