About School House Vineyard
School House Vineyard is named for the one-room schoolhouse that stood on the Howell Mountain property before the vineyards were planted — a historic agricultural building that gave the estate its identity before wine was part of the landscape. Terry and Roumelia Conlan's estate honors that pre-wine history while declaring a wine future that the old schoolhouse could not have anticipated.
Established in 1979, School House Vineyard is one of Howell Mountain's founding estates, planted when the mountain appellation had no official recognition and Howell Mountain Cabernet had no critical reputation. The volcanic red soils and high-elevation terrain — characteristic of the entire AVA — produce Cabernet Sauvignon of the intense structure and mineral concentration that has made Howell Mountain one of Napa Valley's most age-worthy appellations.
Wine Advocate has scored School House Vineyard's Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon at 91–95 points, recognizing both the quality of the historic mountain estate and the consistency of the volcanic terroir expression.