Masters of the Napa Valley "In Concert"
From left: Diana Snowden Seysses, Rosemary Cakebread, Cathy Corison and Women in Wine LDN’s Regine Lee MW
In Berry Bros & Rudd’s Sussex Cellar, St James, London
The latest Women in Wine LDN event, hosted with Pol Roger Portfolio, spotlighted three masters of Napa Valley winemaking.
Cathy Corison, Rosemary Cakebread and Diana Snowden Seysses were in London to show their collaborative blend, Lot 23 “In Concert”. Produced for the Premiere Napa Valley auction, whose proceeds fund programs to promote, protect and enhance the Napa Valley, it was actually created during the pandemic over Zoom, also with Dawnine Dyer. One thing was important from the start - each winemaker would contribute an equal amount to the blend, bringing together wines from estate vineyards in St Helena, Oakville, Diamond Mountain and Spring Mountain. Only 240 bottles were produced and then bought by Pol Roger Portfolio. We were really honoured to have been able to taste it and to meet the inspiring winemakers.
The outstanding Lot 23 “In Concert” is an inky-coloured wine, complete with complex aromas and a delicate edge. We also tasted Corison Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, Cakebread’s Gallica Red 2017, and Snowden Cabernet Sauvignon 2017; all incredibly different yet sharing a common elegance and powerful texture. Many of us agreed that rarely had we tried Napa wines like these. They were vibrant and bright, whilst maintaining the true beauty of the grapes used.
We discussed the challenges each winemaker had encountered, whether they were a result of the vintage or counteracting the opinions of others. Climate change consistently came to the forefront of discussion, specifically the erratic weather events that have gripped California. 2011 was a challenging year for Napa, the cool weather slowed ripening and heavy rain left an increasing risk of rot; Cathy described her concern about whether she would even make a vintage that year. Canopy management played a key part in overcoming this challenge, stripping the leaves more so than usual to ensure the grapes had the best chance of ripening. In contrast, 2017 was an intensely hot year, with temperatures reaching 42 degrees Celsius; this is a year that is hard to disassociate from the October wildfires. As a result, the challenges were not only in the vineyard, but also in the community. Rosemary described how her head was in winemaking, but her heart was in helping her community and team members that had been affected. This testing year and the difficult decisions it took to navigate it, inspired Diana to increase her own involvement in climate change activism, proclaiming that truth-based power is key.
As three female winemakers, they confirmed their experiences had not been exempt from doubts born out of gender. Cathy’s response of ‘watch me’ when told by a professor she would never work in Napa Valley, was both empowering and inspirational; the lesson being obstacles do not have to be the end of long held ambitions. Diana advised us to not sweat the small things, to find your individual power and to focus on that. This was echoed by Cathy as she described how she always had a wine in her, waiting to get out, it was something she just had to do, no matter what she was told.
One thing was abundantly clear, these women had created an incredibly strong support network and leaned on each other when needed. The saying ‘it takes a village’ couldn’t be more true in the wine industry, whether you are working in the vineyard, sales or hospitality. This is a notion all women in wine can hold close, supporting one another going forwards.
A big thank you to Pol Roger Portfolio for sponsoring the event, Berry Bros & Rudd for hosting and to both for supporting women in wine.