Lindsay Hoopes began her law career as an assistant district attorney in San Francisco, but now she’s tackling winemaking in Napa
by Marisa Churchill | Oct 30, 2024, 12:15pm PDT | SF Eater |
Hoopes Vineyard, located in Napa Valley, is just one of those memorable stops. It’s tucked down a dusty road with rambling gardens and a gaggle of frolicking animals. Oasis by Hoopes feels more like a sanctuary than a typical winery. Strings of white lights dangle over tassel umbrellas and cozy couches. There are even a few firepits and Airstreams on the property. The design speaks to the heart of Hoopes, shouting, this isn’t your typical ostentatious winery. Once you meet owner Lindsay Hoopes, an environmental advocate, former assistant district attorney in San Francisco, law professor, and talented winemaker, it’s clear why.
Hoopes grew up on the family farm in Napa. Her dad got into the wine business before Napa became a world-famous destination. Although farming and the homesteading lifestyle were always in her blood, Hoopes never imagined taking over the family business and becoming a winemaker. “When I was very young, I always watched Court TV,” Hoopes says. “When I was five, I asked my mom to find me someone who could take me to the crime lab for Take Your Daughters to Work Day. Meanwhile, everyone wanted to go with my mom because she was a fashion designer.”
By the time Hoopes was in elementary school, she wanted to be a spy. It was a career goal that she came close to realizing. “My final interviews noted that I was too ‘memorable’ to make a great spy, although I was ‘impressive’ on paper,” Hoopes says. “So, I thought, how can I use public speaking to help solve community criminal justice problems and combine my love for the courtroom? Lo and behold, DA seemed to make sense.”
Still in law school, a bright-eyed Hoopes sent off her resume to then-District Attorney Kamala Harris. Hoopes — who also happens to speak five languages, including Spanish, Catalan, and Mandarin — was looking to create change and have a positive impact on the community. That desire, combined with determination, landed her the job as assistant district attorney. She was the first person in the DA’s office to be hired straight out of law school. “Kamala really believed in me and allowed me to take on far more responsibility than my tenure suggested was appropriate,” Hoopes says. “I will always remember her as an advocate for women, for change, for doing the right thing, finding justice, tailoring remedies to the desired outcome, being creative with policy. She filled the office with strong candidates no matter their background, and really broke from traditional patterns. My fondest memory of her is calling to hire me and personally welcome me to her team. If she believed in me, I knew I should believe in myself.”
Hoopes spent years in a job that she loved and never imagined leaving, but that all changed in the winter of 2012. “My father got sick and required organ transplants,” Hoopes says. She took some family medical leave before facing an impossible decision: Give up the job she loved, which required in-person courtroom time, making it impossible to work remotely and care for her father — or sell the family business. “Since the business involves land and our family home, it just seemed like I should give it a good old college try.”
With her father still in a coma, Hoopes triaged the business and went to work, trying to keep the lights on. “I knew a lot about farming, but the wine industry is complex and heavily regulated,” Hoopes says. “Making good wine doesn’t mean you know how to sell wine. My father was of the generation of handshakes, and standards of operation were an unknown entity. I basically had to teach myself everything. I did every job in the company so I could learn for myself what it involved.” As if that monumental task wasn’t enough, Hoopes, who tackles family and work like a trapeze artist, kept her hand in the world of law by volunteering at the DA’s office. “I’m very justice-oriented, community-oriented, and need to have purpose.” So, by day, Hoopes focused on making people feel good, working with her winemaker to develop memorable wines, such as the flagship Oakville Cabernet. At night, she was fighting for justice, pouring over emails, and analyzing reports on crimes as gruesome as a quadruple homicide.
While she no longer volunteers at the DA’s office, she is still very much both a lawyer and a winery owner. Hoopes has helped to unite small businesses in Napa and defend their rights, taking on the fight for small wineries like her own to host tours and public tastings, which was restricted under the 1990 Winery Definition Ordinance. Napa County sued Hoopes in 2022 over not aquiring the proper permits for tastings and tours on her property, and although the judge tentatively sided with the county in early October (and the case is still awaiting final judgment), Hoopes has since joined up with two other winery owners to challenge the disadvantages smaller places have under the ordinance. Hoopes — along with the owners of Summit Lake Vineyards and Smith-Madrone Vineyards & Winery — have filed a lawsuit against the county “alleging that county officials systematically violated their constitutional rights,” Wine Spectator reports. Hoopes told the Press Democrat that she hopes this countersuit will be decided on by a jury.
Amidst all this, Hoopes is also a law professor at UCSF and still runs the family winery business. “Entrepreneurs learn to wear a ton of hats,” Hoopes says. “To stay relevant, you must constantly evolve.” Recently, Hoopes has focused on consumer trends and how climate change affects wine-making. According to Napa Valley Grape Growers, since 2017, 60 percent of the land cover in Napa County has been touched by fire.
“I still contribute a lot to my community in Napa through law,” Hoopes says, “so staying informed, relevant, and connected is a huge asset. Admittedly, though, my favorite part is working with students and helping them build an incredibly powerful legal foundation so they can go on to advocate.”
Although Lindsay Hoopes may have been too memorable to become a spy, she still seems to have fulfilled her childhood dream. She’s living a double life, making a name for herself in the worlds of law and wine.
