It took a few years to convince Randy Dunn, Mike’s father, to sell them some Petite Sirah grapes from the historic Park Muscatine vineyard on Howell Mountain.

The 4 acre-vineyard was planted in the 1950’s and has stood as a sentinel on Howell Mountain for more than a half century. DNA testing shows that most of the vines are the Durif clone of Petite Sirah, and some are Peloursin, the original cross with Syrah that produced Durif.

In the 1980’s the fruit was sold to Ridge Vineyards, and blended with Zinfandel, producing a wine famous for its “cult” following. During the 90’s the grapes were sold to Stag’s Leap Winery, La Jota and Elyse, who also blended the grapes with others to make their wine.

Quality wine starts in the vineyard. The French know this, with their concept of “terroir”, a wine’s expression of the place of origin in the bottle.

The Howell Mountain sub-appellation of Napa Valley was established in 1983, when Randy Dunn (Dunn Vineyards), Mike Beatty (Howell Mountain Vineyards) and Bill Smith (La Jota) petitioned the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Randy, a pilot, surveyed the region from the air and observed the climactic and geological uniqueness of the area above 1400 feet in elevation to the east of the town of St. Helena. Volcanic soils, milder temperature-swings from day to night, and being above the fog-line are factors contributing to the uniqueness of the area, as compared to the Napa Valley floor. Today, there are many vineyards and wineries in the appellation producing the “big mountain reds” the area is known for. The Howell Mountain Vintners & Growers Association promotes the appellation. Click here to visit their website.

For further information on the Howell Mountain appellation, here’s a link to an article by Steve Pitcher from the San Francisco Chronicle entitled, “GROWLIN' GOOD GRAPES - Howell Mountain's intense fruit attracts winemakers and bears alike ”  Click here.