Friends, today we have an exciting feature on Stephanie Cohen. Cohen took over for legendary Col Solare winemaker Darel Allwine roughly a year ago. She joined the Col Solare team in 2020 and has worked with some top winemakers across the globe and in the Chateau Ste. Michelle family. Her future is bright as I am really excited to see her hands in the Col Solare wines moving forward, as she tackles one of Washington’s great winery brands. Without further adieu here is my interview with Stephanie Cohen, Winemaker at Col Solare.
OB: How did you decide to come to Columbia Crest?
SC: I decided to work at Columbia Crest because I was at the point in my career that I was honestly looking to get my foot in the door in a winemaking position. I had already worked at 6 wineries in several different wine regions including Napa, Marlborough, Margaret River, and Willamette Valley at small to medium scale ultra-premium wineries. While my heart was in small wineries with ultra-premium wines, the Chemical Engineer in me wanted to experience a large winery. After interviewing at Columbia Crest, I felt it was the perfect fit for that stage in my career because I could work with large-scale wine production in every style imaginable and reserve cellar fermenters as small as 1 ton. Not only was I exposed to different scales of winemaking, but I also got to work with fruit from all over Washington State and really find the style of winemaking that works for me.
OB: You were promoted to Col Solare winemaker roughly one year ago, taking over for eminent winemaker Darel Allwine. Can you talk about what you learned from him in crafting your wines?
SC: Prior to coming to Col Solare, I had 8 harvests under my belt where I learned from many talented winemakers including Marla Carrol, Josh Widaman, Matt Wengel, and Katie Nelson. Between these experiences and tasting as much as possible, I developed my own philosophy and style. Once I came to Col Solare, I was able to taste with and learn from Renzo Cotarella, Marcus Notaro, Darel Allwine and Juan Munoz Oca. Prior to taking over, I would say that Darel provided the space for me to grow. From those who came before me I began to truly understand the goal and identity of Col Solare established by the Antinoris which I carried with me into the 2022 vintage.
OB: You joined the Col Solare team in 2020. What were some of the things that you did in the cellar to mitigate the smoke conditions that winemakers on Red Mountain were faced with?
SC: We did end up treating some lots with FPS Carbon, and ultimately put together the best wines to make our 2020 Col Solare Cabernet.
OB: Talking vintages, 2021 and 2022 seem to be very promising for Red Mountain red wines. Can you talk about what you are seeing in the cellar with these wines? How do you see the wines from these vintages being different?
SC: 2021 and 2022 could not have been more different. 2021 was the hottest vintage on Red Mountain producing very tiny berries with ultra-low yields for an early harvest. Due to the small berries, the 2021 wines are powerful, but the quality of the tannins is still quite nice.
Meanwhile the 2022 growing season started off very cool and wet producing large canopies and big clusters. Fortunately, we experienced the most beautiful, warm October that allowed us to achieve full ripeness of flavor despite the late start. Though a bountiful harvest, the quality is outstanding and is shaping out to be one of the best vintages for Col Solare. The sheer intensity of fruit that continues to persist in barrel is matched by a creaminess and elegance that has rarely been seen here.
OB: What are some of your favorite wines of the world? Do you have an epiphany wine?
SC: I love trying wines from all over, but two wines that I had the pleasure of tasting in the last year that I keep thinking about are the 2019 Chateaux Margaux and the 2001 Silex. I love that these two wines have a strong sense of place and identity. I am also just completely blown away by how well the 2001 Silex aged as there was still an incredible freshness to it.
My epiphany wine was the 2012 O’Shaughnessy Mt Veeder Cab. Somehow near the end of my first harvest in Napa I wound up on a dinner boat cruise in the San Francisco Bay with some phenomenal Napa producers including O’Shaughnessy and Robert Craig. There were so many wonderful wines from Napa’s great 2012 vintage on the boat, but this one screamed out to me. It was the perfect expression of Mt Veeder with intense fruit, eucalyptus, and fine-grained, silky tannins. Whether it was that wine or that evening talking to passionate winemakers and winery owners, afterwards I knew that making high quality wine was what I wanted to do with my life.