Corison Winery

The Free Bacchus Story

Cathy Corison spent the 1980s and 90s making Cabernet at around thirteen percent alcohol while Napa moved decisively in the other direction, toward riper fruit, higher extraction and higher scores. She was told repeatedly that the style was finished.

It wasn't, and the wines have outlasted most of what was fashionable at the time. The Kronos vineyard is planted on St. George rootstock — fully resistant to phylloxera, which is why vines planted in 1971 are still producing where most of Napa had to be replanted.

CCOF organic certification was confirmed in June 2023, and we have checked it against the registry. Kronos sits at around two hundred and seventy-five dollars; the St. Helena Cabernet below it is farmed the same way.

The St. Helena Cabernet below the flagship is farmed identically to Kronos. If the farming is what you are buying rather than the vineyard name, the cheaper bottle comes off the same programme.

Corison's wines are the standing argument that Napa Cabernet can be built for twenty years in bottle rather than for the first five minutes of a tasting.