Winery History
After many years as one of the few voices for restraint in Napa Valley, today Cathy Corison is rightly recognised as being among the region's finest winemakers. A California native, Cathy decided to pursue a winemaking career in the early 1970s and headed to UC Davis to study at one of the world’s pre-eminent winemaking universities, where she was classmates with the likes of John Kongsgaard and Randall Grahm, at a time when Californian wine was on the verge of global stardom.
Over the past forty years Cathy has never wavered from producing the style of Cabernet that she loves. It is this commitment to elegance and balance, achieved through conscientious viticulture and restrained winemaking, that has inspired a new generation of winemakers across the state to reject the souped-up and turbo-charged wines that have dominated in recent years. After spending years on the periphery, Cathy’s wines are now finally getting the credit they deserve for being among the finest renditions of Cabernet Sauvignon in California.
Viticulture/Winemaking Style
Today, all of the Corison vineyards are grown on bale gravelly loam, the soils that put Napa Valley on the map. Loam holds enough water for the vines, but gravel and stones allow the soil to drain well so that the vines run out of water at veraison, when the grapes change colour. At veraison the grapes soften and the vines accumulate sugar and start developing their darker colours and complex fruit flavours. The goal is to reach ripeness before sugars get too high, yielding delicious and elegant wine with balanced alcohol.
Grape Varieties
Gewurtztraminer, Cabernet Sauvignon
Fun Fact
The images on the Corison labels are inspired by old life symbols based on rain and a sprouting seed. They were on vases excavated from the site of one of the earliest European cultures to cultivate grapes and make wine over 7,000 years ago.
