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+--- Thread: Wine Central (/thread-13150.html)
- wineguruchgo - 10-24-2005
I'm stunned that no one has posted on this, yet I'm sure you all know about the fire.
Anyone know of a list of the wineries affected? I'm told it was 82 vintners as well as private collections.
Personally - the winery that I represent here in Chicago, von Strasser has lost 10 million dollars worth of product including 01, 02 & 03 Cabs. They are going to release the 04 Cabs early and they aren't alone.
From what I understand the Napa Valley Vintner Association is being innundated with calls and emails from customers willing to donate their wines back to the wineries to rebuild their libraries. Saintsbury lost 25years of library wines.
Such a shame that it was freakin arson that did it. The person should be executed for what they did.
If you don't know what I'm talking about here is the story.
Police and arson investigators sifting through the ashes of a Mare Island warehouse fire that destroyed up to $100 million worth of vintage wine began questioning a small group of people Friday who had access to the huge facility on the day it burned.
The relatively short list includes the warehouse's general manager, two unnamed forklift operators, any visitors to the site -- and the owner of a Sausalito wine-storage firm who faces embezzlement charges in Marin County for allegedly stealing wine from private collections.
Investigators also plan to interview the chief executive officer of Wine Central, which leased the concrete-and-steel structure from Miami-based Lennar Corp., the developer of the former naval base. Authorities are in the initial stages of the investigation and have not named any suspects.
"Anyone who was in that building that day is going to be interviewed, and anyone who had anything to do with that business," said Vallejo Fire Department spokesman Bill Tweedy. Three warehouse personnel are believed to have been in the building before the fire broke out about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Tweedy said.
Mark Anderson, owner of the Sausalito Cellars wine-storage company and a city commissioner in Sausalito, had also been there before the blaze began, according to Wine Central's chief executive, Jack Krystal.
Anderson's firm subleased space at Wine Central, using the Mare Island warehouse to store rare wine for its large-volume commercial clients and library wine collections for wineries. On Wednesday, he was given access to the warehouse after he had cleared out most of his stock, Krystal said.
Anderson could not be reached for comment Friday. His lawyer, Douglas Rappaport, said that as far as he knew, police have not contacted his client about the fire.
"He would have no motive whatsoever to set a fire," Rappaport said. "Mark may be the obvious culprit, as in 'the butler did it.' But I've played enough Clue to know that the butler never does it."
It isn't the first time Anderson's wine dealings have come under scrutiny. Last month he was charged in Marin County with 10 counts of embezzlement after thousands of cases of wine he was holding for clients allegedly vanished.
He is accused of stealing fine wine from 10 people from as far away as New York and Japan who stored their private collections in Sausalito Cellars' climate-controlled facility on Libertyship Way in Sausalito. He has pleaded not guilty.
The firm was supposed to ship bottles to buyers around the world upon request, but much of the wine was missing when the owners requested it. In all, 7,600 bottles of rare wine worth more than $1.1 million are missing, according to Sausalito police investigators.
One collector, Samuel Maslak, filed a civil lawsuit against Anderson after he paid a storage fee of $600 per month starting in 2001 so that 756 cases of premium-quality wine worth nearly $650,000 would be safeguarded at Sausalito Cellars, according to the complaint filed in Marin County Superior Court.
When Maslak, who owns High Road Partners, requested the wine in 2003, Anderson refused to return it, the lawsuit states.
Another collector, Mark Secrest of New York City, said about two-thirds of a $114,000 collection he started in 1998 is missing and that Anderson can't seem to tell him where it is.
The alleged embezzlements involved both big and small wine collectors. Jeffrey and Susan Knowles of Sausalito recently won nearly $3,300 in small claims court in Marin County against Anderson after their 12 boxes of wine disappeared between 2003 and 2005.
Anderson was an active volunteer in Sausalito, serving on the city's Parks and Recreation Commission and the Arts Commission, and as head of the Sister City Committee, which arranged a trip to Sakaide, Japan, two years ago. Anderson, who claims to have been a sumo wrestler, speaks Japanese, said Sausalito City Manager Dana Whitson.
"Mark is a person who has been very involved in Sausalito for many years," Whitson said. "Mark was very generous about donating wines to community events.''
Federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, including forensic chemists, experts in reconstructing fires and accelerant-sniffing dogs, today plan to begin investigating the west side of the warehouse, where the blaze started.
In a telephone interview, Wine Central's Krystal said he had asked Sausalito Cellars to cease storing wine at his facility several months ago. He would not say specifically why.
"We did not like to have them as a client of ours," Krystal said. "We just chose to give them notice (to vacate) and have them go their way. ... They had some delays in getting themselves organized with the trucking and wrapping, and I guess, finding a place. We were patient. There were no lawyers or threats."
Krystal said Anderson's firm had rented about 2,500 square feet of space in the Vallejo warehouse but had cleared out most of its wine before this week's fire.
"They had moved their wine a few days before," Krystal said, "and they were cleaning up and getting things out of there, getting their racks. They should not have lost anything (in the fire) except for equipment they may have left."
Krystal said Anderson had apparently showed up alone at the Mare Island warehouse on Wednesday and that Wine Central's general manager, Debbie Polverino, gave him access to the storage area. Polverino did not return repeated phone calls.
Krystal said he does not know whether any other clients may have visited the warehouse in the hours before the fire started. "Sometimes we have clients who are packaging there or sorting or bottling," he said.
Asked whether he believes the fire was started by arson, Krystal said: "I am suspicious, very much so. But I'm not an investigator, and I'm anxiously waiting to be informed by the police and fire and ATF investigators."
Krystal, a property manager based in San Rafael, owns several companies including Diversified Equity Holdings, Diversified Capital Investments Inc. and Diversified Realty Services. His previous firms included Canyon Bluff Homes Inc. and Academy Motors Corp.
He said the Vallejo warehouse's high-tech fire detection system performed flawlessly Wednesday, alerting the fire department to the blaze.
"I've never had or faced something like this before," Krystal said, "nor do I want to face something like this again."
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What investigator said: “Anyone who was in that building that day is going to be interviewed, and anyone who had anything to do with that business.â€
— Bill Tweedy, Vallejo Fire Department spokesman
What attorney said: “(My client) would have no motive whatsoever. (He) may be the obvious culprit, as in ‘the butler did it.’ But I’ve played enough Clue to know that the butler never does it.â€
— Douglas Rappaport, attorney for Mark Anderson
- wondersofwine - 10-25-2005
I had seen a briefer report on another forum. ZD lost a bottle (or bottles?) of their first vintage, I believe a 1969 Carneros Pinot Noir which was said to be the first Carneros Pinot Noir produced by anyone. The report also mentioned the Saintsbury library of earlier wines.
- Bucko - 10-25-2005
My first thought was where were the sprinkler systems?
- wineguruchgo - 10-25-2005
Not sure Bucko. Since the entire building was made of concete (roof included) it was claimed to be fireproof. I'm guessing they were thinking wild fires, not arson.
It's so sad.
- barryh - 11-01-2005
I am wondering if the insurance companies are paying off on this, reserving rights, or denying coverage based on some sort of arson or other exclusion. I am a plaintiffs' lawyer in San Francisco (www.lchb.com) and have done a good deal of insurance coverage litigation.
- winoweenie - 11-02-2005
Tis a pity so much good wine was incinerated. By the way WGC, I met the von Strassers 2 weeks after they bought their Diamond Mtn property. I was staying with Boots and Al Braunstein at the time. He's a very personalblr fellow who took over a good piece of under-performing real estate and brought it up to top grade.WW
[This message has been edited by winoweenie (edited 11-02-2005).]
- wineguruchgo - 11-02-2005
Hey Barry! Welcome to the wineboard!
I hope the insurance companies don't fight this. It will put many wineries out of business.
Winoweenie - I hear they are great people. If anything this will put the mystique back into some of the wineries. We all know what happens when we tell people they "can't have something".