Matt Kettmann

JOURNALISM IN ACTION: Here’s Senior Editor Matt Kettmann last Sunday afternoon on the side porch of Municipal Winemakers, talking to Editor in Chief Marianne Partridge on his phone about this week’s cover story on wine-country legend Richard Sanford. Back in 1999, Kettmann’s first work on a cover story for The Independent included an interview with another winemaking legend, Richard Longoria, and Santa Barbara’s evolving wine world has remained an interest ever since. Despite the risk of getting stuck in a bottle, Kettmann remains dedicated to his work, even breaking away from a tasting of Muni’s finest wines to take this phone call. “My friend who took the picture was staring at me for about 10 minutes, so I eventually told my boss that I had to go,” said Kettmann. “But now at least my wife will believe that I was actually working that day!”