Doug Meador is a pioneer in Monterey County viticulture. When he arrived in 1971 to supervise the planting of a 2,500-acre vineyard in the Arroyo Seco area, commercial viticulture in the county was only about 10 years old. He hadn’t planned to stay on, but the challenges of cool-climate viticulture fascinated him, and Meador ended up purchasing part of the vineyard he’d planted. He named it Ventana Vineyards.

That fascination with learning the best methods for growing grapes in a cool climate led Meador to a number of experiments in his vineyard, including closer vine spacing, vertical trellising and leaf pulling. The experiments continued in the winery, with research on different yeast strains and malolactic fermentation in whites.

Meador went on to start Meador Estate, a brand which encompasses limited-production wines from specific blocks in the Ventana vineyard. In September 2006, Meador and his wife, LuAnn, sold Ventana Vineyards – the vineyard, the winery and the brand – to a group of Monterey County investors. They retained the Meador Estate brand, and Doug Meador continues to act as a consultant.

I talked to Meador about what he’s learned in more than 30 years of viticulture in the Arroyo Seco AVA and why he’s convinced that Monterey is one of the world’s great wine areas.