Kori Wines are a “family affair” – a partnership between respected Santa Lucia Highlands’ grower Kirk Williams and his stepdaughter Kori Violini. Their goal? To produce a new, limited wine to share with family and friends; a special wine that is a delicious statement of their dedication and passion for true Highlands’ Pinot…
Kirk Williams manages and oversees several of the top vineyard estates in the S.L.H. His own property, the KW Ranch Vineyard (formerly Fairview Road Ranch), occupies 14 acres in the heart of the Santa Lucia Higlands. Kirk’s home is just above and overlooks the KW. The KW Ranch’s Pinot Noir and Syrah are eagerly sought after by artisan vintners. Bernardus and Morgan wineries are annual clients for KW fruit. For the first time, in the 2007 Crush, Kirk decided to save a bit of the best fruit for his own winemaking project, as yet unnamed. He turned the small lot of Pinot Noir over to one of the area’s best known winemakers and began to talk with his stepdaughter Kori about the possibilities.
Though still only in her twenties, Kori Violini already has years of experience in Monterey County agriculture, having worked in her extended family’s many businesses. She literally grew up in the vineyards of the Highlands. It was a logical choice to put Kori’s name on the new Pinot Noir. After all, she had picked the grapes that chilly fall morning at the KW Ranch. She monitored the winemaking and cellar process, designed the label herself, and will be the “face” of the new, artisan brand in the public eye. Like Miss V. herself, the debut Kori Pinot Noir is young, fresh, fun, and full of promise…
