“On the valley floor you have more latitude to push and pull a wine; up here on the mountain you have to take what you’re given and work with it. It’s harder, but that makes it rewarding.”
How did you come to work on this project?
Françoise Peschon - It started with Mike Wolf. He told me there was a project on Howell Mountain and asked if I wanted a look. I knew if Mike didn’t see anything in the place he wouldn’t have taken it on. He showed me the property after harvest, and the colors… oh my god this place is gorgeous. It’s just beautiful.
Matilda Scott - I remember driving in for my first interview, completely clouded in, couldn’t see anything, just driving through the forest and popping out in the vineyard — incredible. The opportunity to be here and be on a project from the start is something special.
FP - Total diamond in the rough.
MS - There’s an absolute romance to that, but the logistics of it have been another story [laughs].
FP - Bill and Joan Smith put so much love into this little homestead and it shows; you fall in love with it. And the wine, and the vineyard. I mean that’s why we’re here.
MS - It’s the package, it’s all here.
FP - It is!
MS - And it’s wild, it’s a wild mountain, that’s what I like.
FP - It’s the land’s end of Howell Mountain. There’s so much potential here. The winery is being pieced together but that’s part of the charm too, the Wabi Sabi approach. When you’re working with something too perfect you can lose the character. This place? It’s all character. The rustic nature of Howell Mountain. That’s what drew Frank here - Howell Mountain, it’s a challenge. He could have bought a property in the valley that was a little more put together, but that’s not what appealed to him.
MS - When people think of Howell Mountain, they think of the icons here as being mavericks, because the place is so wild and remote, it is the extreme end of winemaking in the valley.
What’s the lineup of wines now?
FP - There’s the Almacerro Cabernet and our Proprietary Red, which is a Right Bank blend. Cab Franc and Merlot were up here, and there’s a pretty good history of Merlot in this area with Bancroft Ranch and Beringer, and Cab Franc with Las Posadas.
MS - A lot of the program is being led by the land. You have to start moving in a direction to realize where you want to go, what does or doesn’t work. We started by experimenting with field blend co-ferments of Cab Franc and Merlot and that didn’t work, but it led us here. Frank has been super patient and phenomenally supportive. He didn’t want to pigeon hole us, anything we’ve wanted to do he said ‘let’s do it.’
FP - And Frank also knows what he wants - he has loved Tempranillo for a long time and a trip to Spain’s Ribero del Duero region confirmed he wanted to grow his own. He also loves Sauvignon Blanc - you know he loves it because not everything has to make financial sense. That’s the true test. He just loves it.
You spoke about how amazing the place is. Is that how you decide to take on projects?
FP - It’s about the people. Not even their vision as much as their commitment, their attitude. What struck me about Frank was this midwestern love of farming and work ethic. He loves being here and loves the work. There’s a playful side to Frank that’s really refreshing - he takes joy in this place. It’s not money, it’s joy. He doesn’t taste blends at 9am like it’s work, he tastes blends at 4pm because that’s cocktail hour.
MS - Frank loves to rake a bin. He spent four hours cutting a walking trail into the forest for fun, all on his own. He seems happiest outside getting things done.
FP - I couldn’t take this project on alone and I knew Matilda was the perfect person for it. She’s hands on, can do anything, and on a property like this, that’s required. Her growing up on a ranch in Australia — she knows how life works, how things run.
MS - Practical work definitely suits me. I go a bit stir-crazy just staring at a computer. Seeing something being created that you worked on, coming from the ground, the seasons. Being in the farming industry and growing things are in my blood … we had sheep and cattle growing up, grapes aren’t too dissimilar. I live for harvest and putting the wines together at blending.
“There’s a wildness to this slice of Howell Mountain that I love, and I think it shows in the wines. But there’s also discipline in the way we approach the winemaking, a practical but deliberate and nuanced way of making decisions. I guess you could say there is method to the madness.”
- Matilda Scott, Winemaker
