The Winemakers
Matt and Karen Meyer share the Bonny’s Vineyard winemaking duties. Although it seems decadent to employ two winemakers to produce a wine in such short supply, it was not a choice so much as a logical conclusion. Whereas most people have front lawns, Matt’s front yard was Bonny’s Vineyard. He spent most of his summers at Silver Oak with his parents Justin and Bonny Meyer, where he developed a passion for wine. Matt traveled overseas to work harvests in Australia and New Zealand while earning his Masters degree at the University of California Davis.
Karen was born and raised in Perth, Australia, 9173 miles from Bonny’s Vineyard. She had accumulated her own world of experience before arriving in Oakville. Karen earned a degree in enology at Charles Stuart University and worked harvests in Swan Valley, Margaret River, Hunter Valley, Mornington Penninsula, and Tasmania in Australia; Martinborough in New Zealand; the Southern Rhone in France; and Sonoma in the United States.
In 1999 Karen and Matt met while working the harvest in Oregon. A few years later they were married and making wine together. Although it can be a test on any relationship to work with your spouse, Karen decided the reward of “working with the most exciting vineyard I’ve known was worth it. In the end Matt wasn’t so hard to work with, as long as he does what he’s told.”