Former Napa Valley winemaker indicted on fraud charges

Former Napa Valley winemaker Jeffry Hill, 38, was indicted by a federal grand jury in San Francisco on charges that he fraudulently mislabeled wine and wine products.

The indictment, unsealed Wednesday morning, states that Hill misrepresented the geographic origin and grape varietal of the wine and wine products that he sold. As a result, his customers paid more than they would have otherwise or bought products that they would not have otherwise.

Hill, who now lives in Clovis, ran Hill Wine Company, a business that made and sold wine and “wine inputs,” such as pre-fermented grape juice.

He operated a winery and tasting room on the Silverado Trail, and he used winemaking equipment at Napa and Sonoma county facilities, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Hill, who was arrested Wednesday in Clovis, appeared in federal court in Fresno and was subsequently released. His next court appearance is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Nov. 16 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office pointed out that federal regulations establish American Viticultural Areas, or AVAs, geographically delineated regions with particular wine growing characteristics, such as the Napa Valley AVA. Under federal rules, a wine can only be labeled as being from a specific AVA if no less than ?85 percent of the wine comes from that region.

“Hill allegedly grew or purchased grapes, pre-fermented grape juice or wine grown outside of the Napa Valley then sold bulk grape juice, bulk wine, or bottled wine made from these non-Napa Valley grapes while representing these products to have been made from Napa Valley AVA grapes,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in the statement.

Hill’s customers paid more than $1,500,000 for fraudulently mislabeled wine, grape juice, or wine products, officials said. He also took steps to conceal his conduct by, among other things, altering or creating false shipping documents and other records, as well as maintaining false records of inventory that misstated the geographic origin or varietal of his products.

What’s more, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Hill instructed grape growers outside of the Napa Valley AVA not to tell anyone that he was buying grapes from them.

The former winemaker is being charged with four counts of mail fraud and four counts of wire fraud. Conviction of a single count of either mail or wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison as well as possible fines and restitution, officials said.