Dunn Vineyards

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” and for Randy the beauty was Howell mountain. In 1978 Randy and Lori purchased a 14-acre parcel in Angwin with about 5 acres of Cabernet vines on it. At the time, Randy was working full-time as a winemaker in Rutherford. In the evenings and on weekends, Randy, Lori, and a young Mike tended the vines. The same year, Randy agreed to farm and buy the fruit from Harry Frank's adjoining property. That first harvest yielded 9 tons of fruit from these two vineyards. Randy purchased an additional 3 tons from the Beatty Ranch and Dunn Vineyards was underway.

Everything picked up speed after that. Randy, Lori, Mike and baby Jennifer moved onto the property that today is the winery. In 1981, the winery was officially bonded. By 1984 the ATF approved Howell Mountain as a sub-AVA of the Napa Valley. Kristina was born and Lori was now running after 2 young daughters and a teenage son. Randy was still working down in the valley so the family business was still relegated to evenings and weekends. But things were going well. By 1985 they moved into the new family house (the "Brown House") and Randy left his job in the valley.

By the end of the '80's Dunn Vineyards had become a successful operation. Randy was consulting for other wineries and selling out all of his wine. In 1989 he had run out of room to store barrels and he tunneled into the mountain to make more space. Now they had room for more barrels and a place for Jenny and Kristina to rollerskate.

In 1999, Mike came back to help out part-time. It took about three years, but the "cellar grunt" came on full-time. Kristina graduated from Cal Poly with a degree in winemaking and viticulture and came onboard. By 2005, both kids were working full-time for Randy. Dunn Vineyards had always been a family business, but this was a whole new level.

There are some distinct benefits to being above 1400 feet in elevation. We tend to see more sunshine each day and the heat tends to be more moderate. But spring starts later for us and, like winter, tends to be cooler here than on the valley floor. Frost is a concern from bud break through flowering. In 2008, four days of 19-degree temperatures devastated half our crop. Our yields average about 2 tons an acre (which is really low) but the cool, wet vintages do not have the same negative effects that come with being on the valley floor.

We farm about 42 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon on the property. This is a manageable size for us to remain in the driver's seat for all farming and winemaking operations.

Several vineyards dot the hills owned by the Dunn family. However, the best part is that these vineyards are literally just dots in the forested hills. Randy and Lori Dunn own over 200 acres – 35 of which are planted. Sixty three of those forested acres are entrusted to the Napa Valley Land Trust. This ensures that regardless of who owns this land in the future it will stay as it is now – as trees.

All of the vineyards owned by the Dunn family are located on Howell Mountain. We have 29 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon. We also have 6 acres that are a blend of different varietals including: Petite Sirah, Sirah, Sangiovese, Scarlet and Concord grapes.

Trailer Vineyard

The trailer vineyard got its name because of the trailer that was located in the vineyard. Before the home was purchased; Randy, Lori and Mike would come to the property on the weekends and stay in the trailer while Randy tended to the vines. This vineyard was originally a hobby vineyard, first planted in 1972. The 10 x 12 foot space was changed by Randy in 80’s to 5 X 12 as well as the vines were trained to a bilateral cordon trellis system. Though we don’t know the clone of Cabernet Sauvignon that is planted in this vineyard, we do know that it is on St. George rootstock. This vineyard has always been the backbone to our Howell Mountain wine. This last spring we had to make the decision to rip out the vineyard and replant. It was certainly a sad event, but new vines means new life and longevity to the vineyard and the winery.

Harry Frank Vineyard

We have managed this vineyard since the beginning of 1979. Though we don’t own it, it is feels very much like part of our land as it is nestled between two of our vineyards. This vineyard was planted in 1965 and the two blocks were replanted in two separate years; 1989 and 1993. The block planted in 1989 is on 110R rootstock and the 1993 block is planted to 3309. The vines are planted North/South.

Park Muscatine Vineyard

This vineyard was purchased in 1990. The first block which we call “Cuervo” was replanted in 1991. The “JK” block was replanted in 1993, and it wasn’t until 5 years later that we replanted the block we simply call “House”. The fourth and final block within that vineyard was not replanted; instead it remains the original vines. The trellis is all bilateral cordon. Within this vineyard is also an old block of Petite Sirah, which Mike cares for and uses in his Howell Mountain Retro Cellars. This 4 acre Petite Sirah vineyard was planted in the 1950’s. We have irrigation within all of our vineyards, as we do not dry farm. Slopes and sun exposure vary along this 16 acre vineyard.

Lake Vineyard

This vineyard is located directly adjacent to the winery and Randy and Lori’s home. Before this vineyard was planted, Randy grew hay for 20 years to feed the Dunn’s horses. These 8 acres are mostly cabernet sauvignon, except for a few rows of Sirah (for home consumption). There is also about 1 acre of Petite Sirah planted on the west boarder of the vineyard. Mike named this Los Abuelos and uses it for his Retro Cellars label. The Cabernet Sauvignon was planted in 3 blocks. Lake I was planted in 2000 using 101-14 rootstock. Lake II was planted in 2001 on 3309. The last block, Lake III, was planted also on 3309 in 2003. Each block contains a mix of 4 different clones; 337, 15, Dunn (grafting’s from our Trailer Vineyard) and Frank (grafting’s from the Harry Frank vineyard). This vineyard is the closest vineyard to the home and winery. This vineyard is the coolest of all, as it sits in a small valley, and requires overhead sprinklers for frost protection along with a wind machine.

Randy Dunn / Founder, farmer, activist and winemaking pioneer of Howell Mountain. Randy started his wine career working for Charlie Wagner as the first enologist for Caymus Vineyards, and never looked back. Now after all these years, not a lot has changed. More of a farmer, he’s hands-on in vineyards most days. His love for Howell Mountain led him to be instrumental in establishing it as a sub-AVA of Napa Valley. And if he’s not farming the mountain, he’s mountain biking on it, flying his plane over it, or finding ways to preserve it for future generations. He is happy to be called a dirt-loving hippie, but you’d probably think he’s more of a cowboy.