Napa Pioneer Ric Forman's Otherworldly Cabernets

Deep in the Howell Mountain foothills, Forman Vineyard is a little Bordeaux, a little Côte-Rôtie and a lot Napa legend

Ric and Toby Forman of Napa Valley's Forman Vineyard
Toby Forman (left) joined his father, Ric, at Forman Vineyards 25 years ago. (Brian Clark)

Driving Napa’s Howell Mountain Road offers a change of pace. The winding, narrow road cuts through eastern Napa Valley’s rolling hills. It’s the opposite of Highway 29’s straight shot up and down the valley floor. Make a sharp turn off Howell Mountain onto Big Rock Road and take that to Ric Forman’s winery at the end to complete the journey to another world. Forman’s spot feels like nowhere else: remote, but decidedly comfortable.

Forman is a Napa wine legend whose curriculum vitae includes a who's who of equally legendary Napa wineries and winemakers. He planted his own vineyard more than 40 years ago, and now makes the wines with his son Toby. Find out what we think of their newest vintages.

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