You Might Mistake the Corison Winery for a Barn!
Famed “natural wine” lover and author Alice Feiring recommended via twitter we visit Corison Winery in Napa Valley. Like Alice, we love “natural” wines, and have enjoyed all of her recommendations so far in her book The Battle for Love and Wine. Alice recommended not only the wines, but touted Cathy Corison as a tremendously talented winemaker.
Cathy Corison Discusses Her Kronos Cabernet Flight
The beautiful barnyard looking building sits off highway 29 in St. Helena, which is located at the estate vineyard, and we were fortunate to visit on “Cabernet Day”. Bob Hattaway poured us a stunning vertical of the Kronos Vineyard Cabernet, and all were spectacularly balanced with an old world touch to the signature Napa cabernet flavors.
Bob and I at the Winery
In addition to the delicious cabernet sauvignon wines, we found the Corazon Gewurztraminer to be balanced, crisp, dry and delicious. We paired the Gewurztraminer with lunch at the Rutherford Grill, it tasted great with the chicken salad and grilled artichoke (seriously, even the artichoke!).
Big Daddy (or should I say "Mommy"?) Cabernet Sauvignon
Cathy was one of the first (if not the first) female winemaker in Napa Valley, and rather than dwell on the challenges in the 1970′s she faced, Cathy says she just wants to make great wine. I’m not sure if she considers herself a pioneer, but she certainly silenced many critics by producing consistently good wine for many years.
These wines are made for aging, but we found we were able to enjoy the younger cabs as well, as they had great balance with lower alcohol than many other Napa red wines. However, definitely decant for hours and perhaps open the day before for optimum enjoyment.
The Winery:
987 St. Helena Highway, St. Helena, CA 94574
707.963.0826
