Howell Mountain AVA

History

Among the early vineyards established in the Howell Mountain region was by two experienced French winemakers, Brun and Chaix, in 1877. They started a successful wine enterprise contributing to the industry boom in the 1880s. Their winery had a capacity of 150000 usgal. The most famous vintner to move to Howell Mountain in the 1880s was Charles Krug who planted about 100 acre there by 1884. Vineyards on Howell Mountain developed an excellent reputation for their wines by the end of the decade and the J. Thomas Winery in St. Helena was producing 25000 usgal sourced from Howell Mountain grapes in 1889. The man who made Howell Mountain wines world renowned was W. S. Keyes, son of General E.D. Keyes, who set out his Lapairita Vineyards in 1880 and later built a stone winery that still stands on Los Posadas Road. By 1891, he had 600 - of wine grapes on "the Mountain." He made excellent wines and entered two vintages in the 1899 Paris Exposition winning gold and bronze medals for a claret and a Blanco, respectively. Keyes repeated his Paris triumph at the 1904 St. Louis Exposition with the claret winning the grand prize. Keyes' victories was widely carried in the California press as the Howell Mountain claret established a long-standing reputation for Howell Mountain red wines especially its Zinfandel. Prohibition effectively ended wine production in the United States and the market for Howell Mountain's superior wines collapsed and its vineyards were either abandoned or ripped out. Although Prohibition ended with the Repeal in 1933, the damage was already done and efforts to revive the few remaining vineyards did not last. In the 1960s, the second wine revolution began in California and several old properties had been purchased by pioneering vintners interested in revitalizing and reestablishing the Howell Mountain reputation for premium wines. Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon became the dominant grape variety which was no surprise to those who knew the literature of California wine history three quarters of a century earlier. Bottled Zinfandel under the Howell Mountain designation was a symbolic reunion of the ties established by the 1900 Paris victories by the Keyes winery.{{cite news

Terroir

The petition for the Howell Mountain AVA designation was predominantly done by Bill Smith formerly of La Jota and later W. H. Smith Wines. Howell Mountain was the 3rd appellation established in Napa Valley and the 2nd sub-AVA a few months after Los Carneros. The vineyards in Howell Mountain are planted between 1400 and(-) elevations well above the fog level in Napa Valley that are most affected by the cool fog and winds from San Pablo Bay while Howell Mountain, at the same time, is exposed to sunlight receiving larger amounts of solar radiation. The mountain does get cool breezes directly from the Pacific Ocean, and the relatively high elevations result in a cooler climate than on the valley floor. The soil in the appellation is volcanic with excellent drainage.

References

References

1. (1983-12-30). "Howell Mountain Viticultural Area". [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
2. (1987-02-27). "§ 9.94 Amended". Federal Register.
3. (1982-12-18). "Petition for Howell Mountain American Viticultural Area".
4. (2007). "Howell Mountain (AVA): Appellation Profile".
5. (1983-08-19). "Howell Mountain Viticultural Area". [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
6. (2006). "[[The Oxford Companion to Wine]]". Oxford University Press.