Three years have gone by since a devastating CZU Lightning Complex wildfire tore through California’s Santa Cruz Mountains in August 2020, destroying the home of Big Basin Vineyards winemaker Bradley Brown. The fire damaged his vineyard, but spared his winery, even though it was very close to the flames. Since that time, Bradley and Big Basin have been coming back and in many ways, they are better than ever.
In the immediate aftermath of the 2020, we hosted a podcast panel discussion with the winemakers impacted by the flames and smoke, and Bradley Brown was a participant. So today we are happy and grateful to welcome Bradley back to the podcast under happier circumstances, to talk about growth from the wildfire ashes, changes at Big Basin and in Bradley’s life.
Big Basin has a new tasting room and wine bar in Santa Cruz, CA, and the winery also brought back the popular Fireside Fridays at its Boulder Creek winery and vineyard.
Mary O has a confession – she’s been a Big Basin fan since at least 2010 and at one time, Big Basin wines were the #1 label in her collection, although she put a good dent in that during the pandemic.
Visit Big Basin Vineyards
Santa Cruz tasting room by the sea
Boulder Creek winery in the mountains
Wines tasted in this episode
2020 Brokentop Ranch Viognier, Santa Cruz Mountains
2019 Rattlesnake Rock Syrah, Santa Cruz Mountains
2013 Lester Family Vineyards Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains
