As the 2017 Northern California wildfires swept through its picturesque wine country, vintners Pam and George Hamel valiantly battled to save their namesake Sonoma winery. While their 124-acre ranch was saved, they discovered after the flames finished racing through the foothills, their nearby home was ultimately reduced to ashes. Determined to rebuild, the Hamels turned to longtime friend Ken Fulk to reimagine the decimated property where they’d made so many wonderful memories since starting Hamel Family Wines several years earlier.
The Hamels and Fulk spent a few months after the fire assessing the situation, before beginning the literal process of clearing the ashes as the two-year project got underway. It was agreed that the home shouldn’t feel new, but instead a reinvention of the original structure—including a separate screening room and a wine cave. “Even though it’s been completely rebuilt, every space is filled with lots of meaning for them and for us,” says Fulk.