Today, the Dunn family farms 42 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon on Howell Mountain, with Mike’s son Alex joining the family operation All of Dunn’s vineyards sit between 1,850 and 2,100 feet of elevation with primarily eastern exposures, reducing the risk of frost. With yields averaging fifty percent of the valley floor’s, Howell Mountain has definitively low vigor due to its meager, shallow soil. Overall cooler temperatures but more hours of sunlight foster vines with smaller, thicker-skinned berries and yield wines of abundant structure.

Today, the Dunn family farms 42 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon on Howell Mountain. All of Dunn’s vineyards sit between 1,850 and 2,100 feet of elevation with primarily eastern exposures, reducing the risk of frost. With yields averaging fifty percent of the valley floor’s, Howell Mountain has definitively low vigor due to its meager, shallow soil. Overall cooler temperatures but more hours of sunlight foster vines with smaller, thicker-skinned berries and yield wines of abundant structure.

The winemaking at Dunn Vineyards is what one would expect, traditional and simplistic. There are two Cabernet Sauvignons produced, one from the Howell Mountain vineyards and a Napa Valley bottling that blends fruit from Howell Mountain and Coombsville. Both wines are 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged for 32 months in French oak. Although a good dose of new oak is used, they have evolved into using lower-impact wood that is more about creating a clean vehicle for aging the wine rather than adding big oaky flavors.