The rebuild of Hourglass Winery near Calistoga is officially back on track. On Wednesday, the Napa County Planning Commission signed off on a sweeping recovery and expansion plan for the fire-damaged estate, clearing a major hurdle in its comeback after the 2020 Glass Fire. The approval gives owner Jeff Smith permission to add new tasting and hospitality buildings, dramatically expand the underground cave system, and increase both wine production and on-site events. County staff tied those upgrades to required improvements to the driveway, water system, and fire safety measures that must be in place before some operations can fully ramp up again.
What the county allowed
According to Napa County CEQAnet, the use-permit modification will double Hourglass’s permitted production to 60,000 gallons. The plan also adds about 28,382 square feet to the existing cave, bringing the total underground area to roughly 38,782 square feet. Two new hospitality buildings, measuring 6,555 and 916 square feet, are included in the package along with sitewide infrastructure work.
The county filing details about 25,000 cubic yards of excavation for the expanded caves and associated pads, along with a beefed-up events program that is tied to required upgrades to the winery’s driveway and water system.
Owner's testimony
The Planning Commission approved the recovery plan at Wednesday's hearing. At that meeting, owner Jeff Smith told commissioners that the damage from the Glass Fire, which he estimated at roughly $20 million, felt like a ‘nuclear bomb’ that devastated everything he had worked 30-plus years to build, as reported by the Napa Valley Register.
Smith told the paper he has recovered about half of that loss over the past four years and argued that the new planning approvals are essential for fully restoring the business. He urged commissioners to approve the application so rebuilding could move forward without further delay.
Safety, neighbors and pushback
Commissioners, looking at a high fire risk area, pushed hard on safety conditions. Molly Moran Williams urged Hourglass to make evacuation planning and guest-safety protocols airtight. Commissioner Walter Brooks described the proposed facilities as impressive and well-balanced, according to the Napa Valley Register.
County staff and the applicant say the project will clear up longstanding code problems by improving the driveway, installing a public-water system and removing unsafe tanks that sit on steep slopes. Those corrections sit at the heart of the commission’s conditions of approval and will be watched closely by both officials and neighbors.
Limits, numbers and next steps
The county documents recognize by-appointment visitation at up to 20 visitors per day, with a weekly maximum of 140. A marketing program, layered onto daily visitation, brings the total annual cap to about 10,270 tasting and event guests under the new rules.
The permit also allows up to ten full-time employees, additional parking, and a 65,000-gallon water tank with a pump house to serve the property. County records note that driveway upgrades, grading and required inspections must be completed before hospitality operations can expand. The application was filed under Napa County’s Code Compliance Program, according to Napa County CEQAnet.
How the Glass Fire changed the site
The Glass Fire in late September 2020 burned through Hourglass’s main winery building and a historic guesthouse, triggering a multi-year recovery effort and the current request for a modified use permit. Contemporary coverage noted that although the above-ground structures were destroyed, the estate’s underground caves largely survived, which made salvaging inventory and planning for a rebuild much more realistic, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
With county conditions now in place and state environmental filings on the books, Hourglass has a clearer regulatory path to rebuild. The catch is that construction, inspections and the required safety upgrades will take months. For future visitors, the approvals promise a larger and more polished tasting experience. For neighbors and planners, the question is whether the rebuilt estate ultimately lives up to Napa County’s tighter wildfire and infrastructure standards.
