CALIFORNIA

A PERSPECTIVE

Katie Lazar and Christopher Howell, both 70 years old, have lived at Cain Vineyard & Winery on Spring Mountain in Napa Valley for years and Howell has made wine for the past 30 vintages there. In September 2020, they narrowly escaped the Glass Fire that raged through Napa County for days. They lost their home and some vineyards to the fire. After so many years, and this great loss, Howell has some perspective on the evolution of Napa Valley – and thus California. He is wondering

what to replant.

“Places like the Napa Valley might be likened to the growing up of a person. At first, as a young child, we are full of potential, and certain proclivities might declare themselves, but it is really too soon to know what is possible. This might have been the case of Napa Valley in the 1870s and 1880s and again

in the 1940s to 1960s. In these periods, the range of grape varieties planted and the wines made covered virtually the entire gamut of

known wines.

Then, as an adolescent, we begin to try on various identities, but it is too soon to be even aware that what we are doing is trying to find ourselves. This might be where we were in the Napa Valley during the 1970s, 80s and early 90s, as we incessantly tried to compare our wines with the great wines of the world. At that time, our focus had narrowed to fewer varieties – especially Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. But, as with all adolescents, this still didn’t mean that we knew what we

were doing.

As a young adult, the Napa Valley is still struggling. We are just beginning to emerge from the fog of Cabernet and new oak barrels, but there is cause to hope that we are beginning to understand our terroir and our identity

as a red winegrowing region.”