A massive Napa Valley vineyard is getting a second chance — just as California’s wine industry faces a brutal reckoning.
A partnership between winemaker Maya Dalla Valle and Coastal Vineyard Care Associates (CVCA) has purchased the 500-acre Cain Vineyard estate on Spring Mountain from the Meadlock family, Wine Spectator reports.
The price was not disclosed.
The 2020 Glass Fire destroyed nearly everything in its path, killing most of the vines and burning every building on the property. Just 15 acres of vines survived. Another 52 acres have since been replanted.
The new owners plan to keep rebuilding the vineyard — and betting on Napa’s future at a time when the region’s wine business is under growing pressure.
Americans are drinking less wine, younger consumers are increasingly choosing alternatives such as spirits and ready-to-drink beverages, and Napa growers are feeling the squeeze from weaker demand, soaring costs and labor headaches.
A 2026 survey found half of Napa vineyards reported declining revenue last year, while 51% reported lower profits.
Dalla Valle, co-owner and winemaker at her family’s Dalla Valle Vineyards, will own half of the new partnership. CVCA, a vineyard management company, will own the other half.
“Cain Vineyard is such a historic site and so iconic,” Dalla Valle told Wine Spectator. “When we saw the opportunity to buy it, we saw the chance to protect and restore a key part of Napa Valley. I’m born and raised here. We saw an opportunity to protect this place.”
She plans to develop a new wine using select parcels of the property.
Cain was a sheep ranch when Jerry and Joyce Cain bought the land in 1979 and began planting Cabernet Sauvignon.
Jim and Nancy Meadlock joined them in 1986 and bought out the Cains in 1991.
The vineyard, perched roughly 2,000 feet above sea level between Napa and Sonoma counties, became known for Cabernet Sauvignons that bucked Napa’s bigger-is-better reputation.
Cain’s wines were more restrained, with lower alcohol and higher acidity.
Then came the Glass Fire.
The blaze swept across Spring Mountain in 2020, torching every building and killing most of the vines. Longtime winemaker Chris Howell fled the property when the flames were just a mile away.
The Meadlocks decided not to rebuild.
Third Leaf Partners, a San Francisco private equity firm, bought the Cain brand and inventory in December 2025 — but not the land. Howell continues making Cain wine using fruit purchased from the vineyard.
Now Dalla Valle and CVCA are taking control of the dirt itself.
They plan to continue replanting while maintaining Cain’s existing lease.
“Cain the winery will continue to buy fruit with no stated end date as the brand is connected to the vineyard.”
The project will also be separate from Dalla Valle Vineyards.
