Arkenstone

Arkenstone is an all Estate Winery located on the Western shoulder of Howell Mountain. Our 13 acres of vineyard, which overlook the Napa Valley to the West and Bell Canyon to the East, are split into 22 blocks planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Syrah. We go from 1,400 feet of elevation to 1,650 feet, with a mix of steep hillside and rolling level vineyard. The majority of the vineyard was planted in 1998 and the entire vineyard has always been, and continues to be, organically farmed.

Howell Mountain, with its volcanic, rocky soils, gives us incredibly small concentrated berries along with robust tannins, lush acidity and distinctive earthy, minerality. Our winemaker, Sam Kaplan oversees the vineyards as well as the winemaking and creates beautifully balanced wines with now characteristic Arkenstone depth and complexity. He has been with Arkenstone since 2006, overseeing the very first vintage Arkenstone released.

During harvest we use gravity flow to move our fruit from the crush pad into fermentors 40 feet below in our underground winery caves. These grand caves house the fermentation hall as well as barrel storage and hospitality areas.

Tours through the vineyards and the exploration of our extensive winery caves give our guests a thorough overview of how our wines are crafted from vine to bottle. There is a true connection created between the sense of this beautiful place and the wine itself. Tastings, of course, are part of this experience.

Our above ground tasting room setting allows our visitors to enjoy the seasons in the vineyards, moving from the soft green sea of just budding vines of spring to the full, lush growth of summer into the brilliant changing palate of fall colors, and finally, to the proud silhouettes of the winter vines at rest, while our "Down Under" cave lounge keeps you close to all of the production action. Whether you come during the warm summer days and evenings that draw us out into the vineyards, or the cold, rainy days of winter tasting cozily by the fire, it is always the right time to visit the winery. We offer all of our tours and tasting by appointment. We invite you to come and experience Arkenstone.

Arkenstone Portfolio:

Our wines reflect our terroir as well as our vineyard and winemaking practices. From our Arkenstone Estate vineyards, we produce our Estate Red (formerly Obsidian - Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec), a Graves style Estate Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend and an Estate Syrah. Our Arkenstone NVD project began in 2007. It is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from carefully selected vineyards.

We also produce 4 single Vineyard 100% Cabernet Sauvignon selections. Since 2007 we have created Coliseum Block Cabernet Sauvignon with fruit that we source from the Hossfelt vineyards's Coliseum Block in Soda Canyon. In 2018 we had the opportunity to source fruit from the Amoenus vineyard in Calistoga, for our Arkenstone Amoemus Cabernet Sauvignon. Godward vineyard in Rutherford brings us our Godward 100% Cabernet Sauvignioon, and last but not least, we offer our Heimark Cabernet Sauvignon. The fruit from this high elevation vineyard in Calistoga has gone into our NVD since it's inception in 2010, and we were able to source enough fruit in 2018 to bottle this beautiful single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, we have made it every vintage since!.