Feeling Perfectly Wonderful

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2010 Cornerstone Cellars Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 

Winemaking is a journey with no end. You set goals, but as you achieve them you just have higher aspirations. The more you achieve, the more you know there is to achieve. With the two Cabernets we are now releasing we have achieved a goal we set for ourselves, but now our vision for what we will achieve in the future is even sharper.

Our first goal was to craft wines with elegance and finesse while still honoring the power, which is an accurate expression of Napa Valley terroir. It was also our goal to achieve wines with appropriate levels of alcohol. We do not simply want to have low alcohol levels for the sake of that alone by following some pre-set recipe, but to produce wines from grapes harvested at just the right moment, the moment that defines that vintage. We don't want underripe grapes anymore than overripe ones. Perhaps the most important thing to us is having acid levels that make the wines refreshing, even in their youth.  What you will not get from us are wines suffering from the "big wine" syndrome so favored by certain well known critics. What you will get are wines that fire up your saliva glands with the zesty acidity required to truly compliment cuisine. If you like massive, oaky cabernet with 16% alcohol (no matter what it says on the label) with high pH and residual sugar you won't like these wines and we can live with that. Our first goal is to make wines we love to drink and our second goal is to find wine lovers who agree with us. We are not interested in making wines that try to satisfy the broadest range of consumers possible.

The 2010 Cornerstone Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon releases reflect well this vision. They are very different wines telling two distinct stories. We make different wines for that very reason as we find each expresses aspects of the Napa Valley well worth telling. By Napa Valley standards 2010 was a cooler vintage, which means by Bordeaux standards it was a a very good year. It reemphasizes my opinion that the problem vintages in Napa are the hot ones , not the cooler ones. The cooler weather helped us towards our goal to make balanced wines. While the "big wine" folks struggled with 2010, we loved it.

The 2010 Cornerstone Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon expresses the personality of three exceptional vineyards: Ink Grade on Howell Mountain, Oakville Station in the To Kalon district and Kairos in Oak Knoll. They weave together to produce a wine that reflects the character of the Napa Valley as a whole. The power and structure of Howell Mountain combines with the rich velvety Oakville Station and both are lifted by the bright aromatics and freshness of Kairos. However, Cabernet Sauvignon alone does not tell the whole story in this wine. Often I find that cabernet sauvignon on its own has a big start and finish, but can be a bit hollow in the middle. Here is where cabernet franc and merlot come in. A touch of merlot fills that hole in the middle and brings a beautiful silky texture. Cabernet franc is like MSG in a dish lifting and defining flavors. Together they achieve umami, that elusive savory personality that defines great wine.

The 2010 Cornerstone Cellars Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is a wine of time and place. Sourced from the organically farmed Ink Grade Vineyard on the high slopes on the east side of Howell Mountain. Grown on the distinctive powdery, white tufa soils as contrasted to the red, clay based soils on many Howell Mountain vineyards, this is a firmly structured wine, which we make to express, not hide its richly tannic character. This is a wine born and made to age. I recommend waiting five or more years to let the many layers in this wine to expand and integrate. If you can't wait, an hour or two in a decanter will help reveal the treasures still hiding in this young wine. Once again, a small touch of merlot is added to expand the textures on the palate.

Perhaps the most important thing to me is these wines give me the complete experience that I seek in wine: lifted aromatics, brightness on the palate, refreshing flavors and long, layered flavors that go on and on. Most of all they are wines that make me want a second glass. There is no such thing as a perfect wine, but in the fact that these wines purely represent the vineyard, vintage and varieties that gave them birth, I feel perfectly wonderful about them.

The Cornerstone Story...

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The second vintage at Cornerstone Oregon 

In 1991 Mike Dragutsky was touched by the dream to make great wine and founded Cornerstone Cellars. In 1979 Craig Camp gave up his career in journalism to tell the story that flows from the vine to the glass. In 1997 Jeff Keene escaped from the confines of the research laboratory to let his creativity flow in the winery. In 2008 they joined forces to intertwine their talents and vision and Cornerstone Cellars was reborn in the Napa Valley and Oregon's Willamette Valley.

In late 2007 Dragutsky and Camp began the drive to make wines at Cornerstone Cellars that are defined by their elegance, dedication to terroir, appropriate alcohol levels and that are crafted to enhance meals. They recruited Keene to join as winemaker as they knew he shared their vision of balanced wines, driven by acidity and freshness. Today's Cornerstone Cellars style combines Camp's European wine background, starting as an importer of Burgundy, Bordeaux then by three years working at wineries in Italy, with New Zealander Keene's cool climate background, both in his native country's vineyards and at Haven's Wine Cellars here in Napa. Their passion for balance combined with the entrepreneurial spirit of founder Dragutsky define the vision of Cornerstone Cellars as defined in their mission statement:

Vintage, Vineyard and Variety

"Excellence is never enough, we have to go beyond and establish an ever higher goal each vintage. Our goal is to craft wines that are not only exceptional, but memorable. Each of our wines expresses the essence of vineyard, variety and vintage, which combine each harvest to create something never to be exactly repeated."

In 2008, Cornerstone Oregon was born in the Willamette Valley as a collaboration between Cornerstone Napa's Craig Camp and renowned Oregon winemaker Tony Rynders. While longing to make pinot noir and chardonnay, Camp firmly believed that the Napa Valley was no place to make classically styled, elegant wines from these varieties. As a result a totally separate project was born as we believe it is more important where the vines put down roots than where we do.

What we believe:

Cornerstone Cellars wines are the combined personal vision of Dragutsky, Camp and Keene of what makes a wine great. The symbiosis of their personalities are realized in our wines.

We are not about statistics and points, terroir is terroir and every vineyard must find its own balance.

There is no finer place in the world to grow cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and merlot than the Napa Valley. It is both an honor to be able to craft wine from such outstanding fruit and it our responsibility to make each wine to the very best of our ability.

We make pinot and chardonnay in Oregon because we think it is a world class place to grow those varieties that the Napa Valley is not. It's more important where the vines put down roots than were the winemakers do.

We do not make wine for everyone. We make what we believe in, not what the mass market demands. We will not be a slave to the fashion of the moment, we make wines we love to drink. What makes a great wine does not change, it's not like having hemlines to go up and down according latest whim.

Our wines all express our vision of the 3 V's: vineyard, vintage and variety.

We are an atypical Napa Valley winery and we like that way.

 

#Cabernet Day is Every Day in the Napa Valley

2010 Cornerstone Cellars Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 

Cabernet Day is literally every day at Cornerstone Cellars in the Napa Valley. There is not a day spent when we are not farming, harvesting, making, blending or sharing Cabernet Sauvignon. There is good reason for this, the Napa Valley is a perfect place to grow Cabernet Sauvignon. Our combination of a long, warm growing season with cool nights and a wide-range of ideal soil types gives birth to some of the greatest Cabernets made anywhere.

We have honed our vineyard selection to razor sharpness and produce three distinct Cabernet Sauvignon wines from a unique set of exceptional vineyards. We control the farming of each block with attention to the smallest details, which is what it takes to make great Cabernet Sauvignon. Our cabernet selections include:

- Cornerstone Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Stepping Stone is selected from vineyards that give a more forward style with great elegance

- Cornerstone Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is our "winemaking" wine as it is a selection blended from our three finest vineyard blocks: Kairos near Oak Knoll, Oakville Station in the To Kalon district and Ink Grade on Howell Mountain.  Regal, rich and complex our Napa Valley selection weaves the distinctive personality of three of Napa's finest vineyards into a dramatic, harmonious whole.

- Cornerstone Cellars Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is a true vineyard wine coming, as it has since the 2000 vintage, from our Ink Grade block high on the east side of Howell Mountain. Grown on volcanic, white tufa soils and farmed organically for more than a decade this is truly a great vineyard site that produces a classic, age-able mountain Cabernet Sauvignon.

Very soon we will be harvesting our 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon. It has been an amazing year so far. Starting with a beautiful warm spring and early flowering, which gave the vines a nice head start. The summer has been lovely with beautiful warm days, cool nights and only one real heat spike. Now we are looking forward to a sunny fall that will allow the grapes to finishing their ripening at the leisurely pace that gives the most flavorful wine grapes. We could not be more optimistic. It’s going to be a very, very exciting harvest.

Lofty Ambitions!

The view of the Yountville Hills from the Cornerstone Cellars Library Loft

We have lofty ambitions at Cornerstone Cellars. Not only do we reach for the sky with our wines each vintage, but we want visitors to our Yountville tasting room to be treated to a tasting experience as elevated as our wines. For our club members we always aim even higher. Our lofty ambitions to bring a unique wine tasting experience to our members has now been fully realized! We are excited to introduce you to the new Cornerstone Cellars Library Loft, a private tasting room reserved for our wine club members.

Tucked above the Cornerstone Cellars tasting room, the Library Loft offers lovely views of the Yountville Hills and the town of Yountville itself. On the deck is a bistro table for sun worshipers and inside groups of up to fourteen can enjoy our latest vintages and receive personal attention from our staff of experienced wine educators. 

Knowing that wine without food is a bit lonely, we are pleased to offer you gourmet box lunch selections from our amazing culinary neighbors here in Yountville. Call ahead to order mouthwatering selections from Bouchon Bakery, Napa Style, the Yountville Deli or Ad Hoc's Addendum. As always, our wonderful cheese tasting plates are available to our club members. 

Club members are welcome to bring their guests to share the Cornerstone Cellars Library Loft experience for a formal tasting, box lunches or casual sipping with our selection of cheeses. Our wine educators would be more than happy to present one of our fun and educational wine seminars or create a customized wine experience for our club members and their guests.

To make reservations for the Cornerstone Cellars Library Loft and for current menu information, please contact our wine club director Nadia Olson (nadia@cornerstonecellars.com - direct line 707-490-271), tasting room manager Katrina Kay (katrina@cornerstonecellars.com - direct line 707-260-5671) or call the tasting room at 707-945-0388. 

We look forward to sharing the Library Loft with you. Please let me know you are coming and I'll be sure to stop by and say hello! Craig Camp - craig@cornerstonecellars.com or @CraigCamp on Twitter

 

Franc-ly Speaking

2010 Cornerstone Napa Valley Cabernet Franc, Stepping Stone 

Franc-ly speaking Cabernet Franc is a pain in the butt. Hard to grow and tough to ripen just right. Underripe gives you veggie stew and too ripe gives you concentrate of Welch's. So why are we spending so much time on Cabernet Franc?

The truth of the matter is when you get cabernet franc just right it is nothing short of incredible. It is worth the effort. Its unique blend of herbs and spices blend with the rich fruit flavors to create one of the greatest of all wines for food. The nuances of cabernet franc mirror the flavors in many dishes in a way no other variety can. If you need proof just try our Stepping Stone by Cornerstone Napa Valley Cabernet Franc with lamb roasted with herbs. 

It's tough to grow as while it's a late ripener, just to be difficult, cabernet franc likes cooler sites that allow it to ripen slowly, which allows it to develop its full range of flavors. Too hot and it just pounds out sugar with no complex flavors, too cool and most American's will wrinkle their noses from the pungent weedy flavors and aromatics. Cabernet franc needs a sweet spot and we've found a few that are just right.

Many cooler sites in the Napa Valley are just perfect for cabernet franc. The cooler southern AVA's like Carneros, Oak Knoll and Coombsville are uniquely suited to the variety as well as cooler micro-climates in Oakville and St. Helena. From these sites we craft our Stepping Stone by Cornerstone Napa Valley Cabernet Franc.

In all of our wines we love (and strive for) what we call "lift". That means to us a brightness in aromatics and flavors the seems to rise in complexity as you savor them. We are not referring to the intensity or power increasing as we treasure elegance and balance in our wines, but to an ever expanding range of sensations that draw your palate and nose back for more-and-more. We want our wines to be kaleidoscopes of flavors and aromas.

That's what you have with our 2010 Stepping Stone by Cornerstone Napa Valley Cabernet Franc. The brilliant ruby color pleases the eye, while the lifted aromatics of mint, lavender and rosemary are layered over the bright cassis flavors of this young wine. On the plate the beautiful round tannins smoothly carry the rich flavors into the long mouthwatering finish. This combination of flavors and textures are what make this wine so uniquely appealing and draws you back for the next sip.

 

Rocking It!

2012 Stepping Stone by Cornerstone North Coast White Rocks! and ​2011 Stepping Stone by Cornerstone North Coast Red Rocks! 

2012 Stepping Stone by Cornerstone North Coast White Rocks! and ​2011 Stepping Stone by Cornerstone North Coast Red Rocks! 

Fun. Rocks! is fun, fun to make and fun to drink. Isn't wine supposed to be fun?

Each year we start with a blank slate, but not a blank palate, as in our mind, we know the the bright, zesty, mouth-watering flavors we seek. It's all about the pleasure. Well, it's not just about the pleasure, but also the price. Rocks! is made to be enjoyed - often!

The freedom to blend whatever varieties we find to produce the best wine possible is liberating and fun. To keep this freedom, we do not share the exact percentage of the blends as we want everyone savoring the results vintage to vintage, not the statistics. Rocks! is Rocks!, our expression of a wine priced to enjoy every day, that is delicious enough to make everyday meals just a bit more special. Rocks! will make you think, but not too much as its place in the world is to stimulate conversation, not dominate it.

I'm excited to present you with our new package for Rocks!, which I think convey well its spirit. Bright, lively, as fun as the wine itself and topped with a screw cap to eliminate any obstacle to opening a bottle. This last choice was also made with picnics and patio barbecues in mind as they are a natural home for Rocks!.

My love of interesting blends goes back to the now famous Vintage Tunia by Silvio Jermann in Italy's Fruili, which I was among the first American importers of back in the early 1980's. During the same period I was introduced to the many blended southern French wines by Christopher Cannan. No one debated too much the exact blends of these wines they way people do now. They were just enjoyed for what they were - delicious.

While inspired by European wines, you'll find Rocks! distinctly Californian in personality with generous flavors full of the perfect fruit that we grow in this ideal climate for grapes, yet with that bright tang of acidity for which Cornerstone Cellars is now known. I hope you enjoy Rocks! with some hearty comfort food and fun. After all, that was the idea.

White Rocks! is as always brightly aromatic and spicy, perfect as aperitif with appetizers or with Asian or other spicy or sweet and sour dishes. The Red Rocks! is packed with bright red fruit flavors, a generous texture and is just assertive enough to leave even jaded palates satisfied. 

Rocks! - the blend is our secret, the pleasure is all yours.

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Making Rosé Like You Mean It

In Tavel they make rosé like they mean it. In Bandol they make rosé like they mean it. In America, not so much. At Cornerstone Cellars we mean it too.

Single vineyard Napa Valley syrah, fermented bone-dry and aged in oak for almost six months is a statement. We're serious about rosé. Serious rosé is not cheap and it's worth every dime. Stepping Stone by Cornerstone Corallina Napa Valley Syrah Rosé is such a wine. You can buy cheaper pink wines, but if you want flavor, not just color, it costs both of us just a bit more. 

​2012 Stepping Stone by Cornerstone Corallina Napa Valley Syrah Rosé ​

​2012 Stepping Stone by Cornerstone Corallina Napa Valley Syrah Rosé 

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We confess to being rosé snobs. Corallina Syrah Rosé is a real rosé. That means it's not the leftovers of someone trying to beef up their red wine. In a warm climate like California making rosé by saigneé, or "bleeding" juice out of a red wine fermenter to concentrate that wine, means low-acid, flabby and sweet with those nasty fake watermelon flavors. We're not fans of watermelon candy. 

Corallina Syrah Rosé starts in the vineyard as the first step is selecting a single block of syrah vines destined to become Corallina. Conceived as a rosé from the beginning, every farming choice throughout the year is made with only one goal in mind - rosé worth thinking about. Harvest is timed solely around the complexity of fruit flavors as we don't need to worry about ripening the skin tannins. The beautiful Napa Valley climate provides us with luscious fruit with more than enough color so no other skin contact is necessary than the three hours or so it takes the fruit to be gently pressed. After fermentation Corallina Syrah Rosé rests for five months in mature French oak barrels, where the flavors grow rounder, richer and more complex. 

Corallina Syrah Rosé is lifted, bright and floral, laced with aromatics redolent of fresh wild herb and spices and touches of wild strawberries and white peaches. It is mouthwatering, refreshing and irresistible. Second glasses are unavoidable.

There is so much joy, pleasure and sunshine in Corallina Syrah Rosé that I had to seek out a label that reflected that energy. In "Wine Dance" by artist Janet Ekholm I found just such an image as the brilliant colors and intermingling of subject, landscape and sky into a harmonious whole is the perfect reflection of our vision for Corallina Syrah Rosé.  

I am pleased to present you with our 2012 Stepping Stone by Cornerstone Corallina Napa Valley Syrah Rosé, which tells the story of one year of our lives. It is the full expression of what we seek to share in all of our wines, the essence of vineyard, variety and vintage combining each harvest to create something never to be exactly repeated.

Art and Wine

​2012 Stepping Stone by Cornerstone Corallina Napa Valley Syrah Rosé with label "Wine Dance" by artist Janet Ekholm

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Wine and art seem intertwined, often mentioned in the same breath. Many call winemaking an art, but to me the work is more artisan. Certainly there is art involved in making great wine, yet to anyone who has grown grapes and made wine you know your connection is to the earth. Winemaking is agriculture, you're more a farmer than anything else. 

Yet the connection between artist and winemaker cannot be denied. Perhaps it is because our descriptions of what we taste in wine always fall short of truly conveying the complexity of this beverage. Vague references to aromas of wild strawberries or currents and flavors of green apples, black raspberries or vanilla bean do little to really communicate the amazing array of aromas and flavors that seem to explode out of a great bottle. While we fall short, an artist can convey the complexities of life in their work. Certain works of art just speak to you, as do many bottles of wine.

When I saw the paintings "Color of Life" and "Wine Dance" by Oregon artist Janet Ekholm, I realized they could tell the story and convey the personality of our wines far better than mere words ever could. These paintings conveyed my feelings about the wines far better than any tasting note could ever do. I felt such tie between the images and the wines that I decided to bring them together by creating our first artist labels. “Color of Life” for Stepping Stone by Cornerstone Oregon and, in the Napa Valley, “Wine Dance” for our Stepping Stone by Cornerstone whites and Corallina Syrah Rosé.

“Wine Dance”  perfectly reflected the joy, pleasure and fun of Stepping Stone by Cornerstone Corallina Napa Valley Syrah Rosé and was purposely selected with this wine in mind. The mouthwatering flavors are sure to want to make you dance too. Says Janet on “Wine Dance”,  “Life, joy and energy radiate throughout.  The scene pulsates with the rich colors of a fruitful harvest that has brought about a perfect blending of the soil and sun, and therefore a joyful dance to the wine that will be savored by all.”

​2010 Stepping Stone by Cornerstone Oregon Willamette Valley Pinot Noir with "Color of Life" label by artist Janet Ekholm.

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No wine reflects the ground from which it came more than pinot noir. “Color of Life” blurs the lines between the women and earth into one, just as pinot noir does with a vineyard. In her arms earth’s bounty reflects the incredible range of flavors one can discover in pinot noir. I chose this label for our Stepping Stone by Cornerstone Oregon Willamette Valley Pinot Noir as the brilliant colors and bond between earth and wine truly tell the story of this bright, zesty and richly flavored Pinot Noir. “The goddess of the harvest offers her lush cornucopia of earth’s abundance, evoking the promise of prosperity.  Fully immersed in the landscape, she is one with nature, representing the bounty and richness we are given each day that bring color and joy to our lives,” is how artist Janet Ekholm describes “Color of Life”. I think she also perfectly describes our Stepping Stone by Cornerstone Oregon Willamette Valley Pinot Noir.

Wine and art are perfectly intwined in the beautiful paintings of Janet Ekholm and our Stepping Stone by Cornerstone wines.

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Why Syrah?

Stepping Stone by Cornerstone Napa Valley Syrah 

Your distributor looks the other way and changes the subject. Retailers look upon you with pity. Such is the conventional wisdom in the wine trade when it comes to syrah: it doesn't sell. 

So why are we not only making one syrah, but two? The answer is simple, we love it.

Syrah is one of the world's noble red varieties. It suffers the curse of some other great varieties like riesling, nebbiolo and chenin blanc, none of them come from Bordeaux or Burgundy. These two regions have put their heavy footprint across the world's vineyards and the resulting ocean of wine from cabernet, merlot, pinot noir and chardonnay have engulfed the planet's wine markets and consumer's minds to the exclusion of so many other wonderful varieties.

Not only are we committed to syrah because we love it, we also believe we have found one of the world's best places to grow it, the southern Napa Valley's cooler Oak Knoll and Carneros districts. In my mind, most of the so called pinot noir regions of California are perfect for syrah.

Poor Syrah has also been battered by the market and some self-inflected wounds on top of that. The flood of cheap Aussie Shiraz (the same variety) damaged its reputation among consumers. Then the American wine industry itself scared people away with monster wines pushing or even exceeding 16% alcohol levels. To many Syrah was either plonk or Port.

Those of us who love the elegant Syrah of the northern Rhone Valley know that syrah deserves as much respect as any of the world's finest varieties. The fact of the matter is that the finest wines from this variety come from cooler sites. The image of syrah as a vine for hot climates is just plain wrong. I believe this misconception comes from writers comparing Burgundy to the Rhone. Indeed the Rhone Valley is warmer than Burgundy, but it's not as hot as California.

So we know that syrah can be a hard road to follow, but we could not help our selves. The variety is just too unique and compelling when grown on a cooler site. Our syrah, true to the style of all of our wines, is crisp and lifted with that classic syrah varietal character of butcher shop and dark fruits. On the palate it is substantial, but never heavy. 

It is a simple fact that the best value in California wine is syrah. Why aren't you taking advantage of it?

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The One Per Cent

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It took forty-seven percent to make a difference for Mitt Romney. For us it's the one percent. No, we're not joining Boycott Wall Street. Percentages for us are all about blending and every percent matters.

​Winemaker Jeff Keene and I show what a percent can mean at Premier Napa Valley Auction 2013

​Winemaker Jeff Keene and I show what a percent can mean at Premier Napa Valley Auction 2013

Jeff Keene and I were working on our final blends for our 2011 reds a few weeks ago and it never ceases to amaze the nuance and complexity that can be gained by the smallest changes. It is on the blending table that the soul of the wine comes together. It requires intense concentration and attention to the smallest detail to bring a wine to the perfect point.

There are many ways to blend: different varieties and different vineyards, same variety different vineyards and every permutation you can think of. Yet it's not how you blend, but why you blend that's the most important thing. Different varieties react very differently to blending. Take varieties like pinot noir and nebbiolo and blend them with other varieties you quickly lose their distinctive character. The only real blending choice is to make a single vineyard or multi-vineyard wine. Then there is cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc, varieties with assertive character that relish the flourishes added by blending their three spirits.

You don’t start off from scratch, you have a general idea where the wines will take you when you put the first rough blends together. Then you begin to work the permutations. A little more of that; a little less of that and the wine edges closer and closer to what you envision for the wines of this harvest. Finally you’re almost there, but there seems to be something missing. It’s tough to describe or put your finger on, but you know there is more to find, more for the wine to give. It is at this point you discover how important just one percent can be as suddenly the wine comes totally alive from just that small touch of the right variety or vineyard.

This time it was our 2011 Cornerstone Cellars Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, but it happens with every wine. We were so close with a blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot, but Jeff and I just felt something was missing. This time the one percent truly made the difference and when we added a tiny dollop of cabernet franc the wine suddenly became brighter, more lifted and, frankly, perfect. It’s our willingness to reach for our vision of perfection that makes the wines of Cornerstone Cellars something truly special. There are many wonderful wines in the world, but sometimes by reaching for just one percent more moves you from wonderful to something memorable.