Having watched the fire start and grow in the distance as we ate dinner the first night into our recent Napa trip, the fire was a frequent topic of conversation at our tastings that weekend.
One of our tasters knows Jayson Woodbridge very well and said, given where it started, she suspected he was the cause. He had been known to thumb his nose at burn restrictions, wedding bans, etc.
Guess what? She was right. He was hosting an unauthorized wedding and installed an outdoor fireplace for the occasion. Some discarded ashes they thought were out sparked the Pickett fire.
I post this because his interview in the SF Chronicle is rich now that we know he was the cause. They also had the audacity to lie that the wedding was a “family gathering” despite social media posts by people clearly calling it a wedding with photos of a bride walking down the aisle.
Now 2025 vintages are at risk of smoke taint, livelihoods have been destroyed, and nearly $100mm in estimated damage so far.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/article/pickett-fire-napa-wineries-20875344.php
by allmysportsteamssuck
12 Comments
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Woodbridge is 100% at fault, but the vintage will not be impacted by smoke.
*”I’m not afraid to speak up,” Woodbridge told the Chronicle at the time. “We shouldn’t have to be told by the county what we do with our private land.”*
Ok but clearly they do need to babysit some of these owners, with Mr. Woodbridge here being at the top of the list.
From just googling his name he seems like a real POS.
Interesting.
Hundred Acre bottles on “fire sale” get them while they are hot.
Is the fire up to 100 Acres yet?
Lol they hired Sam Singer as their PR guy, they definitely definitely did it.
Wow.
Who is going to be the hero and add the link w/o a paywall? 🙏🏼
It is pants on head stupid that wineries are so limited in event types. He should absolutely be able to host that event AND be liable for every single bit of damage done a few times over.
of course its the dbag that own’s Hundred Acres. It’s like an Onion article.