native of the Canadian
province of Manitoba,
Steve Matthiasson devel-
oped a natural instinct for
farming at an early age.
After working his way
through Whittier College near
Los Angeles with odd jobs as
a landscaper and busboy, he
followed his love for the out-
doors, world culture and punk
rock music to San Francisco
in the early 1990s, psychol-
ogy degree in hand. While
participating in a community
garden program there, Mat-
thiasson learned about the
agricultural department at UC
Davis, and went there to earn
a master's degree in viticul-
ture and pest management.
In the mid-1990s he joined
Four Seasons Ag Consulting
in Modesto. It was during
his stint there that he devel-
oped a knack for working with
soils, designing healthy vine-
yards, monitoring diseases,
managing irrigation and work-
ing with high-quality fruit.
Napa Valley viticulturalist and winemaker
cultivates balance in the vineyards
BY
CHRISTOPHER
SAWYER
9 4 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T
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J a n - F e b 2 015
w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m
