Trump fires socialite from her own winery

In true Apprentice style, US property mogul Donald Trump has fired socialite Patricia Kluge from her own former winery. As reported on db.com, Kluge was forced to sell her 314-hectare Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard in Charlottesville, Virginia, at auction last April.

Trump, a friend of Kluge, bought the estate for US$6.2 million. He has since changed the name to Trump Vineyard Estates and brought in his son Eric as president. At the time of the takeover, Kluge was offered the role of vice president of operations, but the one-year transitional contract has officially expired.

"We gave her a transition contract for the first year, and that has ended. We are still working with her a little bit, and we still have a good relationship with Patricia,” Trump told the New York Post. “It’s never easy when you build something like that and you end up working for the people that are owning it,” Trump added.

His son Eric said: “It was always known she was going to help us transition from bank owned to Trump owned, she did so very effectively. This is an exciting transition. We’ve been winning awards right and left. Business is great. Our trajectory in terms of new business coming in is literally vertical,” he said.

Kluge’s husband, Bill Moses, oversees the property as general manager – a role that is set to continue. Kluge received a US$100 million divorce settlement in 1990 from broadcasting billionaire John Kluge, the richest man in America in the ‘80s. She declared bankruptcy last June.

Blanc: English fizz a contender for world’s best

French celebrity chef Raymond Blanc OBE has got behind English sparkling wine, dubbing it “a serious contender for the world’s best sparking wine.” Speaking at the launch of Brasserie Blanc in Covent Garden, Blanc told the drinks business how the recent leap in quality of English sparking wine could pose a threat to Champagne.

“I visited Camel Valley in Cornwall six months ago and was really impressed, they are making some seriously good sparkling wines and winning a lot of gold medals in the top international competitions. The climate in England is still not quite right yet, and I’ve yet to taste a good Pinot Noir or Merlot from England, but it will come. England is reconnecting with its land – there’s a curiosity there. It’s a young country in terms of winemaking, but it’s steadily building its reputation – it’s exciting,” he said. 

English sparkling wine took centre stage on BBC TV show The Apprentice last week, where contestants were tasked with creating an online advert and website championing English fizz. Shortly after the programme screened on Wednesday night, English Sparkling Wine was trending worldwide on social media site Twitter as a result. 

In terms of Michelin stars, Blanc, the chef patron and part owner of two Michelin-starred country house hotel Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxford says he’s never been bothered about them. He said: “I’m not mercenary, I don’t work for stars or ratings, I work for excellence. A star is simply a by-product of the quality, service and consistency you’re giving to your guests every day. Being the best and number one has never been my motivation, there’s more to life.” 

Blanc also revealed that he will be opening up his loos to the public during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee weekend. “We’re having a big street party down my road in Oxford and I’ve been asked to provide all the patisserie. I’ll also be opening up my loos to the public as they’re big,” he joked. 

Blanc is keen to push wines from small vignerons in South West France in his Brasserie Blanc chain. “Everyone associates Provence with rosé, but there are some excellent Cru Classé reds coming out of the region, which I’m keen to promote. I also want to promote my region – Franche-Comté, so will be pushing Vin Jaune from Jura,” he said.