The Howell Mountain AVA is an

American Viticultural Area An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States, providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know about th ...

located within

Napa Valley AVA Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area, American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County, California, Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms , Bureau of Alcohol, ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

Location

The AVA is located in the Howell Mountains within the

Vaca Range The Vaca Mountains are a mountain range in Napa and Solano Counties, California that is one of the California Coast Ranges. They represent the easternmost of the Inner Coast Ranges in north−central California, and divide the Suisun Valley on t ...

on the northeast side of Napa Valley around the town of Angwin, and overlooks the town of St. Helena,

. The boundaries of the AVA are dictated by vineyard land located at elevations at least .

History

Prior to Prohibition in the United States, the region was widely known for its

Zinfandel Zinfandel (also known as Primitivo) is a variety of black-skinned wine grape. The variety is grown in over 10 percent of California vineyards. DNA analysis has revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grapes Crljenak Kašte ...

but in the mid to late 20th century

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Leban ...

became the dominant

grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Vit ...

. Designated an AVA in 1983 due to research predominantly done by Bill Smith formerly of La Jota and later W. H. Smith Wines, Howell Mountain was the first sub-

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

within Napa Valley AVA. Most vineyards in the Howell Mountain AVA are planted between and above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

, well above the elevations in Napa Valley that are most affected by the cool fog and

wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ...

s from

San Pablo Bay San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in the East Bay and North Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water c ...

. The mountain does get cool breezes directly from the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

, and the relatively high elevations result in a cooler climate than on the valley floor. The soil in the appellation is

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates ...

with excellent drainage.

References

External links

Howell Mountain Vintners & Growers Association
Retrieved Nov. 5, 2010. * American Viticultural Areas of the San Francisco Bay Area Geography of Napa County, California American Viticultural Areas 1983 establishments in California {{wine-region-stub