A Pahrump business is undertaking a major expansion as part of a business expansion valued at more than $1 million.
Pahrump Valley Winery at 3810 East Winery Road began construction on its 7,000-square-foot expansion project at its site north of Nevada Highway 160 and Homestead Road.
Owners Bill and Gretchen Loken on Wednesday announced the expansion project, expected to cost just over $1 million, on Wednesday. The winery is looking to push for roughly five times what it produces currently.
“With the new building, we’ll be able to do about 50,000 cases,” Loken said.
Construction crews went directly to work after a morning celebration that drew dignitaries such as Nevada Assemblyman James Oscarson, R-Pahrump, and local media. The addition adds onto the existing 1,800-square-foot production facility. The addition will house production, storage and bottling operations.
Work on the facility is expected to be completed at the end of 2017.
Loken pointed to new laws that passed during Nevada’s 2015 legislative session, specifically Assembly Bill 4, which allowed for all counties in Nevada to open winery operations. Laws prior to that only allowed for growing operations to be in counties with less than 100,000 people.
“What it’s done is it’s created the demand,” Loken said. “With that demand, then we need production facilities.”
The legislation has spurred the expansion of vineyards around the state and it could also increase traffic to Pahrump.
Oscarson said growth at the winery “will certainly expand tourism to the community, those people all spend dollars.”
“They spend the night,” he said. “There’s cottages next door, there’s hotels, there are all these things.”
Contact reporter Jeffrey Meehan at jmeehan@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes