By Mike Hazlip—
Cory Darnell spent a decade making wine in Europe, now he calls Citrus Heights home where he produces an award winning vintage.
Darnell operates CoZi Wines from his Citrus Heights home using oversell grapes from a supplier in Napa, and works with consultants while renting equipment to produce the wine. His 2019 Cabernet Franc recently won gold in the 2022 San Francisco Chronicle’s Wine Competition.
“I was really surprised, it was our first release,” Darnell said, describing the work he did in Europe. “Especially beating some fantastic wineries, like Imagery, that are my personal favorites, so that was really nice.”
While the business is still new, Darnell says the credit for winning gold goes to the consultants he partnered with in his endeavor.
“I’m the owner, so I guess I call the shots of sorts, but everything worked together and I took their advice,” he said. “They really put a line in the sand sometimes and they were right as shown by our gold medal.”
The timing of the wine-making process is crucial to balancing all of the right elements that go into a good wine, Darnell says. He calls the process “a human interaction to stop nature mid-way.”
For his gold-winning Cabernet Franc, Darnell says he made the decision to let the vintage age in oak barrels longer than he typically would. The oak barrels are what give California wines a distinctive dark caramel flavor.
“I was a bit concerned about it because you don’t want to overpower the flavor of the wine,” he said. “But it seemed to do well because we have a really bold wine which Californians really tend to enjoy.”
The lack of vineyard space in Citrus Heights has not deterred Darnell from creating his own private label.
“You can still produce amazing quality wine and just buy it elsewhere,” he said. “Even top wineries do that; they’re always working together to try to blend something to get the best result possible.”
Citrus Heights was an ideal location for Darnell to start a family with his wife, Zinmar, and the couple bought their home in 2019. The city is close to Napa and Gold Country wineries as well as Zinmar’s family, Darnell said.
“We love it,” Darnell says of Citrus Heights. “It doesn’t get too cold, stays warm, a lot of great restaurants. A lot of great wineries around us as well.”
Their business name, CoZi, comes from a combination of Cory and Zinmar, he says, adding it was “Love at first name,” when he met his wife.
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Frustration with European regulations led Darnell to start a new venture with an aim to make good wine accessible to everyone.
“We’re trying to think of something that would appeal, that you could just relax, let go of the cares of your world for a night,” he said of the idea behind CoZi. “Just sit back with the one you love and try a deeply intense wine that lingers on the palette for a few hours. I want everybody to enjoy it.”
He hopes to grow the business with more offerings in the future as sales and income increase. In the meantime Darnell works as an attorney, something he says he does “so I can make wine.”
Orders have increased since winning gold, according to Darnell. He says customers can place orders through coziwines.com, but he is still working with a web developer to improve the ordering process.
Although Darnell’s own backyard is too small for a vineyard, he says he does keep a few vines and hopes to one day offer tastings and sales in Citrus Heights.
“The hope, the dream, the miracle would be that I could open up an establishment in Citrus Heights so that I could actually do tastings and provide for the general public,” he said. “Who’s going to invest in a bottle of wine if they can’t even taste it?”
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By Mike Hazlip—
Cory Darnell spent a decade making wine in Europe, now he calls Citrus Heights home where he produces an award winning vintage.
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