Things are getting exciting on Howell Mountain as summer begins to give way to fall. Our Petite Sirah, planted in 2016, has come in at a surprising volume this year and is starting veraison, offering a sneak peek at what is sure to be an amazing harvest in 2019.

In other exciting news, we’ve finally settled on some names for our vineyards. The new Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard Jon and our crew have been working on will be called Disappearing Ink. The stand of Petite Sirah in our yard will be called “The Arbiter”. Like many of Jon’s best ideas, the vineyard names came to him at 3 AM. The image of The Arbiter in Jon’s mind is our resident raven, pictured below, who nests near here and is a daily presence around our house.

‘Arbiter’:

• a person who settles a dispute or who has ultimate authority on a matter
• a person whose views or actions have influence over trends in social behavior

The ‘social behavior’ is you all enjoying Paravel wines. The actions that influence that behavior are the magical mix of cool evenings and hot afternoons that ripen our grapes, the expert work of our vineyard crew, and Jon’s meticulous scrutiny from bud break until harvest. Also, The Arbiter metaphor extends easily into our lives as parents of teenage daughters. Speaking of, the girls were a part of the 2017 vintage from picking to bottling. A genuine family affair.

Notes on the Vintage:

We found ourselves in limbo as fires erupted throughout Napa and Sonoma Counties 3 days before our Petite Sirah pick date in October 2017. Most of our crew was evacuated, so our girls and our friends helped us get our grapes off the vines and into the safety of the cellar, untainted by smoke. We are immensely lucky to have a joyful story to tell of the 2017 harvest, and to present wines that tell their own story of concentration and distinction.

2017 Howell Mountain Henry Brothers Ranch Petite Sirah:

Freshly baked blackberry pie, black raspberry, graham cracker, peppercorn, and cassis on the nose with warm cedar and blueberry notes. Gobs of fleshy plum, dusty earl grey tea, candied strawberry and gummy bear on the palate ride a creamy glycerol center and richly constructed and hedonistic finish. Decadent! 6 Bottle limit/customer.

2017 Howell Mountain Henry Brothers Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon:

Cassis, salted caramel, double-chocolate brownies, golden graham, cherry pie and vanilla bean with high notes of cranberry and spiced cider. Silky entry with intriguingly focused tannins through the mid-palate with a long, creamy, expansive blackberry finish.

A limited number of large format bottles are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Inquire about pricing.

To order Paravel, fill out this form and email it to jon@paravelwines.com.

Cheers to another beautiful vintage and, as always, our sincere thanks to all of you.

Jon and Jaime Jones