Va. winemaker's painstakingly-built empire crumbled in months amid recession

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By Annie Gowen, Washington Post Staff Writer, February 24, 2011
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Interesting article, Ms. Gowen, and very well written. A practical way to avoid 
the errors noted is to try the past tense verb first and if it works - says what 
you mean - use it without the 'had', which saves the 'had's for when you need 
them, when they mean something.
 
She and her ex-husband <had spent> spent four years during the '80s building the 
23,000-square-foot home, modeled on an English country manor.
 
Kluge <had moved> moved to Charlottesville with her then-husband, John Kluge, 
the billionaire founder of Metromedia, a chain of media properties later sold to 
Rupert Murdoch.
 
Kluge <had met> met the comely young divorcee at a dinner party in New York and 
was instantly attracted to her.
 
He wasn't bothered by the fact that she <had once posed> once posed nude in the 
pages of a racy London magazine, called Knave, owned by her first husband.
 
After a series of late payments and dismal sales - the vineyard <had sold> sold 
only 13,000 of its 30,000 cases of wine in its last years - they defaulted on a 
$35 million Farm Credit loan.
 
Later, other banks moved to foreclose on Albermarle House and the housing 
development across the road, where where Kluge <had planned> planned to build 24 
luxury homes.
 
After a while the bank called a halt to the bidding because the prices <had 
reached> reached levels so low they were less than the state liquor tax.


      

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