Cathy Corison is an American winemaker, entrepreneur and consultant. She specializes in Cabernet Sauvignon.^[1] Corison was the San Francisco Chronicle Winemaker of the Year in 2011.

Cathy Corison grew up in Riverside, California.^[2] She studied biology at Pomona College and was on their men's diving team, because the school didn't have a women's team.^[2][3] In 1972, she signed up on a whim for an extracurricular wine appreciation class, while signing up people for her trampoline class. This class was the catalyst for garnering Corison's interest in winemaking. After graduation in 1975, she moved to Napa Valley in California.^[2][4] She received her Master's degree in Enology from University of California, Davis.^[2][3]

Upon moving to Napa, she started working in the tasting room at Sterling Vineyards and at a wine shop. During this time, she was getting her master's degree at the University of California, Davis. She was told by her professor that she would not get a job in Napa Valley because she was a woman. She tried to get a job at Freemark Abbey and was initially denied the job. Part of the reasons the owners gave was because she was too short and they believed she could not work in the wine cellar. She almost started working at Christian Brothers in the enology lab.

As part of a larger pattern of sexism in the wine industry at the time,^[5] many women worked in labs and weren't allowed to be winemakers. Corison decided against working in the lab and in 1978 she persevered, applied again, and became an intern at Freemark Abbey.^[1] She eventually became an assistant winemaker for the winery.^[2] She then was winemaker for Yverdon before joining Chappellet Winery - in 1980 - as head winemaker, working there for almost ten years.^[4][2] At Chappellet she was able to focus on developing her skills at creating Cabernet Sauvignon wines. She prefers wines with moderate alcohol content.^[4] Her winemaking is largely non-interventionist, with gentleness at every step.

She founded her own winery, Corison Winery, in 1987. The winery is located in St. Helena, California in a barn designed and orchestrated by Corison's husband, William Martin.^[2][4] Corison Winery makes Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, as well as a tiny amount of Gewürztraminer, Reisling and Rosé, and produces 3,000 cases a year. The winery makes a Kronos Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, a Sunbasket Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The Kronos and Sunbasket are estate wines, made from CCOF certified organic grapes.^[4] The vineyards are mostly dry farmed.^[2] The Kronos grapes come from one of the oldest vineyards in Napa Valley, planted in 1971.^[4] The Napa Valley Cabernet comes from benchland between Rutherford and St. Helena in the Napa Valley.^[2] The Corazón Gewürztraminer comes from the Moon Mountain AVA.^[4]

• 2011, San Francisco Chronicle Winemaker of the Year^[2]

• Cathy Corison on Twitter
• Official website