By Dan Judge
Vallejo Times Herald (California)
Copyright 2007 The Times-Herald
All Rights Reserved
NAPA VALLEY, Calif. — Ted Hall stood on Mare Island in October 2005 and watched his dreams literally go up in smoke.
The co-owner and president of Long Meadow Ranch winery in Rutherford had heard that a fire had erupted at the Wines Central warehouse in Vallejo, and he raced to the site. He was greeted by an inferno and a sinking feeling in his gut.
“We lost our entire bottled wine inventory,” Hall said. “The only thing not lost in the fire were things in the barrels at our winery. It had the effect of taking us out of the marketplace.”
The fire, which led to the recent federal arson indictment of Sausalito businessman Mark Anderson, dealt a serious blow to small Napa Valley wineries like Long Meadow Ranch. Seventeen months later, it is still struggling to recover.
U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott said at a news conference Monday that authorities believe Anderson started the fire to cover up evidence in a pending embezzlement case. Officials estimate that more than $200 million in wine was lost.
Anderson, 58, who had been in custody since his arrest March 16, was freed on $500,000 bail Friday. He faces a 19-count federal indictment on charges that include arson, tax evasion, mail fraud, using a fake name and interstate transportation of fraudulently obtained property.
The indictment alleges that he destroyed 6 million bottles of wine by torching the warehouse.
Hall said he made the unfortunate choice of storing two cycles of wine and his entire wine library - product intended for long-term storage - at the warehouse.
While he eventually received an insurance settlement, he had nothing to offer for restaurant wine lists and retail shelves, two valuable pieces of real estate small producers compete fiercely over.
“I felt terrible,” Hall said. “The first thing is you can’t believe this is happening to you. The second thing is you worry about the impact on your business, employees and family.”
“This was a stupendous crime in the sense of the number of people it impacted and the dollar value that was lost.”
In the end, Long Meadow Ranch branched out into new products while waiting to rebuild its inventory.
Hall took the pomace (grape skins and seeds) left over from the harvest and made grappa, a strong after-dinner drink popular in Italy. He also pushed forward the release of an experimental sauvignon blanc the winery had been developing and has released a cabernet earlier than originally planned.
“Our motto, beginning a year and a half ago, is, ‘If we’ve got lemons, let’s make lemonade,’ ” Hall said.
Julie Johnson, the owner of Tres Sabores winery in Rutherford, learned of the fire when her insurance agent called to ask what her claim was going to be.
“For what?” she asked.
The agent explained that Tres Sabores had lost its entire inventory of bottled wine.
“That was an awful way to hear about it,” Johnson said. “It was such a ridiculous crime.”
Although her life was not destroyed, it caused major grief for Johnson’s business.
It was a bad year, she said, and like Hall, she also tried out some new products to get through the rough patch.
She sifted through the warehouse for unbroken bottles of wine and, displaying a resilient sense of humor, used it as an ingredient in a barbecue sauce she marketed as “Porque No? Fire Roasted Zinfandel Marinade and Grilling Glaze.”
While the sauce didn’t exactly rescue the business on its own, it was a comfort, Johnson said. “It helped mentally, just in terms of thinking it wasn’t as if I had to have this go to waste totally,” she said.
While dealing with insurance claims and banks was not pleasant, she said, the winery is now back in full production and recently enjoyed an excellent harvest.
ZD Wines in Rutherford lost its entire library of wines as well, winemaster and CEO Robert De Leuze said. The 3,500 cases of the winery’s oldest and most valuable wines represented a $2.5 million loss, he said.
While insurance took care of the financial damage, he said, the effects of the fire will be felt for many years to come. “To go back to those old wines is great, and we can’t do it anymore,” De Leuze said. “We have 38 years of history, and most of it is now gone.”