Cleo Pahlmeyer - Not just the farmer's daughter

Hippies plus a school for wayward children merged with the queen of California Burgundy style wines and a trained fine art specialist — what does that equal?

If you’re Jayson Pahlmeyer, you take this strange combination and create a new leader in California Pinot Noir.

Jayson, the proprietor of the prestigious Napa winery, Pahlmeyer, had the great good fortune or extraordinary intuition to hire Helen Turley as his winemaker twenty years ago. Mostly famous for his red Bordeaux blend, he expanded his focus from Cabernet Sauvignon (still a vital varietal for Pahlmeyer) to include the Burgundy varietals of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Following the guidance of Turley, he bought Wayfarer Vineyard on the Sonoma Coast. Next door to Helen’s famed Marcassin Vineyard, it was obvious that this was an ideal site for Jayson to follow his Burgundy dream.

Purchased in 1999, Wayfarer had been the home to a group of 70’s hippies who ran a school for wayward children and hoped to get back to nature. Apparently Pahlmeyer’s crass purchase offer convinced them to sell. Jayson then hired David Abreu (Jayson seems to attract Hall of Fame wine folks) to plant the vineyard in 2002.

Then, this is what amazes and baffles me about agriculture. I can understand about waiting patiently for an investment to pay off, waiting like six or eight months. For winemakers, it’s never a matter of mere months. Exhibiting Job’s Biblical patience, Jayson waited ten years before bottling his first vintage, the 2012.

Never a chauvinist, Jayson retained Bibiana González Rave as the Wayfarer winemaker. Her background includes a lengthy stint at Haut-Brion (where does he find these people?). And to oversee the entire operation, he didn’t have far to look. He appointed his daughter, Cleo.

Cleo’s a busy woman. She’s Director of Communications for Pahlmeyer wines, head of Wayfarer, and a mom. She lives in Napa but runs a vineyard in Sonoma.

She’s also well-rounded. She’s got advanced degrees in Art History and worked in the auction world, focused on fine arts. But she felt a calling back home in California. In 2008, her stepmother asked her if she had any friends looking for an entry-level job at Pahlmeyer. Cleo’s response? “How about me?” She interviewed for the position and surprisingly, she got it.

Starting as a sales assistant and having to work twice as hard to validate the decision to hire her, she’s risen through the company to where she’s now running Wayfarer, making 2000 cases of Pinot that retails for about $100.

She’s got a sparkling personality with an appreciation for how fortunate-born she is. She also understands what she is and what she isn’t. She’s not a winemaker (leave that to professionals who like science, she says). My guess? She’s probably an entrepreneur like her dad. She’s looking at ways to build sales of Pahlmeyer, Jayson (Pahlmeyer’s second label), and Wayfarer and maybe take on some new adventures. Cleo Pahlmeyer and Wayfarer Winery – the future of the wine world.