Howie's Cellar

Howie's Cellar Small production wines. Craft beers. Craft spirits. For more information visit our Instagram.

05/17/2026

Max takes the cellar?

Our new tasting schedule is live, featuring three distinct lineups to take you from the weeknight dinner table to the su...
04/16/2026

Our new tasting schedule is live, featuring three distinct lineups to take you from the weeknight dinner table to the sunny shores of the Mediterranean.
Here’s what’s on the menu:
4/19 - Serendipity Wine Imports: We’re pouring honest, approachable bottles that prove you don’t have to break the bank for a satisfying glass with dinner.
5/3 - Monterey Bay Wine Company: Revisit the some of the greats with “Classic California.” Think hand-crafted, iconic expressions that remind us why the Golden State is a global benchmark.
5/17 - Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant: It’s officially patio season with a summer time French lineup. Expect crisp, zingy whites from the Loire, breezy Rosés, and those juicy, chillable reds the French do best.

Easter Ham and Easter Lamb Trio’sFresh and pure Pinot lineup with some classic Burgundy, a knockout German spatburgunder...
04/03/2026

Easter Ham and Easter Lamb Trio’s

Fresh and pure Pinot lineup with some classic Burgundy, a knockout German spatburgunder, and a Santa Rita Hills talisman.

Showing a bit more heft for your lamb, don’t miss out on this Southern French Cab/Merlot blend, a Syrah from the heart of the Petaluma Gap, or one of Rioja’s old-school champions.

Wine Tastings !Two dates. Two stellar lineups. March 22nd mini portfolio lineup. Showing some locals and some imports. ...
03/14/2026

Wine Tastings !
Two dates. Two stellar lineups.
March 22nd mini portfolio lineup. Showing some locals and some imports.
April 11th showing the . New to the shop and we couldn’t be more excited to have them. Classic California wines with minimal intervention.

Founded by Danish sommelier-turned-winemaker Leo Hansen, the Leo Steen house focuses on low-alcohol, high-acid selection...
03/06/2026

Founded by Danish sommelier-turned-winemaker Leo Hansen, the Leo Steen house focuses on low-alcohol, high-acid selections designed specifically for food pairing. Hansen, whose middle name “Steen” is also the South African term for Chenin Blanc, has become a leading advocate for this heritage grape in California. Located in the heart of Dry Creek Valley, the Saini Vineyard features some of the oldest Chenin Blanc vines in the region, planted in 1981. All dry farmed with head trained vines, these are some seriously cool wines.

Join us this Thursday the 5th, from 3-5pm, for an exclusive tasting featuring the iconic portfolios of Duckhorn and Deco...
02/01/2026

Join us this Thursday the 5th, from 3-5pm, for an exclusive tasting featuring the iconic portfolios of Duckhorn and Decoy. From crisp whites to their legendary reds, come discover why these California staples are crowd favorites.

Look, we get it. It’s been a long, weird, grind of a year. The world feels a little more frayed at the edges, the bill f...
12/22/2025

Look, we get it. It’s been a long, weird, grind of a year. The world feels a little more frayed at the edges, the bill for a basic night out is enough to make you wince, and suddenly everyone’s trading in their nightly Old Fashioned for fancy mineral water. When the cost of living starts to bite, splurging on a bottle of fermented grape juice feels less like a necessity and more like a calculated risk.

But here’s the thing: if you’ve got a little extra in the pocket and you’re looking to celebrate the fact that you’re still standing, there’s no better way to do it than with something real. We’re talkin’ about honest bottles—wines that actually taste like the dirt they came from, not some mass-produced chemistry project. Whether you’re looking for a gift that says you actually give a damn or a centerpiece for a table full of family and old friends, we’ve done the legwork to find the stuff worth your time.

There are only a few sleeps left until the big day, and the clock is officially ticking. Don’t stress about the choices; that’s what we’re here for. Swing by, tell us what you’re eating or who you’re trying to impress, and we’ll get you sorted. Life is short, the holidays are fleeting, and you deserve to drink something that makes the whole mess feel worth it.

Look, skip the corporate “Grand Brands” this year. They’re the liquid equivalent of a hotel lobby—polished, predictable,...
12/19/2025

Look, skip the corporate “Grand Brands” this year. They’re the liquid equivalent of a hotel lobby—polished, predictable, and soul-crushingly boring. If you want to actually celebrate, you drink Grower Champagne. It’s the “RM” on the label that tells you the same person who labored in the dirt is the one who put the wine in the bottle. It’s not a lifestyle brand; it’s an honest expression of a specific, rain-soaked patch of French earth.

Open a bottle of Agrapart or Bérêche and you’ll realize what you’ve been missing. These aren’t just bubbles; they’re wines of structure and grit. Agrapart is like a lightning strike of pure chalk, while Bérêche offers a vinous, muscular depth that demands a seat at the dinner table next to the roast bird. These are bottles with a pulse, crafted by obsessives who care more about terroir than quarterly earnings.

For the real soul-shakers, look to the precision of V***e Fourny or the biodynamic intensity of Marie Courtin. Whether it’s the elegant, family-driven legacy of J. Lassalle or the mineral-soaked honesty of Lancelot-Pienne, these wines offer something no marketing budget can buy: a sense of place. Drinking them isn’t just a toast; it’s a middle finger to the mediocre and a tribute to the craft. That’s how you survive the holidays.

Marine Layer doesn’t play the same game as the rest of the California wine industry. This isn’t the scorched earth of th...
12/02/2025

Marine Layer doesn’t play the same game as the rest of the California wine industry. This isn’t the scorched earth of the valley floor; this is the ragged edge of the continent, where the Pacific marine layer—that thick, cold blanket of fog—rolls in and never fully leaves. It’s an honest to God cool climate operation that forces the fruit to struggle, keep its acidity, and taste like the cold, damp dirt it came from, not just a chemist’s idea of what a good grape should be. It’s a brutal, unforgiving environment, and the wine is better for it.
The result, a taste profile that stands as a quiet rebellion against the California norm of pure power. You pour their Chardonnay, and it’s driven by minerality, salt, and nerve, a direct middle finger to the oaked old school. The Pinot Noir is lean and hungry, carrying the cold-climate fruit without the aristocratic price tag. While everyone else is cranking the volume up to eleven, Marine Layer has mastered the difficult art of restraint. It’s the difference between a symphony written for a thousand instruments and a perfect, quiet blues riff played on a single, well-worn guitar. This isn’t about noise; it’s about a clear, authentic signal cutting through the uproar of California wine excess.

There’s a specific kind of bravery required to commit to a magnum. It’s a declaration of intent. It says, “We are here t...
11/22/2025

There’s a specific kind of bravery required to commit to a magnum. It’s a declaration of intent. It says, “We are here to do some serious damage. We are not going anywhere.” That’s the whole point of Bondle Wines. The woman behind it, Duyen Ha, she gets it. She didn’t come at this as some clipboard-holding somm dusting off trophies in a cellar. She’s a chef. She came up through the fire—Marlow & Sons in Brooklyn, then the big leagues in France—Arpège, Mirazur. Places where the margin for error is zero and the ingredients have to scream their truth on the plate. She understands that wine isn’t an artifact to be worshipped; it’s food. It belongs on a table, stained with gravy, surrounded by noise and laughter. Simply, the best meals aren’t solitary exercises in intellectualism; they are shared, messy, communal acts of love.

And this juice? The 2017 Olivier Pithon Carignan? This is the real stuff. It comes from the Roussillon—rugged, sun-baked, unforgiving terrain. Carignan can be a brute if you mistreat it, a workhorse grape often relegated to blending anonymity. But in the hands of a guy like Pithon, and given the grace of time, it transforms. It’s been sitting in these big bottles for a while now, resting, evolving. The rough edge have smoothed out into something silky, profound, and terrifyingly drinkable. It tastes like dark fruit and licorice and the dust of the place it came from.

Which brings us to Thanksgiving. Let’s be honest. Thanksgiving is a wonderful hodgepodge of conflicting flavors—sweet potatoes, cranberry, rich gravy, dry turkey, and the potential for awkward family conversation. You don’t want a delicate, fragile little flower of a wine that’s going to get crushed by the stuffing. You want a wine with a backbone, with savory umami notes that can stand up to the onslaught. A magnum says you care enough to ensure no glass goes dry during the third recounting of your uncle’s political views.

Duyen brought these over so we wouldn’t have to think about it. She curated the experience so all you have to do is pull the cork and pour. So do it. Gather the people you actually like. Cook something heavy. Open the big bottle.

Address

6580 N. San Gabriel Boulevard
San Gabriel, CA
91775

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 7:30pm
Tuesday 10am - 7:30pm
Wednesday 10am - 7:30pm
Thursday 10am - 7:30pm
Friday 8am - 7:30pm
Saturday 10am - 7:30pm
Sunday 10am - 7pm

Telephone

+16262868871

Website

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