Outpost

Unless you live up there, getting anywhere on Howell Mountain requires intention. Getting to Outpost Winery requires commitment. Google Maps estimates the 36-mile drive from my place will take just over an hour and warns that the route “may include unpaved roads.” What it does not account for is the fog that rolls in without warning, the blind corners carved into volcanic rock, or the deer and wild turkeys that seem to regard the road as their own. I arrive late. Frank Dotzler, Outpost’s general manager, is waiting patiently in the gravel parking area, unbothered by the delay.