Bolinas winemaker Sean Thackrey woke up on Thursday,
Oct. 13, and checked the San Francisco Chronicle’s website
for an upcoming article about his wine. What he found, however, was
significantly less pleasant. A story detailed how a large warehouse
in Vallejo – where he stored all 4,000 cases of his currently marketable
wine – had caught fire and possibly ruined a large portion of what
was stored there.
Since then, Thackrey has been trying unsuccessfully
to ascertain the plight of his wine, which includes most of his 2003-vintage
bottles. Will they be salvageable? "I’ve absolutely not a
clue," said Thackrey, who admitted that he has been frustrated
with the lack of information from authorities.
The warehouse, according to its website, is a 240,000-square-foot
facility on Mare Island in Vallejo used for storage by many wine producers.
Bill Tweedy, the spokesman for Vallejo Fire Department, said that the
damage of the fire could be up to $100 million.
Arson suspected
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms,
and Explosives has been investigating the cause of the fire, and on
Tuesday announced in a joint press conference with Vallejo fire and
police departments that forensic evidence has indicated it was incendiary,
said spokesman Tweedy. Now, he said, the blaze will be investigated
for arson. The criminal investigation has meant that the people storing
wine in the warehouse have had no access and limited information about
the extent of the fire’s damage, beyond rumors and peeks into the
warehouse past firefighters and investigators.
Until the building is opened to the winemakers, which
according to Tweedy should happen within the next couple of days, there
is no way to be sure whose wine is ruined. Even wine that was untouched
by the fire may still be unsellable due to the effects of the heat.
Fortunately for Thackrey, he has already released
most of his 2002 bottlings as well as some of his 2003 wine. Unfortunately
for him, insurance money may not be available to replace the revenue
of his lost wine.
Insurance policy canceled
Upon hearing of the fire, Thackrey explained that
he placed a call to his insurance broker, Vicki Martinelli of Martinelli
Insurance in Petaluma, to figure out what steps should be taken to file
a claim. In return, he received a call from Martinelli explaining that
his policy, previously filed with Golden Eagle Insurance Company, had
been canceled.
This, to Thackrey, is "unbelievable," because
he never received a notification. For an insurance company to cancel
a policy, they have to send the appropriate notice, called a "proof-of-mailing,",
to the broker and insured person. "I’ve had absolutely no
knowledge of any problems with the policy," Thackrey said.
Martinelli, the broker, acknowledged that she received
the "proof-of-mailing" announcing the cancellation of Thackrey’s
policy, and was unsure why Thackrey wouldn’t have received it when
she did.
She did, however, say that she had ordered all of
the documentation from the insurance company and intended to clear up
any misunderstandings. Legally, the companies must document everything
they send to an insurer.
Fire and the small business
Although there is no way to be sure whether the wine
was damaged or not, Thackrey said that, at most, his small-scale winery
will undergo a momentary crunch.
"It’s not going to have any long-term effect
on the operation in Bolinas," he said. But "It will be tight
until the next wines are released." Thackrey expects his next wines
to be released in September 2006.
In the meantime, his customers will be there if he
needs them. He says that he has received anywhere from 50 to 100 emails
in support, and offers have ranged from giving him his wine back so
he can re-sell it and holding benefits for him to buying the rights
to wine that is not yet made.
Two employees work for Thackrey in Bolinas, but he
is confident that the loss of wine revenue will not affect their jobs.