100-acre Temecula ranch, once home to ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ author, seeks $8M – San Bernardino Sun

A 100-acre ranch with avocado and citrus groves has hit the market for $8 million in Temecula’s rolling De Luz neighborhood.

The property has a main residence, a guest house and enough space to “add back the former helicopter pad and store your whole fleet,” the listing reads. It once belonged to award-winning cookbook author Diana von Welanetz Wentworth, who co-authored the best sellers “Chicken Soup for the Soul Cookbook” and “Chicken Soup to Inspire the Body and Soul.”

County records show Wentworth’s husband, Ted, paid $186,000 for property in June 1988, the year before they married, and sold it in 2003. It’s changed hands since.

Within the main residence’s 2,055 square feet are three bathrooms, three bedrooms and a great room with access to an expansive covered patio.

There’s a built-in outdoor fireplace on another covered patio outside of the primary suite, which features a walk-in closet and spa-inspired bathroom with dual sink vanity and a glass-enclosed shower.

High ceilings, hardwood floors and picture windows define the interior of the home, completed in 1987.

The kitchen, which was recently remodeled, has been outfitted with stainless steel appliances, stone countertops and a wine fridge. It opens to the great room’s dining and living areas.

From its hilltop perch, the ranch boasts 360-degree views. It’s a 15-minute drive from the Golden West-themed Old Town dining, shopping, and entertainment district and surrounded by the region’s wineries and golf courses.

“The environment is truly the definition of serene, it’s no surprise the previous owner was inspired to wrote two of the bestselling novels for ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ while gazing at the panoramic vistas,” the listing reads.

F. Ron Smith and David Berg of Smith & Berg Partners at Compass hold the listing.

Wentworth, 81, has written seven best sellers. Lifetime Network purchased the film rights to her romantic memoir, “Send Me Someone.”  Her other titles include “The Pleasure of Your Company,” “Celebrations: Menus For Entertaining” and “The von Welanetz Guide to Ethnic Ingredients.”

With her late husband Paul von Welanetz, she hosted a long-running series and founded the Inside Edge forum that helped launch the careers of many celebrated authors and speakers.