Jayson Pahlmeyer

Visionary

Jayson Pahlmeyer crafted his first wine in 1986. His aim was to achieve a “California Mouton,” and straight-from-the-source clones were – in his mind – a necessary component. Working with viticulture professors at the University of Bordeaux over the course of three years, Jayson obtained vine cuttings of the most ideal Bordeaux varieties to produce the greatest intensity of flavor and complexity of character. The prize vine cuttings were smuggled into Napa Valley and planted in 1981. Several years later, Jayson wowed the wine world with his debut vintage of Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red. In 1993, Jayson recruited the great Helen Turley to make his consistently award-winning wines.

Vintage after vintage, Pahlmeyer continued to live up to Jayson’s audacious dream – producing phenomenal wines of power and finesse. Along the way, Jayson fell head-over-heels in love with Pinot Noir. “Every oenophile eventually gravitates to the wines of Burgundy,” he confesses. Read More>

Helen Turley discovered Wayfarer for sale in 1998, then an organic farm on the remote Sonoma Coast. When she brought Jayson to the secluded property, he instantly sensed it had all the essential elements to produce world-class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and claimed the land as his own.

Jayson recruited renowned vineyard developer David Abreu to plant Wayfarer, which he completed in 2002. For several years, Wayfarer Pinot Noir and Chardonnay were blended with fruit from Russian River vineyards and bottled under the Pahlmeyer moniker.

By 2012, the vineyard’s exceptional fruit presented an irrefutable case for an estate label. Jayson's daughter Cleo Pahlmeyer, who had been working by his side since 2008, made his vision for this remarkable vineyard a reality with the launch of the first Wayfarer wines in 2014. Jayson explains, “One of my proudest moments as a vintner and father was when my very talented daughter came to me and said, ‘When it comes to the future of Wayfarer, I am all in!’” 

Cleo Pahlmeyer

Founder

Cleo Pahlmeyer founded Wayfarer in 2012 and manages all aspects of the business today.   

Raised in Napa, her education took her east to the University of Virginia where she received a BA in Art History.  She went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Connoisseurship of Fine and Decorative Art at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London. 

Returning to the family business in 2008 after working in the international art world, Cleo began working alongside her father, Jayson Pahlmeyer, who founded Pahlmeyer Winery in the 1980s.  After working in many areas of the business, she was appointed President in 2017.   

During this time, Cleo founded Wayfarer Winery.  Jayson had planted Wayfarer Vineyard in 2002 but it wasn’t until a decade later that the first estate wines were made under Cleo’s leadership.  In 2019, Cleo led the sale of Pahlmeyer Winery and now focuses entirely on Wayfarer.   

Cleo lives in Napa with her husband, Jamie Watson, and their three children.  

Todd Kohn

Winemaker

Wayfarer Winemaker Todd Kohn has deep roots in Northern California. He grew up in the town of Redding, just three hours north of Sonoma. Graduating from UC Davis with a degree in Viticulture and Enology, Todd always enjoyed science, and had a strong desire to work with his hands. During his first harvest internship—at the California sparkling wine house, Schramsberg—he fell in love with wine, and the dedicated work of harvest.

Additional internships, focused in the vineyard, lab and cellar, helped develop Todd’s thorough knowledge of winegrowing and winemaking. Experience at several premiere Napa Valley wine producers, including Opus One, soon led to an opportunity in Australia, at Moorooduc Estate. Working in the Mornington Peninsula region of Australia gave Todd invaluable insight into growing and crafting world class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay—great preparation for his role at Wayfarer.

Todd joined Wayfarer in the beginning of 2013 as Assistant to the Winemaker. Over the next 5 years, he worked hand in hand with the Consulting Winemaker to define Wayfarer’s vineyard practices and winemaking techniques, before taking the helm as Winemaker in December of 2017.