A winery but no wine
An emergency suspension of the liquor license for Sanders Family Winery remains in place following a review of the situation by the Nye County Commission this month.
An anonymous report of alleged deceptive practices prompted an investigation by the Nye County Sheriff’s Office in late November. Through that investigation, it was found that Sanders and his staff had been purchasing Franzia wine from various retail stores and then repackaging them as Sanders Family Winery wines over a period of about three years.
“The mistake was mine,” Jack Sanders, who has fully acknowledged his responsibility for the offense, told commissioners on Jan. 22. “I followed all the instructions to comply with the original (emergency suspension) order issued on December 9 and the follow-up report that was issued to me when Lt. Williams and his partner personally delivered the notice to me… We’re not selling alcohol. We have been in compliance with the suspension and will continue to do so.”
As for why a pillar of the Nevada wine community would resort to such practices, Sanders explained that it all boiled down to water.
When he first established a winery, the Pahrump Valley Winery, the property was located within a utility tariff zone and therefore, water was not an issue. However, he later sold Pahrump Valley Winery and then opened Sanders Family Winery, which required water rights.
“We did purchase three acre-feet of water at that time,” Sanders explained. “I didn’t realize 100% the requirement for renewals or anything like that. I suddenly got a notice three years later that those water rights had not been renewed and therefore, they were going to be taken away.”
The vineyards were already established by that time, producing several tons of grapes each year but when the water rights were revoked, Sanders was forced to purchase more water rights to keep the operation going.
“But the three (new) acre-feet we found were insufficient,” Sanders stated. “So, we had to cut back and conserve.”
Sanders said he has already created a plan to replant to entire vineyard in a new formation to reduce water needs but that project is not yet complete.
“We’ve revamped the vineyards, pulled all the vines out and we did that a year and a half to two years ago,” Sanders said. Though there is still experimental root stock in the vineyard, he emphasized, “We’ve had no production… since a few years ago.”
With Sanders Family Winery being something of a cornerstone of the community, there was both compassion and disappointment expressed by many at the meeting, including members of the commission.
“My problem with this, where my real rub is, you completely lied to the people of our community, pretty much,” commission chair Ron Boskovich remarked. “I don’t even know how you would ever make this right for the people of our community.”
Commissioner Debra Strickland asserted, “My big rub is, this went on for three years. This wasn’t just a small mistake… You did it repetitively… I am wholly disappointed, sir.”
“This is just a terribly sad thing, but we did not put us here,” Boskovich added.
Commissioner Bruce Jabbour then inquired whether the state of Nevada was aware of the issue, to which Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill replied that his office had in fact been in contact with the state. Possible consequences for the retail rebottling practices could range from heavy fines to revocation of Sanders’ state liquor license.
Following an hour of debate among the board and public comment, Jabbour made a motion to reinstate the liquor license, with a second from commissioner John Koenig. That motion failed the vote, prompting Boskovich to offer the opposite motion, to continue the suspension for three months. That motion passed with all in favor. This will now allow the state to review the situation itself and determine its own course of action while also allowing Sanders the opportunity to create a plan to move forward.
The matter is set for another review on April 15.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com
