Another important facet of the project was maintaining corridors for the diverse wildlife that frequents the property, including deer, wild turkey, coyotes, rabbits and five grape-loving black bears. While maturing our first crop of Howell Mountain grapes in 2002, we couldn’t help notice that someone was eating them. After some sleuthing, we realized the culprit was a black bear, who in subsequent years has been joined by four equally ravenous cohorts. After losing a ton of Merlot grapes to the ursine forager that year (remember, this was pre-“Sideways”), we tried in subsequent seasons to deter the glutinous trespassers with bright lights and loud music, but to no avail. (Obviously, our grapes are just too delicious!) These days, the Furry Five gobble two to three tons of grapes per vintage.
Fortunately, they leave enough behind for us to craft a classic Napa Valley mountain red. Our 2004 Dancing Bear Cabernet Sauvignon, to be released this fall, is an amazingly intense, pure wine blended with 10% each Merlot and Cabernet Franc. It boasts beautifully fragrant, complex aromas and finely structured, incredibly focused flavors that may have you dancing in the rows, too.
Speaking of which, we’ve decided it’s time to share our wonderful Howell Mountain vineyard with a species besides bears: Cakebread wine club members. Next summer, we’ll be organizing a hike through the vineyard for interested club members. (Don’t worry, it will be during the day when the bears are home watching TV). Stay tuned for more details.
Because mountains sites tend to produce smaller-berried grape clusters with a greater skin-to-juice ratio than valley floor vineyards, mountain-grown reds often have more pronounced tannins, the puckery acids that reside in grape skins. While elevated tannins can enhance a wine’s structure and longevity, they also may produce some youthful astringency, especially in certain vintages. Our viticulturist, Toby Halkovich, currently is conducting experiments to ascertain whether tannin levels can be managed in the vineyard by manipulating vine canopy growth, irrigation levels and crop loads.
"The idea is to see whether, by applying varying degrees of stress to the vines at different stages of berry development, we can affect the development of tannins and anthocyanins in the grape," Toby says. (Anthocyanins are flavanoid pigments found in the tissues of various fruits and vegetables.) "There's not much research on the subject, but we hope to develop tests that will allow us to identify potential high-tannin years, so we can take measures in the vineyard and winery to better manage them. If we’re successful, it will provide yet another tool in our winegrower’s tool box."
