Our Dancing Bear Ranch on Howell Mountain in eastern Napa Valley is distinctive for many reasons. First, it vines are planted on steep slopes rising nearly 2,000 feet above the valley floor. Second, it features a state-of-the-art erosion prevention system. Third, as its name implies, the vineyard is home to some very large, nimble creatures!
We began planting Dancing Bear, a 200-acre site, in 1999. Today, it encompasses 27 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon (80% of the total), Merlot and Cabernet Franc vines divided into 24 separate blocks incorporating four rootstocks and nine clones. The vines are planted in thin, rocky, volcanic soils, and the site enjoys a warmer, drier microclimate than our valley-floor vineyards, although cool, foggy evenings help maintain good acidity in the grapes.
Dancing Bear was the first hillside vineyard we developed, and it’s been quite a learning experience. Mountain viticulture presents many challenges, among them erosion control, a hot-button issue in Napa Valley. To ensure soil from our new vineyard would not slide down the mountain during major rainfalls, we consulted Napa County erosion control officials and retained a civil engineer to help us devise a model system for managing water run-off.
“It was a challenging, but fun project,” say winery President Bruce Cakebread. “Our goal was to devise a system that would disperse water in a slow, controlled fashion, rather than allowing it to quickly channel and pool. The solution was to install underground drainage pipes connected to diversion ditches dug every 50 to 70 feet throughout the vineyard. When it rains, the water flows into the ditches, is captured by drop inlets from the pipeline, and is conveyed into rock catch basins, which further disperse the water and also capture silt, preventing it from moving down the hillside.”
Bruce adds that the vineyard’s design also contributes to erosion prevention. “In developing the vineyard, we retained as much of the site’s native vegetation, including oak trees, as possible,” he says. “This was both for practical and aesthetic reasons. The vegetation helps slow and disperse water, plus there’s no scarring on the hillside. In fact, with its rounded corners, the vineyard looks more like a very green meadow.”
