Did California Governor Gavin Newsom's winery receive a state wildfire payout after a 2025 fire? No, that's not true: "The claim is FALSE," Newsom's office told Lead Stories. PlumpJack Group reached a private settlement with Hundred Acre winery, where the fire started, and did not receive state wildfire funds.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) by the @MrPotatoheadPHD account on X on Sept. 9, 2026. It read:
POUR ME
Vineyard bosses rage at Newsom as it's revealed his winery got the only state wildfire payout
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @MrPotatoheadPHD on X.)
A 2025 fire in Napa damaged multiple wineries and many of them sued Hundred Acre Winery, where the fire began, according to a report in Wine Spectator (archived here). Newsom placed the winery, PlumpJack Group, in a blind trust after being elected governor in 2018, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times (archived here).
According to the Wine Spectator report, Newsom's winery came to a settlement with Hundred Acre winery:
Among the other impacted wineries is the PlumpJack Group, whose 129-acre Oso Vineyard in Pope Valley was damaged not just by smoke, but by flames. The owners settled with Hundred Acre. "Depending on the severity of the fire, a vineyard can rebound, but that was not the case, and we have about 50 acres that will need to be fully replanted," said partner and general manager John Conover.
There is no mention of the winery receiving a "state wildfire payout" in the article, nor does the post cite a source for the claim.
Lead Stories reached out to Newsom's office and Izzy Gardon, director of communications, told Lead Stories via email on Sept. 15, 2026, that the claim was "FALSE." He wrote:
That claim is FALSE.
PlumpJack reached a PRIVATE LEGAL SETTLEMENT with Hundred Acre Winery in connection with losses from the Pickett Fire, which Hundred Acre (a private business) was responsible for.The state of California did NOT provide any payout AND IS NOT INVOLVED!
Characterizing a private legal settlement as a "state wildfire payout" is a factual error that FALSELY suggests the Governor or our administration directed state funds to a company in his blind trust. THAT IS NOT TRUE AND PATENTLY FALSE!
Sam Singer, spokesman for Hundred Acre, told Lead Stories via email on Sept. 16, 2026, that the statement from PlumpJack Group is "likely correct." He noted the fire was caused by an independent contractor/gardener and shared the ABC 7 News report about the fire (archived here):
The Napa County Deputy DA has investigated the Pickett Fire and found no basis to file a criminal case against the Hundred Acre affiliates that own and operate the Pickett Road property. We agree with that assessment and are pleased we have been cleared by the DA's office.
