Unpaid workers at bankrupt Reynoso Vineyards demand wages owed to them as far back as May

Sonoma County vintner Joe Reynoso wasn’t at Sugarloaf Wine Co. tasting room Nov. 29 when a handful of his field workers dropped by to demand wages they say they’ve been owed since spring.

Accompanied by labor advocates from the nonprofit North Bay Jobs with Justice, the vineyard workers walked into the tasting room east of Highway 12, opposite Oakmont, as a handful of Friday visitors sampled wines at the custom crush studio and wine lounge, used by dozens of vintners.

Reynoso, who was out of town that day, is the founder of Sugarloaf Wine Co. and owner of Reynoso Vineyards in Alexander Valley south of Cloverdale. Recent financial difficulty and subsequent bankruptcies have left him struggling to pay his debts, he told The Press Democrat.

His Sugarloaf Ventures, LLP. ‒ the holding company for Sugarloaf Wine Co. ‒ filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Nov. 1. Reynoso Vineyards also filed for Chapter 11 in Illinois where it is based on Oct. 18.

The businesses each listed liabilities of between $10 million and $50 million, and up to 50 creditors, according to bankruptcy documents.

Some of the eight workers represented by North Bay Jobs with Justice say they’ve not been paid since May and that some of the checks they’ve received from Reynoso have bounced. Several workers said their banks have pulled money from their accounts to cover Reynoso’s bounced checks.

For his part, Reynoso, in a two-page statement to The Press Democrat, said he is “deeply troubled and saddened that some of our employees are still owed wages and are enduring the stress that comes with it.”

Reynoso, a longtime investments trader and financial technology entrepreneur, cited a confluence of unforeseen business circumstances leading to the current crisis, including the loss of a payroll manager, post-pandemic cash flow challenges and delayed payments from the sale of private financial assets.

“This is not an excuse, I should never have placed our team’s well-being on the uncertain arrival of these funds,” Reynoso wrote, adding that he greatly values his Reynoso Vineyards team of employees, which swells to about 25 members during the peak of the season, with an annual payroll of $1 million.

“I deeply regret the hardship this has caused and am working tirelessly to ensure this situation is resolved as quickly as possible,” Reynoso wrote in his statement. “Toward that end I have instructed our manager to collect all the necessary information from the affected team members. As soon as we have confirmed the amounts due, we will be in a position to reissue or cash the employee checks.”

During the visit to Sugarloaf Wine Co. tasting room on Nov. 29, Friday, Max Alper, executive director of North Bay Jobs with Justice, confronted the tasting room manager over the workers’ unpaid wages. The manager said he was not affiliated with Reynoso.

Later that day, Alper was able to connect via phone with Reynoso.

Organizers with North Bay Jobs with Justice claim that the eight workers they’ve interviewed are owed more than $34,000. One worker, a tractor driver who asked that his name not be used for fear of retaliation, said he was owed $10,200 and hasn’t been paid since May.

The worker, who lives in Cloverdale, said his “mayordomo,” or foreman, keeps saying he’s doing everything possible to get the workers paid but all they’re left with are bounced checks. The employee said his bank, Exchange Bank, has fined him $35 for every bounced check.

He said he did recently receive a valid check for $1,200 but that he’s owed much more and he’s unable to pay his own bills. He and other workers interviewed for this story asked for anonymity because they did not want to risk their chances of ultimately getting paid.

Another vineyard worker, also of Cloverdale, said she’s owed more than $6,000. She works the harvest, which she described as very hard work. She also does a number of vineyard management tasks, including vine tying, leaf removal and suckering.

Suckering, the process of removing excess, unwanted shoots, is one of the many things said she and other workers do to ensure a high quality yield.

“It’s work that requires patience because you have to take care of the vine,” she said, speaking in Spanish. ”Because if you don’t take care of it, if you don’t fix the vine you won’t get quality.“

The worker said she cashed one of Reynoso’s checks at her bank and when it didn’t clear her bank pulled money out of her account to cover the amount.

Organizers at North Bay Jobs with Justice said unpaid wages are not uncommon in the local agriculture industry. Aura Aguilar said this year alone the organization has helped agriculture workers recoup more than $70,000 in “stolen wages.”

She said she has submitted cases of unpaid wages of Reynoso employees to the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office.

Before their visit to Sugarloaf wine tasting room on Nov. 29, a handful of Reynoso Vineyards workers gathered in a circle with the North Bay Jobs with Justice advocates. Some of the workers introduced themselves as “Reynoso victims,” to distinguish themselves from the activists.

Reynoso, in his written statement, explained that filing for bankruptcy was a difficult decision. About a decade ago, using his Reynoso Vineyards as “guarantor,” he purchased the Sonoma Valley property where the 48,000-square-foot Sugarloaf crush facility and tasting room opened in 2016. It supports up to 35 winemaking clients at a time.

Reynoso says he filed Chapter 11, also known as reorganization bankruptcy, “in order to preserve the significant net equity in both entities and to protect the best interests of all stakeholders — including our employees, creditors, and partners.”

In his written statement, Reynoso evoked his deep connections with farmworkers. He said that in his youth, members of father’s family were “itinerant farmworkers” in Kern County. He said his uncle, the late state Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso, was a leader in the fight for farmworker rights.

“I have always recognized that in times of financial strain, vineyard staff are often the least equipped to endure such hardships, and they deserve our utmost respect and protection,” Reynoso wrote.

Alper said the workers were promised they’d be paid by Saturday, but thus far they haven’t been.

Aguilar said the workers will continue to demand the wages they’re owed.

“Workers are not going to sit back silently and afraid while bosses like Reynoso try to exploit them, they are going to continue organizing and fighting for what they deserve,” she said.

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @pressreno.