Donald Trump Repeats Past False Claims About 'His' Virginia Winery

In a press conference on Aug. 15 that was ostensibly about recent violence in Charlottesville, Virginia — a press conference variously described by attendees as "jaw-dropping," "crazy," and "explosive" — President Trump told reporters, "I know a lot about Charlottesville... I own actually one of the largest wineries in the United States that's in Charlottesville."

The property in question is Trump Winery, formerly Kluge Estate Winery, which Trump bought in 2011.

There are two things wrong with the president's statement, however. First, he doesn't own the winery. According to the winery's own website, "Trump Winery is a registered trade name of Eric Trump Wine Manufacturing LLC, which is not owned, managed or affiliated with Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization or any of their affiliates."

More to the point, it is nowhere near being one of the largest wineries in America. It might well encompass the largest wine-grape vineyard in Virginia, with about 200 acres under vine, but its annual production of about 36,000 cases a year doesn't even make it the largest in the state in terms of output. Both Chateau Morrisette and Williamsburg Winery each put out about 60,000 cases annually — and the Italian-owned Barboursville Vineyards manages to produce at least 1,000 more cases each year than Trump Winery does.

A number of wineries in New York State outrank Eric Trump's estate, and even Biltmore Estate Winery in Asheville, North Carolina, bottles about 50,000 cases. And of course California is another matter entirely. You may never have heard of Riboli Family Winery, based in Los Angeles (!), for instance, but it manages a healthy 625,000 cases — about 17 times the Trump Winery's production. And America's number-one wine producer, E. & J. Gallo? How about a cool 75 million cases.

Click here for our 2017 ranking of America's 101 best wineries, including four from Virginia (Trump Winery not among them).