The Howell Mountain AVA is an American Viticultural Area located within Napa Valley AVA of

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 m ...

Location

The AVA is located in the

Howell Mountains The Howell Mountains, which are also known as the Mt. George Range, are one of the California Coast Ranges. They divide the Suisun Valley on the east side, from Napa Valley on the west. Historically the southern part of the range has been referred ...

within the Vaca Range on the northeast side of Napa Valley around the town of Angwin, and overlooks the town of

St. Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constit ...

. 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 but in the mid to late 20th century Cabernet Sauvignon 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 Viti ...

. 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 ho ...

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 contin ...

, 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 a ...

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