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Winemaking
One of the don't-miss projects on Howell Mountain is Arkenstone, a gem of a winery and 12-acre vineyard planted in the late 1990s.
- Joe Czerwinski (Robert Parker's Wine Advocate)
Arkenstone:
from vine to bottle
Winemaking
The hallmark of Arkenstone wines is, first and foremost, precision—thoughtfully crafted wines of depth, balance, and enduring quality, expressed with remarkable vintage-to-vintage consistency across our entire portfolio.Our organically farmed vineyards began taking shape in the mid-1990s, guided by a long-term vision and deep respect for this extraordinary Howell Mountain site. Steep, rocky, and demanding, the estate is as difficult to farm as it is rewarding—requiring constant attention, experience, and restraint. Our in-house farming team works the vineyards year-round, allowing for complete stewardship of the land and meticulous care at every stage of the growing season.Led by winemaker Sam Kaplan and assistant winemaker Roberto Alfaro, Arkenstone’s approach to winemaking is grounded in patience, discipline, and an uncompromising attention to detail. Our flagship Estate wines are a direct reflection of this philosophy—elegant yet powerful, with layered complexity, vibrant structure, and the natural balance that ensures both age-worthiness and approachability upon release. These are wines built for the table as much as the cellar.
The Wines:
Estate Wines
Perched high within the Howell Mountain AVA, our Estate vineyards thrive in an environment that demands everything from the vine—and rewards that effort with remarkable character. Poor, rocky soils, low fertility, and a dry, temperate mountain climate naturally limit yields, producing smaller clusters and berries than those grown on the valley floor. What the vines lack in ease, they make up for in intensity.The result is fruit of extraordinary concentration and personality. Howell Mountain wines are defined by robust earthiness, pronounced minerality, and a depth of fruit expression found nowhere else in Napa Valley. These qualities translate into wines of structure, balance, and longevity—built to age gracefully, yet crafted to be compelling and expressive upon release.Our Estate’s position on the western shoulder of the mountain further distinguishes our wines, adding nuance and individuality to the classic Howell Mountain profile. Under the thoughtful, meticulous guidance of winemaker Sam Kaplan, and through organic farming practices that require patience and precision, each bottle reflects a fanatical attention to detail from vine to cellar.This is the reward for farming a demanding site with care and intention—and for believing that the most challenging places often yield the most profound wines.
Estate Wines Produced
- Estate Blanc
- Estate Red
- Estate Syrah
- Reserve Sauvignon Blanc
- Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Single-Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
In addition to our Estate and NVD wines, Arkenstone produces a highly curated collection of single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons sourced from some of Napa Valley’s most compelling and sought-after sites. These wines represent rare opportunities—vineyards we work with only when the site, farming, and fruit quality align with our uncompromising standards.Each vineyard is selected for its singular expression, whether driven by elevation, soil composition, exposure, or climate. Working closely with growers who share our commitment to thoughtful farming and low-intervention practices, we allow each site to speak with clarity and precision. Vinified with the same disciplined, detail-driven approach used for our Estate wines, these Cabernet Sauvignons are never formulaic; instead, they highlight the nuance and individuality that make Napa Valley such an extraordinary mosaic of terroirs.Produced in limited quantities, these single-vineyard wines offer a focused lens into Napa’s most exceptional growing sites—powerful yet refined, site-driven, and unmistakably Arkenstone. They stand as a testament to both the incredible opportunities Napa affords and our ongoing pursuit of wines of depth, authenticity, and lasting character.
Single Vineyard Wines Produced
- Heimark
- Amoenus
- Godward
- Hossfeld Coliseum
- Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
NVD Cabernet Sauvignon
Our NVD (Napa Valley Designate) wines are a carefully considered expression of both our Estate and a collection of exceptional single-vineyard sites. By thoughtfully blending these sources, we create wines that offer immediate approachability while maintaining the pedigree, structure, and depth that define Arkenstone.
NVD wines produced
- NVD Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 - current
- NVD Sauvignon Blanc - 2012 - 2015
Together, our Estate, Single Vineyard Cabernets, and NVD tell a complete story of place, patience, and precision—crafted with intention from vine to glass.
