Angwin Estate Vineyards

 BY LAURIE JO MILLER FARR | PHOTOS COURTESY OF ANGWIN ESTATE VINEYARDS

When a native Howell Mountain winemaker says he approaches wine with a different perspective, one is listening. If the next sentence begins with, “After I left cardiac surgery...” they’re all ears. Jon Larson is the storyteller, a child of the valley. Together with his wife Angela Henszel, they are Angwin Estate Vineyards.

The transition from surgery and anesthesia to viticulture and enology was made smoother by the fact that Larson spent much of his childhood at this very spot, on land eventually passed on by his mother. Surrounded by fragrant woods, these two acres in the crisp mountain air above the fog line at an elevation of 2,150 feet are organically farmed, no herbicides, no insecticides.

Adjusting a canopy to benefit from the sun’s rays, Larson Jon and Angela's sons, Arek and Piotr unapologetically strives for perfection—without manipulation—because “great wines are made in the vineyard.” In the relentless pursuit of quality at Angwin Estate, each vine is A philosophical point of view combined with fine-tuned attention to detail goes into everything, which means barrel selection as well. He selects the oldest, touched 25 to 30 times per year. Beyond slow-growing French oak, extremely tight-these caresses, Larson said, there is no grained to ensure an unparalleled profile sleight of hand in pursuing a true sense characterized by elegance and integration of place produced by characteristically rather than overpowering presence. This small, tight and powerful berries with search for excellence is fueled by a desire intense flavor. to return to the classicism of the past, sparing no expense while limiting manipulation to allow the wine to be as it wants to be.

Nevertheless, curiosity may lead to unlikely places, said Larson. “There’s a profound force moving me forward.” Because he sees his work as a process rather than a destination, and the resulting wine as a pure expression of that process, Larson is always asking questions of the vines. He runs trials, continuously seeking improvement. These will involve learning how to increase the strength of the vines, creating biodynamic ecosystems, introducing new root stocks and discovering ways to do things that aren’t super manipulative. “And I’m fascinated by the unpredictable chaos that weather delivers in the vineyard,” he said. The result is a bold wine that dances around in your mouth, fruity without being sweet. Fresh savory herbal notes such as coriander are layered with earthy cedar, and warm tobacco anchored in a graphite minerality representing archetypical Howell Mountain AVA.

Jon Larson is fond of a quote by the prophet Khalil Gibran: "Work is love made visible,” and he shared the extension of that thought, “We see our wine as work made consumable, so our work in creating Cabernet Sauvignon is love made drinkable.”