California: Caymus owner approved for large Solano winery

(NBBJ) - The owner of Caymus Vineyards is preparing for the start of construction this fall on a 5.5 million-gallon-a-year winery and distillery on farmland south of Fairfield to shift excess production from the Napa Valley winery.

The goal is to start preparing roads and building pads on 57 acres at 2658 Cordelia Rd. by mid-October, setting the stage for the first phase of construction of wine production facilities to begin in earnest next spring, according to Chuck Wagner, owner of Caymus as well as brands Mer Soleil, Bella Glos and Conundrum (707-963-4204, wagnerfamilyofwine.com).

The approval of the project near Fairfield on Aug. 1, following a use-permit application in mid-May, came at a good time. In late July, the Wagner family reached a $1 million legal settlement with the county of Napa exceeding the permitted production capacity of at Caymus’ Rutherford winery.

“We settled with the county on the period of time to be fully compliant, and part of that is reducing the footprint,” Mr. Wagner said.

Wagner Family of Wine has five years to downsize the Caymus winery under the settlement. After a 2008 county audit of its use permit, the company was accused of exceeding its annual production limit by 1.9 million gallons.