Sonoma Style: The Legend of Pax Mahle

Pax Mahle runs a calloused hand through disheveled hair and leans back into his seat. Natural light pours in through the glass garage door that makes up much of the exterior wall of his eponymous tasting room located at Sebastopol’s The Barlow. It’s early in the morning, and the ruggedly handsome winemaker bypasses the numerous open bottles of wine on the table and instead reaches for a cup of black coffee.

“Thank you,” he smiles, raising the cup in a subtle toast. An electric car drifts silently past. A couple park their bikes and head into the coffee shop a few storefronts down. Birds chirp, flitting in and out of the green flora draped all around the narrow passageway into the tasting room. In a place that sings the song of Sonoma without uttering a word, Pax Mahle, his tasting room and his portfolio of iconic wines seemingly effortlessly find a way to both fit in, as well as stand out.

The man himself is amiable, and despite his status as a rockstar in the winemaking world, his demeanor is modest and inviting; he’s the sort of person you want to strike up a conversation with, and he’s willing to engage. The tasting room, in a land full of tasting rooms, is somehow still bespoke. Liberal applications of concrete, rough-sawn wood, loads of natural light, living green things, more natural light and comfortable seating make up most of the space. Behind the bar, a record player and a stack of LPs signal a preference for conscious choice over convenience.

Pax’s branding is noteworthy: gothic lettering, nods to the retro, homages to classic Rhone labels juxtaposed next to brightly colored labels with no words on the front—all the things—but it isn’t his branding that has made this winemaker into a legend. Rather, it’s his commitment to doing things the “right way,” coupled with an unyielding dedication to an unlikely grape.

“I love Syrah,” he says simply. “We have soils that can make it both very interesting and very approachable.” And it’s true, much of California’s wine growing regions, the microclimates and soils, tend to mimic those of France’s Rhone Valley, where Syrah is king. Yet Cabernet Sauvignon has long been dominant among red wine varietals in California, and in Sonoma’s cooler climes, many winemakers are Pinot or bust. Not Pax.

“Syrah is where I wake up every morning,” he quips. But looking around the tasting room, it’s apparent that this isn’t a single-varietal producer. “The other varietals are just things that intrigue me,” he explains, pouring a splash of pale straw-yellow Vermentino into the glass in front of him. Zesty notes of citrus and floral scents rise up out of the bowl. “It’s hard to do a wine dinner with only Syrah,” shrugs Pax.

But it isn’t just a devotion to Syrah that has made Pax Mahle stand out to both wine critics and wine-loving consumers over the years. It’s his attention to detail, and his holistic approach to making amazing, small-production wines. “Small vineyards are on the front line, defending against the homogenization of the wine industry,” states Pax’s web page, by way of introducing the fact that he sources all of his grapes from small, family- owned growers. Pax rejects the corporate, cringes at the idea of mass-production and clearly values the humans he works with and the land that provides them with the fruit for making wine.