9 Things You Should Know About Meiomi Wines

Known for crowd-pleasing California wines, Meiomi, a label founded in 2006, has become one of the best-selling wine brands on the market. The brand focuses on sourcing high-quality fruit and balancing complementary blends to develop rich, complex flavors.

Boosted by sustained demand and a healthy national appetite for Pinot Noir, Meiomi is now a wildly popular label.

Here are 9 things to learn about the California Coast’s Meiomi Wines.

1. Before There Was Wine Country, There Was Meiomi.

   According to founder Joe Wagner, Meiomi means “coastal” in Wappo, the language spoken by the indigenous people of Northern California. Wappo is also the name of their tribe.

2. It’s a Family Tradition.

   Wagner, a fifth-generation winemaker and Napa Valley native, developed Meiomi in 2006 while he was working for his father Chuck at Caymus Vineyards, the Cabernet-centric winery founded by Joe’s grandfather.

3. Meiomi Exists Thanks To Grandmother Glos.

   Meiomi was born from Belle Glos, a single-vineyard Pinot Noir label owned by Wagner and named for his grandmother, Lorna Belle Glos. Wagner was so impressed with the quality of the wine that he sought to expand the family’s Pinot Noir offerings, and Meiomi was born. Today, Belle Glos Clark and Telephone Pinot Noir retails for $50 a bottle and rakes in top rankings.

4. Wagner Combined Ingenuity With Exquisite Timing.

   Wagner created a label that is accessible and reliable. It offers bright, berry-rich sweetness, which Americans historically love, plus balance and food-friendliness. That said, Wagner happened to bottle an affordable California Pinot Noir at exactly the time the market demanded it, when sales jumped 18 percent after 2004.

5. Hollywood Made Pinot Popular.

   “Sideways,” the 2004 film set in Santa Ynez Valley’s rolling hills, made California Pinot Noir a national obsession. Meiomi launched in 2006 and sold 90,000 cases by 2010. By 2016, Meiomi was producing approximately 700,000 cases annually, and the label passed the million case mark in 2017.

6. It’s One Of Constellation’s Brightest Stars.

   Wagner was 33 years old when he sold Meiomi to Constellation Brands for $315 million in July 2015, less than 10 years after its founding. How successful is Meiomi now? Constellation Brands reported $35.3 million in sales of Meiomi in its first three months, according to figures shared by Decanter. While Constellation recently sold off its lower-end labels to E&J Gallo, the company is focusing on premium wines and expanding its Meiomi offerings.

7. There’s More To Meiomi Than Pinot.

   Meiomi’s Pinot Noir may be its top-seller, but the company also launched its Cabernet Sauvignon in 2020 blended from grapes grown in three prestigious winegrowing areas of California: Sonoma, Monterey, and Santa Barbara. The label also bottles Chardonnay,  rosé, and sparkling wine.

8. Meiomi Is Right At Home On Fairways And Greens.

   Meiomi partnered with the PGA in 2019 and remains the official wine of the PGA Tour. It is also the preferred wine at one of the crown jewels of the season, The Memorial Tournament. The event was founded and hosted by Jack Nicklaus, who is widely believed to be the greatest golfer of all time.

9. Meiomi Supports Local Communities.

   Situated in an area of California prone to wildfires, Meiomi assists in prevention and recovery efforts. The firm contributed $100,000 to the National Forest Foundation and another $100,000 total to the Red Cross, Napa Valley Community Foundation + Sonoma County Resilience Fund.