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Meteor Vineyard is in the heart of the Coombsville agricultural area at the southeastern end of Napa Valley’s famed wine appellation. This unique viticulture area in the southeastern end of Napa Valley is rapidly gaining prestige as an ideal growing area for classic Bordeaux grape varietals, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon.

Situated on a knoll, and unusually high at 500 feet, Meteor Vineyard is like a small, protected planet ideally situated to soak up heat and light. The vineyard enjoys slow ripening at the end of the growing season – crucial to the development of ripe, lush, red fruit flavors. The origins of Meteor’s water-eroded rocks, ancient river stones just under the soil, are a bit of a mystery, but contribute to the site’s fortuitous characteristics within a distinctive region.

Not long after Barry Schuler and his wife Tracy bought the land in 1999, they brought in noted Napa viticulturist Michael Wolf and planted it to three selected clones of Cabernet Sauvignon grafted onto different rootstocks specifically selected for the vineyard’s soil. Some of Napa’s most esteemed wineries were quick to recognize the superb quality of Meteor Vineyard’s fruit and have made it a key part of their wine programs ever since.

The common denominator of our gathering together to make Meteor wine is recognizing the potential of a very special piece of land. The Schulers responded to it when they came across this hill with its unusual geographical orientation, limned by rock and oaks but with no history of grape plantings, and acquired it. Mike Wolfe came to the vineyard with an excitement for the area and recognized the unique characteristics of the property immediately. The Dyers knew it when they tasted the first wine from its soil.