Arns Winery

Arns Winery is a tiny Howell Mountain estate producing a single Cabernet Sauvignon from 9 acres of volcanic hillside, with Denis Malbec lending his Bordeaux-trained palate to fruit from one of the mountain's most intimate properties. Founded in 1989 by Bob Arns, the estate occupies a small but exceptional parcel of volcanic terrain at an elevation that places it firmly in the Howell Mountain's sweet spot: above the fog, in the sunlight, and surrounded by the rocky soils that produce Cabernet of mountain intensity. The single-wine focus and tiny production create a tasting experience of unusual purity and concentration.

The 9-acre vineyard is planted exclusively to Cabernet Sauvignon on the thin, rocky volcanic soils that characterize Howell Mountain's best sites. The small scale allows for farming of extraordinary precision, with each vine receiving individual attention throughout the growing season. The mountain conditions, including intense sunlight, wide temperature swings, and the stress of growing in rocky, nutrient-poor soils, produce berries of deep color and concentrated flavor. Total production rarely exceeds 600 cases, making Arns one of the smallest commercial producers on the mountain.

Denis Malbec produces a single Cabernet that captures the mountain's volcanic character with Bordeaux-caliber refinement. The wine is dark and structured, with firm tannins, deep mineral notes, and the kind of complexity that rewards years of cellaring. The winemaking is restrained and precise, with the volcanic terroir dominating the wine's character rather than the oak or the extraction. Each vintage is a pure expression of 9 acres of Howell Mountain and one winemaker's vision for what that site can produce.

Tastings are by appointment only, with visitors hosted on the mountaintop estate for an experience that is as intimate as the production scale. The 9-acre vineyard is visible in its entirety from the tasting area, creating an immediate connection between the wine in the glass and the vines that produced it. The $80 fee includes the single estate Cabernet alongside library vintages that demonstrate how the wine evolves with age.

Arns demonstrates that a single variety from a single tiny vineyard, when the terroir is exceptional and the winemaker is skilled, can produce wine of genuine depth and complexity. The estate's deliberate minimalism, one grape, one wine, one mountain, strips away every variable except the essential question: what does this piece of Howell Mountain taste like? The answer, consistently, is extraordinary.