Chris Corley

Winemaker, Chris Corley Wines

Our dad planted his first vineyard in Napa Valley in 1970, and built our family winery, Monticello Vineyards, in 1981, when I was 10. This had a profound impact on me as a young boy, and I knew even as a teenager that I wanted to be a winemaker when I grew up, more specifically I wanted to be the winemaker for our family winery, and work together with my dad. I started working in the family winery as a teenager, in the summers during high school. I loved all of it ... I liked rolling barrels around in the cellar, doing punchdowns by hand in the small bins, driving the forklifts and tractors, the beautiful aromas of red wine and new oak swirling out of the barrels when we filled the new barrels with the new vintage. I was hooked on winemaking at such a young age, I fell in love with winemaking before I fell in love with wine. Over nearly forty years working in the family winery, I;ve seen just about everything, and have also had the wonderful opportunity to work on projects in Valle de Guadalupe, Baja; Puli, Taiwan; and Champlain Valley, New York, all of which have enhanced my winemaking skills, provided important perspective, and reminded me what a special place Napa Valley is for making wine!

Country born: United States

Education: My greatest classroom was the family cellar I grew up working in, and my greatest teacher was our dad, Jay Corley, founder of our family winery at Monticello Vineyards. His instructions to me as a teenager entering the family business were 'Keep your eyes and ears open, and your mouth shut. You'll learn everything in time', I did. My technical education was through the chemistry and biology program at Santa Rose Junior College, and the winemaking and viticulture program at Napa Valley College. I'm an avid student, and enjoying learning, and have continued to take courses through UCDavis and Sonoma State University throughout my career.

Years in the wine industry: 30+ years

Honors / Awards:
Over my 39 years in the wine industry, I've received hundreds of 90+ scores for our wines. Although we don't have many in Napa Valley ... my greatest honor is the navigating difficult vintages to success, such as producing 92, 93 and 95 point wines in the challenging 2020 vintage.

Winemaking Philosophy:
I believe that winegrowing is a relationship, a dialogue between the winemaker and the vineyard. When a winemaker works with the same site for many years, I believe the winemaker becomes part of that terroir. My goal is to make wines that display as much of the natural character of the vineyard and fruit as possible, with my winemaking hand in the background.