Hugh Reimers, What the Hell is Wrong With You, Man?

  Ol' Hugh is a wine executive. He's held upper-level corporate jobs with Constellation Brands, Kendall Jackson, and Foley Wines. Ten years ago he started Krasilsa Pacific Farms LLC, apparently out of his home near Windsor, CA and listing himself as the only employee. Then he repeated what other rich guy landowners have done. He raped the land.

The bare plot in the middle of the oak forest is Reimers' doing

  Five years ago his limited liability company cleared 140 acres of land for a future vineyard site east of Cloverdale in northern Sonoma County. The land included creeks and a wetland. He did it without permits. As though he would have no idea you would need permits for something like this.

   When all was said and done, the county fined him about $400,000 and is making him plant a thousand new trees in the area he destroyed. He'll be fine. And it's not like there will be any jail time. There have, unfortunately, been other similar offenses in Sonoma County and other places along the California coastal grape growing region. The story is always the same. A rich guy gets a smallish find and continues along on his merry way. Sometimes even keeping the vineyard they've already planted.

   Petty theft, like stealing a bike helmet, can get you six months in county lockup, but these yahoos will never see a day of jail time.

  Reimers was trying to sell the land as a prime cabernet vineyard sitting at 1,600 feet elevation. He had to pull it off the market when it was discovered what he'd done. If he doesn't replant it as ordered, he would pay another $400,000 in fines, but presumably the land will be still be his to do whatever he wants with it. Conceivably, he could plant cabernet and sell the land for millions.

  That's not out of the realm of possibilities, as a guy in Mendocino County already had his vineyard planted when they'd found the environmental damage he'd done. He paid a healthy fine and kept the vineyard. His name is Kevin Harvey and listed as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur. A couple of years ago, not too far from Reimers' site, a billionaire winery owner, Fahri Diner, did the same on a hillside in Alexander Valley. He paid a whole $170,000 in fines. That's probably like ten bucks to you and I. His winery is Skipstone and you should skip visiting.

  Until these dickheads pay a real price nothing will change.