United States · California

Outpost

Outpost Wines is a small Howell Mountain AVA producer established in the late 1990s with vineyards at approximately 2,000 feet elevation on the volcanic soils of the eastern Napa mountain range. The estate focuses on Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache from its estate vineyard, supplemented by purchased Zinfandel from neighboring mountain parcels. The True Immigrant bottling — a single-vineyard Cabernet from a specific Howell Mountain block — is the estate's top expression and primary auction driver. At auction, 116 lots average $134 per bottle, with Cabernet Sauvignon and True Immigrant driving the upper end while the Grenache provides more accessible pricing. Howell Mountain's volcanic tufa soils produce Cabernet with the mountain AVA's distinctive characteristics: higher tannin, lower pH, intense concentration, and slower evolution than valley-floor counterparts. Outpost's winemaker, Thomas Rivers Brown, is one of the most decorated in Napa, earning numerous 100-point scores from Wine Advocate across his broader client portfolio; his work at Outpost translates into structured, age-worthy Cabernet regularly earning 93–97 points in strong vintages. The estate's Grenache, unusually grown at high elevation for Napa, shows Rhône character adapted to mountain conditions. Production is small — approximately 2,000–3,000 cases annually — creating consistent auction demand from buyers seeking high-elevation Napa Cabernet at below-cult prices.