Say cheers to this roughly 2,000-acre ranch in California, which not only grows Malbec, Merlot and other varietals on 40 of its acres — but has also listed for a breathtaking $100 million.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Glendale Ranch, set in Napa Valley, has remained in the same family since 1938.
Near the city of St. Helena, and in addition to the vineyards that also grow Cabernet Sauvignon — bottles of which are sold to local wineries — the ranch comes with four family homes, a workshop, a winery barn, an agricultural barn and an extensive road system.
The current seller, Lindsey Wiseman — who has been in control of the property since about 2020 — told the Journal she hopes a prospective buyer not further subdivide and develop the land in its current form, though that possibility theoretically exists.
“My opinion is that it would be a huge mistake and really devastating,” she told the outlet. Wiseman, 41, who lives on the property with her husband, Andrew Green, and their two young boys have enjoyed the vastness of the grounds. Also boasting ponds and lakes, it has proven to be an escape from the real world — with tons of room for the kids to play — eliminating the need for a television for entertainment. “There is no other place like it in the Napa Valley.”
However, they’re looking to sell it to spend more time in England, where Green is from.
Listing agent Erin Lail, of Coldwell Banker Brokers of the Valley, told the Journal it’s rare for prospective buyers to find a property of this scale in the area, where, over time, time has seen parcels further divided.
“This is the brass ring,” Lail told the paper, adding that this property’s asking price factors in the fact it’s home to a commercial vineyard. She said larger vineyards in the region have sold for north of $1 billion.
Beyond the rare nature of its offering is its mere history. Wine production is believed to have begun there in the 1880s, but halted during Prohibition several decades later. The vineyard picked production back up in the late 1970s. These days, during the growing season, more than 50 people work on the ranch.
The main house on the land is known as the White House; like the wine-making history, it also dates to the 1880s. The roughly 3,300-square-foot structure includes original stained glass windows and fabulous arrays of wallpaper that Wiseman’s great-aunt, Barbara Towne Fasken, chose for each room.
“Barbara had an incredible sense of style, so she put wild wallpaper in every single room,” Wiseman said. “We’ve continued to live with all of that because it’s just incredible. Every room has its very own personality.”
As for the other three houses, there’s a two-bedroom kit home from around the 1940s that arrived at the property by railroad. Two other houses with three bedrooms apiece date to the 1900s.
Wiseman herself frequently visited the ranch in her younger years, and the decision to part ways with it hasn’t come easily.
“Coming to the deep understanding that it’s time to pass the torch has been really hard,” she told the Journal. “And at the same time, I go away with a very, very full heart.”
