MEDIA ARCHIVES & MUSING

View list of all Press

“‘We drove through the fire in two cars, hoping at least one of us would survive’: The Napa winemakers who almost lost it all,” Club Oenologique, December 2022
“Napa’s New Old School,” Wine & Spirits, June 2014
“At Napa’s Cain Vineyard and Winery, Planting a New Future Means Learning from the Past,” SevenFifty Daily, June 2022
“There’s ripeness … and then there’s ripeness,” The World of Fine Wine, February 2022
“Cain Vineyard Rises from the Ashes,” Wine Searcher, November 2021
“California Wine Country Rebuilds as Threats Persist,” The New York Times, July 2021
“Wineries burn, but places endure: After Cain is destroyed, new reasons for hope,” San Francisco Chronicle, October 2020
“Ripeness (part 2)” The World of Fine Wine, January 2019
“The Decanter interview: Chris Howell,” Decanter Magazine, January 2018
“You Might Be Surprised to Learn Who’s Making Your Wine,” VinePair, February 2017
“How This Wet, Wild Winter In California Wine Country Could Have Unexpected Benefit,” Forbes, February 2017
“Californian Cabernet 2013: Top five wines of the vintage,” Decanter Magazine, October 2016
“Jefford on Monday: High on the hill,” Decanter Magazine, September 2016
“Cain: old-world flavors in Napa Valley,” San Francisco Chronicle, September 2016
“Regional Profile: Spring Mountain,” Decanter Magazine, February 2016
“Ask a Winemaker: What Are Tannins in Wine?” Forbes, January 2016
“Jefford on Monday: Journey into Forbidden Territory,” Decanter China, October 2015
“A Fruitless Endeavor,” Lucky Peach, June 2015
“Cain Vineyard & Winery: The Delightful Cain Cuvée,” Drink Me, June 2015
“Q&A: Chris Howell of Cain Vineyard & Winery,” Wine Searcher, January 2015
“Dying for rain (California Supplement),” Decanter, 2014
“Three to Cellar,” Departures, 2014
“Napa Valley on the Razor’s Edge,” Zester Daily, November 2014
“Obsessed with Vintage: Red Wine & Thinking Beyond the Year,” Grape Collective, August 2014
“Wine temperature matters,” Chicago Tribune, July 2014
“Napa Off the Grid,” Wine Enthusiast, May 2014
“Don’t shy away from funky flavours,” The Globe and Mail, February 2014
“Winemaker Chris Howell, Cain Winery, and the Taboo Subject of Brett,” Diary of a Winebuyer, January 2014
“Should ‘alcohol bombs’ be defused?,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 2014
“All-American Matchups (Thanksgiving Wines),” Connecticut Cottages & Gardens, November 2013
“Chris Howell & Cain Vineyard: Making Wines That Matter,” Huffington Post, July 2013
“Hitting a Home Run,” Drinks Business US (California Report 2013), 2013
“Napa: To Be a Winemaker,” Hong Kong Economic Times, April 2013
“Making Mountain Cab: The joys and challenges at Cain Vineyard and Winery,” Napa Valley Register, March 2013
“A Little Bit Softer Now: Northern California winemakers tone down their approach,” Hemispheres Magazine, March 2013
“Cain Winery’s Chris Howell is a Winemaker Who Lets the Grapes Do the Talking,” Food Republic, December 2012
“A Higher Standard: Cain Vineyard’s trio of red wines shows Napa Valley at its peak,” Robb Report, December 2012
“Cain Five and the Question of Ripeness,” Aspen Daily News, December 2012
“Cain Vineyard & Winery St. Helena, California: For the Cain team, winemaking is a process of discovery,” Sommelier Journal, July 2011
“The Flowering of Spring Mountain,” Wine News, June 2007

Press:

“Californian Cabernet 2013: Top five wines of the vintage,” Decanter Magazine, October 2016

Christopher Howell deserves more recognition for the amazing consistency, longevity and sophistication that his wines from this striking Spring Mountain site routinely achieve, as anyone with Cain bottlings in their cellar from the 1980s and 1990s can attest.

“Californian Cabernet 2013: Top five wines of the vintage” Decanter Magazine, October 2016:

Cain Five, Spring Mountain, Napa Valley 2013

A fragrant but savoury bouquet of perfumed blackberry, rich earth, fennel seed and cigar tobacco leads to a wine with lovely cut, vibrancy and concentration, structured around firm but refined 2013 tannins. Christopher Howell deserves more recognition for the amazing consistency, longevity and sophistication that his wines from this striking Spring Mountain site routinely achieve, as anyone with Cain bottlings in their cellar from the 1980s and 1990s can attest.
Alc 13.9%

By William Kelley

Link to Decanter | PDF of the article