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Napa Wineries Sue Hundred Acre Over Devastating 2025 Pickett Fire
A coalition of Napa Valley wineries, including Jackson Family Wines and Robert Foley Vineyards, has filed a $90 million lawsuit against Hundred Acre Wines and a former worker, alleging negligence sparked the 2025 Pickett Fire that scorched over 6,800 acres.
A group of Napa Valley wineries and property owners has filed a $90 million civil lawsuit against Hundred Acre Wines and a former employee, alleging that negligent handling of fireplace ashes ignited the August 2025 Pickett Fire, which burned more than 6,800 acres of prized vineyard land outside Calistoga.
The complaint, filed last week in Napa County Superior Court, names Juan Luis Gutierrez Marfil, the worker who allegedly disposed of smoldering ashes, and Jayson Woodbridge, owner of Hundred Acre, as defendants. Plaintiffs include Robert Foley Vineyards, Jackson Family Wines, and Neal Family Vineyards, according to court records.
The fire began on August 21, 2025, near Pickett Road just outside Calistoga city limits, and within a day had spread to over 2,000 acres. It ultimately charred thousands of acres of agricultural property, much of it high-value vineyard land.
According to the complaint, Marfil told investigators he had built a "basketball-sized" fire to cure a newly constructed outdoor fireplace on the Hundred Acre property, then scooped the ashes into a bucket, doused them with water, and dumped them on a burn pile. The suit alleges the disposal violated multiple statutes, regulations, and Napa County ordinances, as well as "basic common sense given the hot, dry and windy conditions" at the time.
The complaint further argues that Woodbridge "knew, firsthand, the acute fire risk" in the area because his property had previously been damaged in the 2020 Glass Fire. Marfil already faces a criminal charge of recklessly causing a fire of a structure and forest, filed in August.
Hundred Acre has hired local public relations consultant Sam Singer, who said the winery plans to "vigorously challenge" the civil suit. "We will not be pressured into paying claims we believe lack merit," Singer told the Chronicle.
One plaintiff, the PlumpJack Groupâowned by Governor Gavin Newsom's familyâhas already settled with Hundred Acre for an undisclosed sum over the loss of about half of its Oso Vineyard property.
Hundred Acre, a Cabernet producer, sells its wine for around $700 per bottle. The Pickett Fire burned in a region similar to the 2020 Glass Fire, which was far more destructive in terms of property damage. After that blaze, Cal Fire investigators later said the cause was inconclusive, though it was determined not to have been sparked by PG&E equipment.
The lawsuit underscores growing tensions in Napa County over wildfire liability and land management as climate-driven fire seasons intensify. For local residents and winery owners, the case raises questions about accountability when private property practices allegedly put entire communities at risk.