Region: Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, California, USA
Varietal: 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Merlot
Tasting Notes: Toasted oak and graphite aromas meet dark chocolate, black pepper and tar flavors in this robust, full-bodied and lavishly oaked wine. Firm tannins support ripe black fruits and an array of char, pencil shavings and clove accents.
This isolated vineyard is home to turkeys, mountain lions, bobcats and of course, bear. To keep bears away from merlot grapes (their favorite) Dennis Cakebread once hooked up a motion detector to a boom box. It didn’t work, but the resulting videos of the bears in action inspired the name of the property and its signature wine.