Our Howell Mountain Estate is a special place. The property is 25 acres and Mark decided early on that it would represent biodiversity at its best. Only 50% of the property is planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, the remaining land includes our family home, the winery, ancient caves, 2 ponds, olive trees, plants, old oak trees, and land for our animals to roam.
Bringing our cows up the mountain from our Rutherford property takes us back to our roots here. Mark brought in some cows on this property when he first purchased it in 1990 and they lived at what is now known as Block 5. His dad, Jack, was mad that he opted for cows and not vineyard at the time. If Jack only could be around to see how this estate developed and became the first Regenerative Organic Certified Vineyard in Napa Valley, he’d be so proud.
The cows, along with our other animals and wildlife, are part of our Animal Welfare pillar for ROC and important in our Demeter Biodynamic farming practices including compost, fertilization, and our BD 500 preparation with the horns. As a family, it’s been wonderful to look out our kitchen window and see the cows walking on the hillside. We are so happy to bring them home.
