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In This Issue...
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Around Aptos
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Local Winemakers Recall 1989 Earthquake
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Local Winemakers Recall 1989 Earthquake
The Loma Prieta earthquake, also known as the "World Series Quake," caused 63 deaths, 3,757 injuries, and an estimated $6 billion to $10 billion in property losses. It was the largest earthquake to occur on the San Andreas Fault since the great San Francisco Earthquake in April 1906.
The earthquake, which lasted 15 to 20 seconds on Oct.17, 1989, had a magnitude of 6.9. The epicenter was in the Santa Cruz Mountains in the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park.
As we approach the 20th anniversary of this catastrophic event, many of our local winemakers shared their stories of that day, and recalled them as vividly as if the earthquake had occurred just yesterday.
Barry Jackson of Equinox Cellars was at Storrs Winery helping Steve Storrs transfer some wine. While resting, he leaned against a barrel as he felt the main shock hit. The winery turned into a chaotic scene. Jackson described the sound as if a "freight train was roaring through the building."
The most compelling aspect of the events unfolding, according to Jackson, was that newly filled barrels of chardonnay "began to bounce like the ping pong balls in a lottery cage! Wine began shooting up out of the barrels toward the ceiling, like geysers, due to the gases forming from the fermentation process."
Afterward it became deathly quiet. There were rows of walnut trees across the street and the earthquake had shaken the walnuts loose. As cars began to drive over them, Jackson remembers the crunching sound they made. Whenever he hears a similar crunch he is brought right back to that moment in time.
In 1989 Trout Gulch was a vineyard without a winery. It was located one mile from the earthquake's epicenter. The house on the property had a swimming pool and at the time the earthquake hit, the water splashed out of the pool in a giant tidal wave.
The owner, Bernie Turgeon, was at home and a witness to this shocking event.
Bernie's son Gerry was downtown at his Santa Cruz Brewing Company in the back banquet room, with one of his regular customers, awaiting the third game of the World Series.
With a pitcher of Lighthouse Amber on the table, and the TV on, the tremor hit before even a sip of beer was swallowed. They knew immediately that this was big. As they looked out at the back parking lot a truck jostled around as if it were dancing!
Bargetto Winery lost 3,000 gallons of white wine when a tank door seal ruptured.
"The winemaking team could do nothing but watch it flow into the drain," remembered Martin Bargetto.
Bargetto Winery was the "host" winery for producing and bottling the Epicenter Cuvee that was produced to raise money for earthquake victims. The effort generated $10,000 in proceeds for the Greater Santa Cruz County Community Foundation from the 175 cases of the chardonnay.
As a board member of the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association, June Smith of Roudon Smith Winery spearheaded efforts to produce the Epicenter Cuvee together with Chuck Devlin and Marty Bargetto. They produced both a Chardonnay Cuvee in 1989 and the Pinot Noir Cuvee a year later.
Two years after the earthquake, Smith represented the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association at the groundbreaking of the St. George Hotel on the Pacific Garden Mall. A bottle of the 1989 Epicenter Cuvee Pinot Noir, the second and final release under this label, was chosen to be included along with other items of significance into a time capsule that was placed in the cornerstone of the building.
Local dignitaries of the time were present including Assemblyman Sam Farr, Mayor Jane Yokohama, and developer Barry Swenson with his partner Robert Meyer.
Whoever unearths this time capsule and uncovers these bottles might be treated to a rare treasure!
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