Last month, Longwood Gardens, the botanical garden and former du Pont estate that sprawls over 1,000 acres of meadows, woodlands and rolling Chester County countryside in Kennett Square, repurchased the former Galer Estate Vineyard and Winery, which adjoins its campus in East Marlborough Township. A Longwood Gardens’ spokesperson would not disclose the sale price for the 7.4-acre winery — which closed in September and had been listed for sale since January for $3.39 million — but said the purchase was a conservation effort, and not a move into wine-making. “We are still evaluating our long-term plans for the property, but our first and most important priority for the property is the preservation of green space and agricultural land,” said Jourdan Cole of Longwood Gardens. “We have no current plans to enter the wine business. The purchase is first and foremost about preserving the agricultural land,” she said. The purchase comes after Longwood Gardens announced in February that it had agreed to acquire the sweeping Granogue Estate, along the Brandywine, in nearby Northern Delaware. That historic estate includes 505 acres of rolling woods and farmland and a castle-like hilltop mansion. At the time, Longwood also described that acquisition, which has yet to be finalized, as mainly an effort toward agricultural preservation.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 10/10/2023