Edward Booth | THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | Hoopes Vineyard contends wine sales and…
Barry Eberling | Jan 30, 2024 | Napa Valley Register | Atrial between Napa…
This is a baffling story that includes a Napa history lesson, an idea of how the Valley has grown and then a jaunt into intrigue, sting operations, and what appears to be an effort to kill the goose that laid the golden egg by the Napa County government. It seems that the County is going after small wineries in an attempt to bankrupt them out of business.
By WineForNormalPeople | This is a baffling story that includes a Napa history…
A Napa County Superior Court judge decided the Smith-Madrone and Summit Lake wineries can’t join the legal tussle between Napa County and Hoopes winery over the county’s winery rules.
On November 28 Judge Mark Boessenecker declined our request to intervene in Hoopes Vineyard’s property rights case. He reversed his initial preliminary ruling which would have allowed us to join the case.
Napa County Superior Court Judge Mark Boessenecker on Nov. 28 ruled that Smith-Madrone and Summit Lake Vineyards and Winery LLC could not intervene and join the ongoing lawsuit.
Napa County has spent more than $830,000 on outside counsel on its lawsuit against Hoopes Vineyard as of the end of September, according to the county.
A legal battle over whether the Hoopes Vineyard winery or Napa County has gone rogue in interpreting county regulations — and whether some of those rules are unconstitutional — has taken new turns.
A small group of wineries in Napa County are banding together to fight Napa County’s contention that they do not qualify for on-site wine tasting.