‘Every oenophile eventually gravitates to the wines of Burgundy,’ says Jayson Pahlmeyer. Certainly, he did; after 30 years as an acclaimed Napa Valley vintner, Jayson found himself drawn to the world’s finest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. His attempts to buy parcels in two Burgundian grand cru vineyards fell at the very last hurdle. It took six more years before the perfect site presented itself. 30 undulating acres hidden inside redwood forests, above the fog line, in the far north-west of the Sonoma Coast. Fort Ross-Seaview.

Fort Ross-Seaview AVA is perched on a jagged portion of the San Andreas fault, with much of its acreage unfarmable due to the dramatic terrain. Access to vineyards is slow and treacherous, along mountain roads. A combination of bountiful sunshine, cooling ocean air, shallow top soils and the underlying rock (Goldridge soils, the decomposition of an ancient seabed, laid over sandstone) all contribute to the appellation’s unique fruit character.

Jayson called on a friend from his Napa days. David Abreu. This renowned vineyard developer laid out the Wayfarer vineyard as 30 one-acre blocks, each dedicated to an individual clone. Ten years later, the first Wayfarer wines appeared. The WF2 wines are high-quality, value-focussed selections of 100% estate fruit. The Estate bottlings blend a selection of Wayfarer’s best fruit, and the named cuvees are expressions of particular clones. The Pinot Noirs are remarkably different despite the fact they come from the same site. (NT 01/02/24)