Sanders Family Winery halts operations
Although there was concurrence that it was a regrettable situation, the Nye County Commission voted this week to continue an emergency suspension of the liquor license for Sanders Family Winery.
The emergency suspension was issued on Monday, Dec. 9 following an investigation by the Nye County Sheriff’s Office, which was prompted by an anonymous tip.
“This is a public hearing for show-cause as a result of an investigation that was completed by investigators and detectives of the sheriff’s office, in reference to a complaint, or a comment I guess I might say, about a business that was conducting business in a way that appeared to be unacceptable,” Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill explained during the commission’s Tuesday, Dec. 17 meeting.
Nye County Sheriff’s Lt. Harry Williams, who headed the investigation, stated that on Nov. 24 the sheriff’s office had received a tip that included photographs of what were described as “deceptive practices.”
“On Nov. 27 we conducted an inspection and found that the deceptive practices were occurring,” Williams detailed. “He (Jack Sanders) was pouring Franzia wine into their own wine bottles and labeling it as their own product… We discovered several bottles of Franzia wine in the dumpster and the plastic containers cut open and emptied.”
Sanders was in attendance to discuss the matter and he did not sidestep accountability, immediately offering his apologies for operating in a manner that he was unaware was considered unacceptable.
“I’ve been here in Pahrump since 1985 and I am proud to be a member of the town, the county and the state. I did meet with the sheriff’s department while under their investigation and my sincere apologies for making a mistake. I am very sorry and I wish to rectify this problem in any way that we can,” Sanders told the board.
“This is just an unfortunate situation that none of us want to see,” commissioner Ron Boskovich remarked, with commissioner Bruce Jabbour adding, “We all make mistakes.”
Sanders noted that he has complied with all instructions issued by the sheriff’s office since the emergency suspension.
“We’ve closed the doors, everything is shut down and we’ve already started making contacts with other suppliers, etcetera. That’s going to take some time,” Sanders said.
Commission chair Debra Strickland made the motion to continue the suspension of the Sanders family Winery liquor license and set another show cause hearing for the board’s Jan. 22, 2025 meeting.
“Sadly, I will second that,” Boskovich said.
The motion passed with all in favor.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com
