CORISON

Great grapes make great wine. That’s the governing principle behind the work of Cathy Corison, one of Napa Valley’s preeminent winemakers. Graduating with a master’s in enology from the University of California Davis, Cathy spent 10 years making wine for the venerable Chappellet Vineyards. In 1987, she turned her talents to a wine of her own, using shared winery space and grapes sourced from prime benchland vineyards between Rutherford and St. Helena. She and her husband, William Martin, purchased the historic Kronos vineyard in 1995, and William began designing the winery. In 1999, Corison finally had a home.

More than 30 vintages later, Corison is still focused on superlative wines made with grapes from the benchland – from both Kronos and the recently acquired Sunbasket vineyard. Farming sustainably, using organic techniques, Cathy ensures that harvest brings her the best fruit to work with. She then does as little as possible to interfere with what nature has supplied, creating powerful, elegant Cabernets that reflect the Napa Valley’s history of balanced, age-worthy wines.