Pax Mahle, Owner/Winemaker
Pam Mahle, Owner
Pax Wines is a small winery in Sebastopol, California, solely owned by Pax and Pam Mahle. They moved to wine country in 1997 to pursue careers in wine. After a few years of tasting and sourcing wine from all over California for Dean & Deluca, Pax made the decision to start his own brand from a vineyard with which he felt a kismet connection. Alder Springs Vineyard was the site, and after finding an investor to help realize the dream, Pax Wines launched in 2000.
The Mahles made a bold choice by favoring the “untapped potential” of the Syrah grape. Their entire lineup of wines came from cool climate vineyards in Sonoma County and Mendocino. These wines were big, rich expressions of Syrah that went on to be highly sought after. As a result, Pax quickly became established as one of California’s premier producers of Syrah.
Pam and Pax Mahle; Photos by Bonafide Productions
Presently, Pax Wines has evolved to include new and exciting varieties in addition to Syrah. This includes Trousseau Gris, Chenin Blanc, Gamay Noir, and Mission, along with a host of others recently planted.
At Pax Wines, winemaking is approached holistically. This is done by taking care to use only grapes that are grown without the use of chemicals and by hand making their wines with as little intervention as possible. As a result, all of their wines are crushed by foot and hand, and fermented using only natural yeasts.
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