St. Helena: Sales of alcohol to minors discovered in Napa County

A St. Helena brewery responded to an undercover operation targeting sales of alcohol to minors in Napa County on Dec. 10. Twelve of 20 Napa County establishments were cited for selling alcohol to underage decoys. Five of the offending businesses were in St. Helena. They were not available for comment Friday.

Michael Fradelizio, general manager and owner of the Silverado Brewing Company, said a bartender did not check the identification of a patron before serving a beer to him on Dec. 10.

The company's policy since it opened six years ago is to check the identification of any customer who looks younger than 30, Fradelizio said.

"We were disappointed that our system was not adhered to by the bartender on duty last week. We are turning this into a positive learning experience by having our bartender and service staff attend the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control's class in responsible alcohol service,'' Fradelizio said.

The Napa County Sheriff's Department and the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control conducted the decoy operation. ABC spokesman John Carr said the 60 percent violation rate of the Napa County sting was disappointing and far below the state average of 16 percent.

28 December, 2005