Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1314457
T he old saying, "lightning never strikes the same place twice" is meant to reassure us that when something bad—such as a natural disaster—strikes, it's unlikely to do so again. Wildfires don't pay attention to old sayings. In the 14 years since Matt Shea took the reins as vineyard manager for Bernardus Winery in Carmel Valley's Cachagua region, the property has been deeply affected by fires on three occa- sions; the Basin Fire in 2008, the Soberanes Fire in 2016 and the Carmel and River fires of 2020. Two were so severe ('16 and '20) that no estate wines were produced in those vintages due to the "smoke taint" of the grapes at Marinus, the brand's flagship vineyard. Shea is no stranger to the area—or to the art and science of growing things. "I was raised in Carmel Valley," he says. "My mom Betsy was an accredited master gardener, and both my parents were active in the Carmel Valley Garden Club." Shea earned a degree in sustainable and organic vegetable production from Oregon State University, "with the idea that I was going to be a Saturday market 'hippie farmer.' I was more romantic then than I am now." While in school, the budding horticulturist worked in a vineyard, performing the hard labor a vineyard demands. "The work came naturally to me," he says. "I thought of it as a starting at the bottom ap- proach to learning the business." 154 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 1