Calistoga winery may pay $15,000 over storm drain wine waste discharge
A Calistoga custom-crush company may be ordered to pay $15,000 for dumping 2,000 gallons of wine waste into storm drains, according to court records and the Napa County District attorney’s office.
The Napa County District Attorney’s Office on March 2 filed a civil complaint against Calistoga Vintners Services LLC for allegedly dumping the wine waste into the municipal system. The storm drains lead to the Oat Hill Mine ditch which then flows into the Napa River, according to the complaint filed in Napa County Superior Court.
The District Attorney’s office has agreed to resolve the case by asking a judge to order the company to pay $10,000 in civil penalties and $5,000 to the Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District, according to the Napa County District Attorney’s Office. Calistoga Vintners Services, owned by the Hernandez family, is home to the Hernandez’ Museion Napa and custom-crush clients who produce high-end wines.
Calistoga Vintners Services manager Marcela Hernandez, the company’s attorney, Diane Kindermann Henderson, and Deputy District Attorney Patrick Collins have signed the stipulation, according to court records. However, a judge has yet to signed the stipulation. A case management is set for Aug 11.
The wine waste, according to the complaint, “contained materials deleterious to fish, plant life, mammals, and/or bird life,” according to the complaint. Under state law, the company could have been fined up to $25,000 for each violation for water pollution.
In addition, the city of Calistoga, which investigated the matter, has required the company to pay $3,225, according to the city. That includes $2,225 to reimburse city personnel and investigation costs and a $1,000 civil penalty, Calistoga Deputy City Manager Rachel Stepp said.
City personnel investigated the discharge in 2024 after the received a report of wine waste being discharged into a storm drain near 865 Silverado Trail, according to the city. A notice of violation was issued in December 2024, Stepp said.
The city does not plan to pursue additional actions related to the October 2024 incident, Stepp said.
Neither Hernandez nor a family representative could not be reached to comment on the matter.
The Hernandez family purchased the Silverado Trail property from Nestlé in December 2021, according to county filings. The property was a former water production facility. The family, also owns the adjacent property, home to Grove 45, an olive oil production company.
The Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District, created in 2006, is charged with a number of objectives, including the protection of open space resources.
