CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.—Business has been booming at Trump Winery ever since Donald Trump discussed the Virginia vineyard at length during his Super Tuesday press conference early last month, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.
The Republican frontrunner was ridiculed for his decision to forego a traditional election night victory speech and instead showcase products that bear his name. Trump Steak, Trump Water, Trump Magazine, and Trump Wine were all on display inside the ballroom at the Trump-owned Mar-a-Lago Club.
The stunt, however, hasn’t hurt him in the polls and seems to be boosting his business.
According to Kerry Woolard, manager at Trump Winery in Charlottesville, sales at the vineyard and its adjoining hotel have shot up as much as 1,000 percent since Trump announced his presidential candidacy in June 2015.
"Business overall has been up, and the percentage increase is anywhere from 50 percent to over 1000 percent, depending on which channel," said Woolard. "Since the [March 1] Super Tuesday event, I would say it’s bumped up again, particularly online sales."
Trump has made self-promotion of his brands a staple of his campaign. He regularly talks about his book, The Art of the Deal, inaccurately claiming that it is "the No. 1 selling business book of all time." A day doesn't go by without Trump touting one of his luxurious golf clubs or hotels. Just last week, he led members of the media on a tour around his still-under-construction Trump International Hotel after holding a press conference behind a Trump Hotels-branded podium.
While presidential candidates often enjoy increased book sales during a campaign, the breadth of Trump’s brand empire—and his willingness to hawk his products on the trail—is unprecedented, according to experts.
Larry Sabato, head of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics located just a few miles from Trump Winery, told the Free Beacon that he "can't think of anything else comparable."
"There is nobody like Trump in modern American history," Sabato said.
"I think Jimmy Carter's peanut business benefited in 1976 from his candidacy, and let's not forget Billy Beer, which gave brother Billy some money," he said, a reference to Billy Carter’s ill-fated beverage enterprise.
The Trump campaign hasn’t been good for every aspect of his portfolio. Macy’s dropped his line of menswear last August in response to his statements about Mexican immigrants. He also lost a broadcast deal with NBC and Univision for the 2015 Miss USA Pageant.
But there were no signs of trouble at Trump Winery last week.
Trump purchased the 1,300-acre vineyard in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in 2011. He later gave it to his son, Eric.
When Free Beacon reporters visited last Wednesday, at least two dozen patrons were gathered in the tasting room and on the outdoor patio. Yes, the weather was 75 degrees and sunny, but for a weekday at noon, it was a sizeable crowd.
Patrons sampled wine selections out of Trump-branded Riedel stemware. And many visitors, including the Free Beacon reporters, had questions about the Trump campaign.
The wine server said she has been so swamped with phone orders since Trump’s Mar-a-Lago promotion that she’s started directing people to buy through the website. One recent caller cut her off when she asked which bottle he wanted, saying: "I don't care what wine it is, as long as his name is on the label."
Still, the origin of Trump’s wine may come as a surprise some of his supporters. The grapes are picked on-site by seasonal foreign workers on temporary visas—the same kind of visas Trump has criticized for taking away American jobs.
The winery plans to house 19 immigrant workers from March to October of this year, according to visa records. At least 14 of these workers could be assigned to share a single five-bedroom home on the property, a separate filing states. While that sounds cramped, the home—a 4,000-square-foot Colonial with a screened back porch and large yard—apparently meets occupancy guidelines, according to the Albemarle County housing department.
Trump has defended his use of seasonal workers, including at Mar-a-Lago, saying his companies cannot find Americans to take these jobs.
Meanwhile, Trump Winery is making preparations to deal with the flood of customers. An employee said next September and October are expected to be its busiest months in history.
The vineyard recently remodeled its tasting room to accommodate larger crowds. Outside, four John Deere bulldozers—with "Trump" written in big letters on the side of each—worked to expand the parking lot to make room for hundreds of additional cars.
On sale in the tasting room were Make America Great Again hats, in three different colors, selling for $25 apiece. Proceeds don’t go to the Trump campaign. According to an employee, the money goes to the Eric Trump Foundation’s partnership with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, in order to comply with campaign finance rules. But it’s a reminder for visitors that they are standing in an extension of Trump’s political machine—a machine built on products like the wine they’re drinking.
The Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment.