The 13-year winery that didn't have a winery

This bottle is proof that you don’t need a winery to be a winemaker.

The wine industry rewards infrastructure (vineyards, cellars, capital, connections). Without these, you’re not taken seriously. But Corison launched her label with none of it. No building. No vineyard. No investors. No employees. Just purchased grapes, borrowed space, and a conviction of making amazing wine.

Share this bottle with someone who has an idea but hasn’t started because they don’t have everything in place.

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Cathy Corison spent a decade making other people’s wines in Napa Valley. She was respected for her craft. But making wine for other people meant working towards their vision, not her own. How many of us, working professional, can related?

So the lingering question every bootstrapper asks: “What’s the minimum I need to get started?”

You’d be surprised by the answer.
Grapes you can buy from someone else.
Equipment you can borrow a corner of someone else’s winery.

From the first vintage to the next 13 years, she was crushing grapes at 6 different facilities across Napa Valley, cycling through whoever had spare capacity. She was basically freelancing as a consultant and winemaker for other producers to fund her own label.

Every dollar she earned went into barrels and grapes. Not a single dollar from outside investor.

Of course, she wouldn’t have made it soloing without her own winery for 13 years unless the wine was good.

Her 1987 Cabernet was released in 1990, roughly 2,000 cases at about $20 a bottle. Like all products, distribution is key. A New York City distributor with connections to Manhattan sommeliers put her wine on restaurant lists and thats where it found it’s audience.

A winery born from borrowed space, side gigs, and redirected paychecks now stands among the most respected Cabernet producers in Napa Valley. It took thirteen years to get an actually building. But the wine was there from day one.

If you prefer earthy, savory, and structured wines > sweet, fruit ones

Especially if you appreciate Left Bank Bordeaux with restraint, tannin, and age-worthiness

Notes like tobacco, cedar, dried herbs.
If umami and complexity excite you more than jammy fruits

This is a “slow reveal” wine, not a first-sip wow wine.

If you’re craving rich, jammy, high-octane fruit bombs, this isn’t the pick.

This wine is pairs best with a meal. If you’re just casually sipping over the weekend, not the best pick for the occasion.

🥂 Starter: Roasted beet & goat cheese salad
Roast some beets, and mix it with some arugulua or mixed greens, and goat cheese crumbles.
The beets match with the Cab’s savory side and the goat cheese adds a little creaminess to soften the tannins.

🍽️ Main course: Garlic-rosemary lamb chops
Red meat is Cabernet’s best friend.
Simple salt & pepper, sear in a pan with some herbs, and finish it in the oven.
Add a side of roasted potatoes or green beans.

Vegetarian option: Mushroom risotto

🍎 Dessert: Dark chocolate with berries
A good 70% dark chocolate with fresh raspberries or strawberries.
The bittersweet flavor is going to complement the Cab and not sugar-heavy.