Napa winemaker fined $4M for secret rule breaking

A rogue Napa Valley winery teeters on the verge of bankruptcy after a court fined it $4 million for breaking county rules.

Hoopes Vineyard, and its owner Lindsay Hoopes, was slapped with the huge sum for allegedly hosting illegal wine tastings.

The lawsuit comes as Napa Valley wineries struggled to make ends meet as consumers drift away from the beverage market.

Hoopes Vineyard and Hoopes believe the fines are excessive.

“The $3,960,013 judgement will bankrupt Hoopes Family Winery and Hoopes Vineyard LLC, forcing the sale of the vineyard,” a recent Hoopes court filings said, according to the Napa Valley Register.

“Because she’s been held personally liable, Lindsay Hoopes will be personally bankrupted by the fines.”

Napa County argues the winery brought issue by itself. They say Hoopes Valley Winery dodged compliance despite warnings.

The county also questions whether Hoopes is as impoverished as her court filings imply.

“Hoopes was provided with numerous opportunities to bring the winery into compliance and thus avoid additional penalties and costs,” a court filing said. “It rejected every opportunity.”

A hearing is scheduled for later this month where Hoopes is hoping the court will change its mind on enforcing the expensive fines.

“We’re confident in our arguments, and we will fight what we view as an excessive and unjust fine to the best of our ability for Lindsay and for all small wineries,” attorney Bridget Conlan, of Rhw Pacific Legal Foundation, told the Napa Valley Register.

The foundation agreed to represent the winery for free after the Napa County judgement. The next problem the winery faces is a monstrous bail bond that has to be at least 150% of what’s owed.

Hoopes Winery said it tried to get a bond, but three brokers representing 30 bond companies in California turned them down.

Napa County believes the $6 million winery property could be collateral, and maintains that they believes Hoopes has personal wealth.

“Hoopes argues for four pages that it is somehow indigent and so should be excused from providing a bond,” a county filing said. “This argument is so unsupported and is so inaccurate as to be almost insulting.”

Hoopes Winery said any suggestion the winery could be used as collateral is “out of touch.”

The winery faces a $1.5 million fine, $2.3 million for the county’s legal fees and $111,229 for county abatement costs.

Hoopes is also banned from holding any wine tastings, selling wine not made at the winery, selling merchandise, and keeping animals that don’t count as animal husbandry.

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