Spence Vineyards

Spence Vineyards is located on Howell Mountain at about 1,900 feet in elevation; the closest small town is the nearby Angwin. This is a well-respected region for growing red varieties, primarily Cabernet Sauvignon but also Zinfandel. Howell Mountain in general is known for its shallow rocky soils, but the Spence Vineyards property features soils which are deep compared to some of their neighbors. While they have the depth of soil that others lack on the mountain, their vineyard is still full of rocks. As a result of their unique location with its excellent soil depth, vines are planted much closer together.

Due to its elevation and exposure, this hillside vineyard typically ripens up to a month later than the valley floor. This means increased hang time for the grapes which has its advantages in that the fruit is allowed to fully mature and develop a balanced tannin structure. However, the longer hang time also means the grapes are harvested later in the season and inclement weather can sometimes be a factor. The property is planted entirely to three different clones of Cabernet Sauvignon (7, 15, & 191 – 3.5 acres). One of their immediate vineyard neighbors is the Beringer owned Steinhauer Ranch which provides grapes for both the Beringer Steinhauer Ranch single vineyard bottling and in their Private Reserve.

The founders of Spence Vineyards, Allen (born in St. Louis) & Jacalyn (originally from southern California) Spence purchased this property in 1996 as a place to live with no intention of growing grapes and starting a winery. The previous owner was growing a small block of Concord grapes near the home and was making grape juice each year for personal consumption. The Spence’s introduction to winemaking is because of a winning bid they placed on 2,000 pounds of grapes, equivalent to what would make approximately a barrel of wine, at the Taste of Howell Mountain, an auction benefitting the Howell Mountain Elementary School.

They never imagined theirs would be the winning bid. After they took possession of the grapes, they began making home-wine in their garage. Not only was this very educational but it inspired them to learn more about winemaking. They spent countless hours doing wine research and also enrolled themselves in a number of wine-making classes. And they learned from other respected winemakers on Howell Mountain including Randy Dunn, Bob Brakesman and Dennis Johns. The inaugural vintage of Spence Vineyards was their estate 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon.

Since their first estate releases, Spence Vineyards has diversified their wine portfolio and now produces wines from several other varieties from non estate grown vineyards. Three categories of wines are produced, the estate Cabernet Sauvignon, the Studio label (generally for club members) and their most premium bottling, Atelier.

Spence’s longtime wine maker, Ted Osborne has worked in Napa Valley at several premium wineries including Storybook Mountain and Pina Cellars. Ted also has his own label and tasting room in Calistoga (Olabisi Cellars).

One day while working on his property, Allen spotted one of his neighbors and called him over casually mentioning that if he ever decided to sell, Allen would be interested in purchasing. Ultimately this neighbor took Allen up on his offer and the Spence’s purchased this adjoining parcel of land. For many years all their grapes were processed at a winery in south Napa but after the acquisition of this neighboring property, they converted one of the buildings into a working winery. Physically this is one of the smaller wineries in Napa Valley and with space at a premium, is usually completely filled with wine barrels. But the convenience of conducting all the wine making on site is invaluable.

Allen is first cousin’s with Dave Spence; Dave and his wife Suzie purchased Spence Vineyards in 2022 from Allen and Jacalyn and are now the sole proprietors. Spence is also the owner of one of Park City, Utah’s most well-regarded restaurants, Riverhorse on Main having purchased this iconic establishment in 2011. See our notes from our visit at the bottom of this review for more details. Spence Vineyards has also produced a private label wine for Riverhorse.

In 2012, Dave ran for governor of Missouri. He is a long time businessman having started his career at age 26 when he purchased St. Louis based plastic bottle manufacturing company, Alpha Packaging and significantly grew the business. He later founded Legacy Pharma Solutions, a St. Louis-based medical packaging company. In 2021, Dave and Suzie’s daughter Keeley (who was working at Beringer Vineyards, where we first met her) and her husband Charlie (known for his prowess on the guitar) joined the family business and oversees hospitality.

Select Wines
Studio
Rosé
The 2025 Spence Howell Mountain Studio Rosé of Grenache was made direct to press. This wine is light copper in color; elegant and delicate aromatics this wine smells like white strawberry, raspberry, dried rose petals and Rainier cherry. Minerally, and bright this wine tastes like raspberry, Rainier cherry, white strawberry, white nectarine and a hint of dill. This rose has some texture – featuring a silky, soft and lightly creamy mouth feel. This weight is complemented nicely by the lively acidity. Lingers with a subtle spicy note on the finish – a light pithy character without any bitterness often associated with citrus fruits. This wine ticks one of our two checkboxes in terms of favorite varieties to make rosé from, including Grenache and Pinot Noir.

The 2022 Spence Vineyards Grenache Rosé is pale copper in color; the bouquet offers attractive citrus and zesty aromas including grapefruit and lemon/lime, along with wild strawberry. There is also a flinty-like minerality present, adding another layer to its aromatic profile. Its texture across the palate is creamy and slightly rounded, which balances out the crisp and lively acidity. This wine offers a richness of flavor we don’t always find in rosé wines, including green apple, grapefruit, raspberry and gooseberry, along with hints of citrus zest. The finish is bright and refreshing, lingering with both red-fruited and citrus characteristics accompanied by a subtle mineral note.

Chardonnay
The 2022 Spence Vineyards Chardonnay is medium gold in color; the bouquet offers a diversity of aromatics including stone-fruited influences of nectarine, yellow peach and apricot, along with aromas of melon, papaya, mango and pineapple. As the wine evolves in the glass, it reveals a subtle note of caramel along with hints of vanilla. Its texture is creamy, almost waxy-like, and glides effortlessly across the palate. This is a rich but not an opulent showing, with flavors of melon, pineapple, crème brûlée and a light note of warm butter. Its acidity provides enough freshness to balance the richness and generous fruit. It showcases plenty of California sunshine but also with a simultaneous restraint, especially in terms of its texture and overall balance. An oaky, buttery bottling of this variety? No. Rather, the richness and ripeness of the fruit are the defining characteristics of this wine.

Pinot Noir
The 2023 Spence Vineyards Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast Sonoma County is pale to medium ruby; highly aromatic, the generous bouquet smells like cherry cola, cherry pie, sarsaparilla, raspberry jam, red licorice, blueberry, cinnamon stick, cloves, nutmeg and pie crust. No herbal and no earthy here – although as it opens it offers aromas of smoked herbs. Bright across the palate with a union of both red fruits and accompanying spices, this wine tastes like raspberry, strawberry, Santa Rosa plum, red mulberries, blood orange and currant with lingering spices of cloves, cardamom, dried sage, dried bay leaf and a hint of white pepper completing the finish. The tannins are present but stay in the background, letting the fruit and the spices do most of the talking. If we had to guess, we might surmise there was a small stem inclusion during fermentation. The presence of tannins is felt with a light gravelly texture, showing more on the front of the palate than the back. This wine smells and tastes like both the variety and a California expression of the variety. Its ABV is 14.2%.

Zinfandel
The 2025 Spence Howell Mountain Zinfandel (Black Sears Vineyard) is medium ruby in color; the first word that popped up when smelling this wine was the word pretty. Its stays far away from being over ripe, jammy and or sweet. Its scents include rose petals, raspberry, strawberry, red cherry and a complement of lighter baking spices including cardamom and cinnamon stick. Flavorful, fresh and a lighter, food friendly expression of the variety. This wine tastes like raspberry, boysenberry, red cherry, red mulberry and a lingering thread of white pepper. The tannins are seamlessly integrated, persisting with a light dusty character. This wine is fermented on the cooler side of the spectrum. This is the quintessential BBQ wine, perhaps a spicy dry rub T-bone.

The 2019 Spence Vineyards Howell Mountain Zinfandel was sourced from one of their neighbors, Summit Lake Vineyards, the oldest active commercially producing winery on Howell Mountain. This bottling is medium to deep ruby in color; despite an alcohol over 15% the bouquet is clearly not a fruit forward, riper and jammy styled wine from this variety. The bouquet is savory and offers aromas of leather, old cedar box, strawberry, rhubarb, dried sage, cherry, and several other spice notes including white pepper, clove, pipe tobacco and as it breathes, a hint of mocha. One would not be incorrect in their description if they called its scents, earthy or with some forest floor/freshly tilled earth nuances. The palate is soft with a creamy texture featuring fine grained and rounded tannins. This wine features flavors of dark raspberry and blackberry and echoes some of the spice notes shown on the bouquet. The finish is rich and fruit-filled and persists for quite some time.

Cabernet Franc
The 2023 Spence Howell Mountain, Cabernet Franc Oakville is deep ruby; the bouquet hits on numerous pleasure points with a focus on fruit and floral characteristics. This wine stays far away from the herbal or green notes often associated with the variety. The bouquet smells like rose petals, lilacs, sweeter baking spices, raspberry, strawberry, red cherries and boysenberry. And as the wine breathes, it offers a light note of old cedar box. Crowd friendly. And the fruit continues onto the palate as a crowd pleasing expression, offering flavors of raspberry, cherry, Santa Rosa plum, boysenberry and finishing notes including from both barrel and grape, i.e., toasted vanilla, cocoa powder and well tumbled tannins that are felt primarily on the front of the palate. Easy drinking and highly enjoyable at three years post vintage.

Petit Verdot
The 2019 Spence Vineyards Petit Verdot is 96% Petit Verdot and 4% Merlot. This wine is deep ruby and nearly opaque in color with an amaranthine rim. The bouquet offers aromas of violets, sage an darker fruits including plum and blackberry. As it breathes it reveals a subtle layer of mocha. The tannins are surprisingly approachable in their youth, certainly helped by the softening of the Merlot; even a low percentage can make a remarkable difference in this regard. The grainy tannins present and are densely packed but they display a rounded almost creamy texture. This wine reveals flavors of plum, cherry and blackberry. The finish lingers with a light but persistent dusty/earthy note. Allen recommends this wine be paired with a juicy ribeye (butter-basted) cooked in a cast iron skillet.

Spence
Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2021 Spence Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby and nearly opaque; the bouquet is focused on its fruit characteristics with the barrel contributing a lighter complement of sweeter baking spices. Its scents include dark raspberry, boysenberry, blackberry, Santa Rosa plum and licorice. A mouthful of balanced fruit including flavors of dark raspberry, red plums, red mulberries, cherries, boysenberry and a hint of dried tobacco leaf on the finish. And like other vintages of their estate, there is a savory edge on the finish including of dried herbs and an earthy character. A thread of lively acidity keeps this wine fresh. The tannins are spread evenly across the palate, persisting with a gravelly and persisting dusty character. Pair this with a well marbled Wagyu steak.

The 2019 Spence Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby and completely opaque; the hedonistic and heady bouquet smells like a bowlful of ripe dark fruits including blackberry jam or blackberry pie – take your pick, boysenberry jelly, plum compote, dark cherries, boysenberries at the peak of ripeness and Pakistani mulberry. Additional aromatics give this a dessert like character, including of mocha, cinnamon and dark chocolate. And a light note of toast. At 7 years post vintage, this wine is hitting its aromatic stride and falls into the crowd friendly space. On the palate, equally as ripe as the bouquet, there are flavors of Santa Rosa plum, boysenberry, dark mulberry, blackberry, dark cherry, blueberry and a lingering thread of dried herbs. Contributions from its time in oak include dark chocolate and a light but persistent toasty character. The ripeness here is balanced to some extent by its acidity. The tannins are well-tumbled with a gravelly and almost chalky texture. At this age, this wine should be plateaued for a number of years to come still before starting to transition to tertiary aromatics and flavors.

The 2016 Spence Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is showing some color transition at 10 years post vintage. Its color is deep ruby and nearly opaque with a very light brickish hue on the rim of the glass. The bouquet shows some bottle maturation; give it some time and the fruit becomes more prominent. It smells like dried rose petals, red licorice, red plums, dried berries and cherry. This wine tastes like dark plum, blackberry, boysenberry, blueberry and a finishing note of tobacco spice and assorted dried herbs. Finishes savory. The tannins are still very much here and broadly coat the palate with a gravelly, chalky and persistent dusty texture. At this age, this bottling is still holding on to its primary characteristics, but we would expect in the next 3-5 years, start transitioning more to tertiary.

The 2015 Spence Vineyards Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby in color; the nose is darkly fruited with aromas of blackberry and plum, along with tobacco spice and a distinctive note of old parchment paper. Additional nuances of dried herbs and darker spices emerge as the wine opens. We sampled this wine eight years post vintage from a 375ml bottling; it has aged extremely well with still more life ahead of it. The palate offers plenty of depth, with flavors of blackberry, dark plum and currant complemented by a subtle savory character. The finish is bright and lively, with a light red-fruited tartness which lasts for some time. The tannins are evenly distributed across the palate and are persistent and grainy/gravelly in texture, providing plenty of structure without being overly drying. Dark fruit, tobacco spice and a subtle earthiness continue to linger on the finish.

The years 2012 and 2011 are good examples of how vintage variation results in differences in wine despite being from the same vineyard.

The 2012 Spence Vineyards Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, in contrast to the 2011, shows brighter, more fruit-driven aromatics, with a sweetness of cherry and plum that continues onto the palate. As the wine opens in the glass, it reveals subtle notes of vanilla and baking spices, further adding to the sweet aromatics. The palate is well layered, with flavors of ripe cherry, plum and blackberry along with a subtle savory component. There is good depth of flavor without being overly heavy. The tannins are surprisingly soft and well integrated for a Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, showing some grip but complementing rather than dominating the fruit. The finish is balanced and persistent, lingering with ripe fruit and darker spices.

2011 was a challenging year in Napa Valley with rains into June and early rains coming in September. Their site is a perfect example of how certain parts of the Napa Valley produced some really nice wines even during this difficult wine growing year. This is especially true for parts of the eastern hillsides in Napa Valley including Pritchard Hill and Howell Mountain. In addition, their property is somewhat unique in that they often receive strong afternoon breezes based on the geography of their vineyard site; even nearby neighbors do not receive the sustained breezes which blow through the Spence Vineyard.

The 2011 Spence Vineyards Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby in color in the glass with darker fruit aromas including blackberry and dark plum, tinged with cocoa powder and hints of tobacco spice. The bouquet also offers a subtle savory and earthy character which becomes more noticeable as the wine opens. The palate shows nice depth of flavor with blackberry, plum and currant, complemented by darker spices and a light herbal note. The wine is very balanced with dusty, well-integrated tannins providing structure without dominating the fruit. Its earthy finish is persistent, lingering with dark fruit, cocoa and tobacco spice. Very well made and showing plenty of character; this is also a very age-worthy wine.

The 2004 Spence Vineyards Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is a complete contrast to the 2003 vintage; this is the beauty of winemaking where, despite using grapes from the same vineyard, the resulting wine can be so different from year to year. The 2004 is much fruitier both on the nose and on the palate, with aromas of raspberry, blueberry and blackberry along with subtle darker spices. The fruit carries nicely onto the palate with flavors of raspberry, blueberry and plum, showing both depth and a pleasing freshness. It is also not as tannic as the 2003, with a softer and more approachable texture. The tannins are well integrated and provide structure without dominating the fruit. The finish is balanced and persistent, lingering with both red and darker fruits along with a subtle savory character.

The 2003 Spence Vineyards Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is their first commercial vintage. This was an excellent vintage on Howell Mountain and in Napa Valley in particular, with a wet and cool spring which limited yields, resulting in a small crop, followed by an extended growing season into autumn. This particular wine features an attractive and evolved bouquet; it shows aromas of old leather, tobacco smoke, dried herbs and earth, along with darker fruit. There is a pleasing complexity of fruit on the palate, including blackberry, dark cherry and plum, complemented by some of the savory characteristics found on the bouquet. The wine shows both depth and balance without being overly heavy. The finish is long with well-managed and integrated tannins which contribute to a seamless texture, lingering with dark fruit, tobacco and earthy notes.

Atelier
The Atelier Reserve is a very limited production wine based on a barrel selection each year of the best 2 or 3 barrels from their estate Cabernet Sauvignon. Atelier is French for workshop or studio; incidentally Jacalyn maintains a small painting studio on their property.

The 2021 Spence Howell Mountain Atelier is deep ruby and nearly opaque with a light amaranthine hue; deeply layered in terms of its aromatics, this wine smells like Santa Rosa plum, raspberry, boysenberry, blackberry, blueberry and red licorice. And an accompanying note of old cedar box. As layered on the palate as the bouquet here – in terms of flavor and texture, this wine tastes like blackberry, boysenberry, Satsuma plum, dark cherry and Persian mulberry, finishing with an earthy and dusty presence. The tannins are densely packed, but never edgy – their tumbled and gravelly texture persists well beyond the fruit on the finish with a long lasting tug. The acidity is bright but balanced. And this particular bottling has particular significance to Charlie and Keeley; this was the first wine they assisted with in the blending. This is an extremely age worthy expression.

The 2018 Spence Family Vineyards Atelier Reserve is deep ruby in color; the focus on the bouquet is on darker fruits with the oak playing a complementary role. We found the oak made its presence felt more on the palate than on the aromas. This wine offers scents of plum, blackberry and dark cherry, along with subtle darker spices; these fruits are also echoed as flavors on the palate. This wine has depth and complexity with plenty of layers both in terms of flavor and texture. It is concentrated without being overly heavy, with the fruit holding up well against its significant structure. The chewy tannins are broadly distributed across the palate and are long lasting, lingering with notes of toasted oak, dark fruit and spice. This wine is clearly built to age, with both the fruit and tannin structure to support additional time in the bottle.

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Total annual production typically ranges from 800 to 1,000 cases with 50% of their production, their estate Cabernet Sauvignon. For more information, to purchase wine and to join their mailing list, visit: www.spencevineyards.com

Riverhorse on Main, Park City UT
The busy season at Riverhorse on Main is during the winter skiing season and also in summer. We visited during a random Monday during the shoulder season and the restaurant was still fairly packed. Reservations are required for table seating while the bar seating and several tables in this part of the restaurant are available on a first come first serve basis. The small ‘bar room’ is often used by diners for enjoying cocktails prior to their meal. During our visit we noticed people were dressed either mountain casual or mountain elegant.

Park City is about 45 minute drive from Salt Lake International Airport.

Riverhorse on Main was founded in 1987 by Jerry Gilomen. Dave Spence bought into ownership of this iconic restaurant with executive chef, Chef Seth Adams, in 2011. Over the decades it has won numerous fine dining awards; visitors will see these lining the walls as they ascend the stairs from the first floor entrance to the reception on the second floor. The restaurant offers several indoor spaces for dinning, the main dining room, a smaller more dimly lit room, and a glass framed room which affords patrons views of Main Street.

The menu offers a number of creatively prepared dishes focusing on fresh fish and meat including the perennial favorite, the Alaska Halibut with broccolini. The reds on the extensive wine list are primarily from Napa Valley including several Spence Vineyards bottlings and Riverhorse House Wines (produced at Spence Vineyards).