Howling Cow: The Story Behind Our Most Talked-About Bottle
Every wine has a story behind its name, and ours might be one of the more unexpected ones.
It all started one evening at the vineyard when we left a batch of freshly picked grapes outside overnight, figuring they'd be just fine until morning. What we didn't count on was just how curious the cows in the neighboring field would be. Drawn in by the sweet smell drifting across the fields, a few of them wandered over and decided our grapes made for a pretty good midnight snack.
We had no idea any of this was happening until we were jolted awake in the middle of the night by a sound none of us could quite place at first. Loud, strange, almost eerie howls rolled across the property, echoing through the dark like something out of a campfire story. It took a minute of standing in the doorway, half asleep, before we pieced together what was going on. The cows had found the grapes, and they were making sure the whole vineyard knew about it.
By the time the sun came up, the mystery was solved and the story had already become one of our favorites to tell. There's something about a herd of cows serenading the vineyard at midnight over a snack of stolen grapes that you just can't make up, and we knew right away it deserved a permanent place in our brand.
How the Story Became the Wine
That night stuck with us. It was unexpected, a little chaotic, and honestly pretty funny in hindsight, which is exactly the kind of spirit we wanted a piece of our lineup to carry. So we took the moment and turned it into Howling Cow, a wine built around that same easygoing, unpretentious energy.
We wanted Howling Cow to feel approachable, the kind of bottle you don't need to know much about wine to enjoy. No stuffy tasting notes required, just good wine with a good story behind it, the kind of thing you pour for friends and end up retelling the origin story of before the glass is even empty.
Why We Love Telling This One
Winemaking is full of moments you can't plan for, and this is one of the ones we're glad we didn't. It's a reminder that some of the best parts of running a vineyard in Canyon, Texas happen when you least expect them, out under the stars, with the cows apparently just as invested in the harvest as we are.
Every time someone asks about the name, we get to tell this story all over again, and it never stops being fun to share. It's a little piece of Bar Z Winery history, and it's baked into every bottle of Howling Cow that leaves our tasting room.
Curious what Howling Cow tastes like? Stop by our tasting room in Canyon, Texas, just outside Amarillo, or shop our current release online and see what all the howling was about.
