Cathy Corison Wines

In a region often defined by "bigger is better" — high alcohol, heavy oak, and hyper-extraction — Cathy Corison has spent over four decades proving that power is nothing without restraint. If Napa Valley has a North Star for elegance, it is Cathy.

Decanter has called her the "First Lady of Napa Cab." Hugh Johnson has called her a "national treasure." The San Francisco Chronicle named her Winemaker of the Year in 2011. None of those honors quite capture what she actually did: she showed up in Napa in 1975 with $200 to her name, put herself through a Master's in Enology at UC Davis while working half-time in the valley, and then spent the better part of a decade proving to skeptical male winery owners that a 5'2" woman could do every job in the cellar — and do it better than most. When she finally founded Corison Winery in 1987, she didn't just break a glass ceiling. She built a sanctuary for classical winemaking underneath it. Read more here.