Howell Mountain: menthol and mint

Rudy Zuidema, winemaker at White Cottage winery on Howell Mountain

When someone says "Howell Mountain," everyone gets this serious look on their face: a combination of awe and nostalgia all at once.  Perhaps they are remembering a very fine old bottle of Dunn Vineyards or they are reminiscing on the smell.... that smell of strong menthol permeating from the glass.  

Rudy Zuidema pulled out bottle after bottle and lined them up on the bar.  The name "White Cottage" seemed kind of innocuous, like a name selected for WalMart brand, designed to appeal to 35-50 year old women.  Rudy was beaming at me from in front of the bar and I remembered how much I hated the idea of myself slowly descending into wine-snobbery and elitism.  Oh what the hell, let's try this liquid!

Little did I know, White Cottage winery is not a branded wine, it's the name of a small family winery on non-other-than-my-favorite-napa-ava Howell Mountain!  I am such a dick!  White Cottage has a line of wines all made from mostly Howell Mountain fruit from their vineyards.  The more amazing part about these wines, is that they are only around $30-45, which is astonishing because Howell Mountain commands some of the highest prices per ton of grapes (as high as $6000/ton vs $1300/ton for napa valley, as a generalized comparison, sorry).

Rudy's wines are a gestalt of Howell Mountain, they have all the aromas and flavors that one would note about that particular growing area.  I will keep looking out for them, because I believe Rudy is going to make better stuff as he keeps making wine.

White Cottage also is trying to take a not-too-serious approach to their wine.  They offer a stand-up red blend with sangiovese, zinfandel and syrah and offer it in a 1L jug.  It's great: I want it for dinner and a mid-morning snack.

oh noes!  We spilled the good sh*t!