Highway 29 winds along the Napa Valley through Yountville and St. Helena and up to Calistoga, passing vineyards that produce some of the most famous and expensive wines in the world.
The road, lined with rows of vines planted along sun-dappled hills, is rightly famous for its stunning beauty and for the astonishing number of Michelin-rated restaurants, spas and boutique inns that have popped up among the vineyards.
And lately, at least for locals, it's also the source of a pressing mystery: Why have so many of the elegant wineries along this highway, and their rich and powerful owners, been named in federal subpoenas served to late last year in Napa County? ?
“Please provide any and all documents relating to the following persons, entities and/or projects,” one subpoena reads, before revealing a list that looks more like a high-end tourist brochure than what is typically seen. found in a court file.
Among the bright names whose county records are being sought are Lounge winesKnown for its bold cabernets and the luxurious St. Helena winery with an imposing statue of a silver rabbit. Kathryn Hallformer US ambassador to Austria, also appears in the name, as does her husband, craig hallformer co-owner of the Dallas Cowboys whose art collection is so revered that parts of it were loaned to the Jeu de Paume art center in Paris.
Caymus Vineyardswhose cabernet is a frequent favorite of wine spectatorand owner Charles J. “Chuck” Wagner are listed in the records request, as are Wagner's son, Charlie Wagner, and his vineyard. Mer Soleil.
The inventory of luminaries continues: Robin Baggett, former general counsel of the Golden State Warriors, and his Alfa Omega Winery. Dave Phinney, whose “Prisoner” label changed the industry. Grant Long Jr. and his Aonair and Reverie II wineries. Jayson Woodbridge and one hundred acres. Darioush Khaledi and the winery that bears his name. And so it goes: 40 people and companies in total, including Napa's exclusive Meritage Resort and Spa.
The subpoena seeking records about the wineries and their owners, dated December 14, 2023, is filed in the name of Patrick Robbins, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California. It also references an FBI agent, Katherine Ferrato, who has experience working on complex financial crimes.
Separately, a trial attorney working in the Justice Department's Antitrust Division filed a subpoena, dated Dec. 7, requesting records related to the Upper Valley Waste Management Agency, a joint powers authority that administers waste management services. garbage and recycling for Calistoga, St. Helena and Yountville. A third subpoena seeks records from the Napa County airport, which local officials are trying to modernize. A fourth worked in the county farm bureau, which in recent years has become a powerful political voice on behalf of wineries.
If Napa County officials have any idea what's going on, they're not telling. “Napa County is not being investigated,” said county spokeswoman Holly Dawson. “They issued us a subpoena to obtain records. “We don't know anything else.”
The U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco declined to comment, as did the FBI's San Francisco office.
Some of those named in the investigation did not respond to interview requests. Some respondents said they were perplexed.
Craig and Kathryn Hall issued a statement through their public relations director: “We are aware that there is an ongoing investigation. However, we do not know the extent or details and it would be inappropriate for us to speculate,” the couple said.
Alpha Omega's Baggett said his operations had “nothing pending” with the county and therefore “zero” documents that would have been turned over. He said it has been “a huge waste of time explaining on a daily basis that we have done nothing wrong.”
Baggett dismissed the investigation as a “fishing expedition” or worse, adding: “I hope it's not a political witch hunt.”
Like several people interviewed, Baggett speculated that one person of interest could be Napa County Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza, who has drawn ire among local environmental activists because he is perceived as pro-agriculture, which in Napa Valley almost always is. means pro-winery.
Some of the entities whose records were subpoenaed have donated to Pedroza's political campaigns. A small number were involved in a controversial land deal involving Pedroza's family that is adjacent to property Halls sought to develop in the eastern hills of Napa Valley.
For years, Craig and Kathryn Hall had been trying to build a 208-acre vineyard on Walt Ranch, 2,300 acres of oak forest they owned in Napa's Atlas Peak appellation, prized for its elevation and rich volcanic soil. The property was undeveloped when the Halls purchased it in 2005, but was zoned agricultural. Their efforts to clear space for a vineyard sparked fierce opposition from environmental groups who said it would endanger oak trees and animal habitat, deplete limited water supplies and increase the risk of fires.
After years of regulatory and legal wrangling, the development was tentatively approved by the Board of Supervisors in late 2021. Pedroza voted in favor of the project.
His vote sparked new controversy when a local activist, documentary filmmaker Beth Nelsen, discovered that Pedroza's father-in-law had purchased property adjacent to the proposed vineyard. The San Francisco Chronicle followed with reports that Pedroza and his wife helped secure a loan for the purchase, using his Napa home as collateral. Critics said that the Walt Ranch development would undoubtedly increase property values in the area, including the property Pedroza's father-in-law had purchased, and that Pedroza should have publicly disclosed his involvement as a conflict of interest.
Pedroza denied having a financial interest in the property, but recused himself from further votes on Walt Ranch.
In late 2022, the Halls abandoned the idea of developing the vineyard and reached an agreement to preserve the land through the county land trust.
The FBI searched Pedroza's home in December, according to the Napa Valley Register. He opted not to run for another term on the Board of Supervisors and will finish his term at the end of this year.
Pedroza did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment from the Times. Earlier this month, he emailed a statement to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat: “I believe everyone should cooperate fully with all branches of the federal and state government and have always encouraged the citizens of Napa and all public authorities in Napa to do it. “There is no reason to do otherwise.”
Adding to the intrigue (and pain), a key figure in Napa County, Ryan Klobas, died in an apparent suicide in January, weeks after the Department of Justice served a subpoena to the Napa County Farm Bureau, which Klobas headed. Klobas joined the farm bureau in 2017 as policy director and was named executive director in 2018. Under his leadership, the bureau doubled its membership and formed a political action committee to work on behalf of the bureau that raised funds to defeat con successful a county initiative that would have limited the growth of wineries.
The office's acting executive director, Tawny Tesconi, confirmed that the office had received a subpoena, but declined any additional comment.
As the mystery swirls, one thing is clear: The federal investigation comes amid a bitter division between winegrowers and longtime residents over the future of Napa Valley. Should the valley continue adding vineyards? Or has the proliferation of wineries, tourists and traffic reached a tipping point that threatens to erode its natural surroundings and rural charm, no matter how pretty the rows of grapes are in the slanted afternoon light?
“Our entire economy depends on the success of our agriculture, our wine and our hospitality,” said former Yountville Mayor John Dunbar, a supporter of the wine industry. But the fight over land use has become “toxic,” he said. “People are being attacked because they are for or against a winery permit.”
Geoff Ellsworth, former mayor of St. Helens, is among those who believe the forces of development pose a serious risk to the valley's environment and invite political corruption. What's more, he worries that the influx of hotels and tourist attractions is “emptying” his hometown and others at the bottom of the valley.
Ellsworth, who grew up in St. Helena and returned about a decade ago after years in Los Angeles, said a breaking point for him was when he heard about a proposal to transform St. Helena City Hall into a hotel, as well as of a decision. that eliminated tiered water rates. “I was like, 'Wait a second,'” he said. Shortly afterward he decided to run for City Council and eventually became mayor.
And then he started hearing about problems at the landfill in the hills above Calistoga, which collects trash from many of the warehouses as well as waste from nearby counties. “Fires,” she said. “Radioactive waste. I'm the mayor and I'm wondering what's going on?”
Ellsworth eventually joined forces with another citizen concerned about the landfill, Anne Wheaton. Now a couple, they have spent the last few years exposing what they say is a complicated web of environmental and workplace safety violations that they fear could make the landfill dangerous.
By the end of 2020, Ellsworth said, he was outraged enough to turn to the Justice Department. He and Wheaton were pleased to read the subpoena the department submitted to the county asking about dealings with the Upper Valley Waste Management Agency. Find information on contracting, as well as communications between agencies and elected officials.
Ellsworth said he is not aware of the scope or details of the federal investigation or what role the landfill might play. But he believes there are powerful interests at stake in the outcome, enough so that he and Wheaton have moved out of the county.
“The amount of money at stake here is in the billions of dollars,” Ellsworth said. “We wanted to distance ourselves from the situation.”
