Cathy Corison

About Cathy Corison

• Discovered wine through a non-credit wine course at Pomona College in 1973; graduated in biology in 1975 and moved to Napa Valley two days later.
• Earned an M.S. in Enology from UC Davis in 1978 and worked that harvest as an intern at Freemark Abbey.
• Took her first winemaker job at Yverdon in 1979.
• Became head winemaker at Chappellet on Pritchard Hill in the early 1980s and made 10 vintages there.
• Also made wine for Staglin Family Vineyard, York Creek Vineyards and Long Meadow Ranch.
• Made the first Corison Napa Valley Cabernet in 1987 from purchased benchland fruit between Rutherford and St. Helena, working out of other people's wineries.
• Bought the Kronos Vineyard south of St. Helena with husband William Martin in 1995 (vines planted 1971); first estate wine 1996.
• Built the winery barn designed by William Martin in 1999 and crushed there that fall.
• Named the San Francisco Chronicle's Winemaker of the Year in 2011.
• Added Sunbasket Vineyard in 2015; Kronos and Sunbasket were certified organic by CCOF in 2023, a project led by her daughter Grace, now assistant winemaker.

Cathy's own wines

• Corison Winery · since 1987

Wineries Cathy has made wine for

Consulting relationships change often; these are clients past and recent as reported over the years.

• Chappellet Winery
• Staglin Family Vineyard
• Long Meadow Ranch Winery
• York Creek Vineyards
• Yverdon
• Freemark Abbey

Notable wines and scores

• 2012 Corison Kronos Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon: 98 pts, Decanter (No. 10, Decanter Top 100 Wines of 2015)
• 2021 Corison Kronos Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon: 97 pts, Antonio Galloni / Vinous (96 Wine Advocate; 19/20 Jancis Robinson)
• 2017 Corison Kronos Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon: 96 pts, James Suckling (95+ Wine Advocate)

Recognition

• San Francisco Chronicle Winemaker of the Year, 2011
• Decanter Top 100 Wines, No. 10 (Kronos 2012), 2015
• Wine & Spirits Top 100 Wineries of the world (Corison Winery), 2022
• Golden Vines Sustainability Award (Corison Winery), 2025

Taste Cathy's wines in wine country

Many of these wineries are by appointment only, and some sell only to their mailing lists. Tell us which wines you would like to taste and your chauffeur will book what is possible and build the day around it. See our Napa Valley wine tours and Sonoma County wine tours, or plan a private tour.

Sources

corison.com · webpages.scu.edu · en.wikipedia.org · vinography.com · vinfolio.com