Back in 1972, Cathy Corison was one of the only women making wine in the Napa Valley. After graduating from UC Davis, Corison went on to cut her teeth at Staglin Family, Chapellet, York, and Long Meadow Ranch (a place that still upholds her preference for restraint today and whose wines we’ll be profiling in the next few days) before purchasing her own estate on the bench land between St. Helena and Rutherford in the late 80s.
Over the past 40 years, Corison has watched the valley change tremendously—Del Dotto, located just next door, serves as a constant reminder—but her wines have remained true to her original style, a style that is still marginal and relatively unpopular amidst the spoofed-up, score-chasing cult Cabs that have dominated the valley’s production over the last several years. Her wines are never over 13.5% alcohol, they age incredibly well (the back vintage are available in the market at very reasonable prices), and there is a true distinctiveness across vintages that make her wines difficult to mistake—in drinking them, it’s hard to believe we aren’t finding Napa Cab with this kind of elegance in greater numbers. Simply put, they’re proof that this valley is capable of making some of the best Cabernet in the world. So, as Napa’s framework shifts and its young history continues to be written, one can only hope that the hunger for power over restraint is waning and that the new generation will look to wines such as Corison’s as the true beacons of Napa Valley winemaking.
Where to buy: Crush Wine & Spirits, Uva Wines, Park Avenue Liquor
Where to drink: Gramercy Tavern, Trestle on Tenth, Craft Bar, Eleven Madison Park, etc.
Portraits from Napa’s Old School: Cathy Corison
Back in 1972, Cathy Corison was one of the only women making wine in the Napa Valley. After graduating from UC Davis, Corison went on to cut her teeth at Staglin Family, Chapellet, York, and Long Meadow Ranch (a place that still upholds her preference for restraint today and whose wines we’ll be profiling in the next few days) before purchasing her own estate on the bench land between St. Helena and Rutherford in the late 80s.
Over the past 40 years, Corison has watched the valley change tremendously—Del Dotto, located just next door, serves as a constant reminder—but her wines have remained true to her original style, a style that is still marginal and relatively unpopular amidst the spoofed-up, score-chasing cult Cabs that have dominated the valley’s production over the last several years. Her wines are never over 13.5% alcohol, they age incredibly well (the back vintage are available in the market at very reasonable prices), and there is a true distinctiveness across vintages that make her wines difficult to mistake—in drinking them, it’s hard to believe we aren’t finding Napa Cab with this kind of elegance in greater numbers. Simply put, they’re proof that this valley is capable of making some of the best Cabernet in the world. So, as Napa’s framework shifts and its young history continues to be written, one can only hope that the hunger for power over restraint is waning and that the new generation will look to wines such as Corison’s as the true beacons of Napa Valley winemaking.
Where to buy: Crush Wine & Spirits, Uva Wines, Park Avenue Liquor
Where to drink: Gramercy Tavern, Trestle on Tenth, Craft Bar, Eleven Madison Park, etc.
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Rob Perelli-Minetti
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Todd Wernstrom
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