Michel-Schlumberger Wine Estate was founded in 1979 by Swiss-born Jean-Jacques Michel, who identified the benchland vineyards of Wine Creek Canyon in Dry Creek Valley as ideal for Bordeaux varieties, with Jacques Pierre Schlumberger — whose family had over 400 years of winemaking history in Alsace — joining in 1991 and giving the estate its current name. The 62-acre estate grows more than 15 varietals on prime benchland vineyards just 17 miles from the Pacific Ocean, with Merlot among the Bordeaux varieties central to the estate's program alongside Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Syrah.