Spring 2026 Release Letter

SPRING 2026 RELEASE

2024 Wayfarer Chardonnay 'The Estate'
2024 Wayfarer Pinot Noir 'The Estate'
2024 Wayfarer Syrah 'The Estate'

Dear Friends,

Twenty-five years ago, my father, Jayson Pahlmeyer, had the vision to plant Wayfarer in one of the most remote and unforgiving corners of the Sonoma Coast.  Close to the Pacific and far from everything else – a region only a few had ventured to plant before us – farming Wayfarer demands both immense skill and dedication.  And now, farming organically, we have upped the degree of difficulty.  I am proud to present the 2024 Wayfarer Pinot Noir and Chardonnay ‘The Estate’ – a worthy follow-up to our 2023 Pinot, which was Wine Spectator’s Number 8 wine of 2025 – and to introduce something we have been working toward for years: the 2023 Wayfarer Syrah ‘The Estate’.

‘The Estate’ wines are our most faithful expressions of what this place is. Within Fort Ross-Seaview, Wayfarer stands apart. We sit on 30 acres of Goldridge soil — uplifted ancient seabed, rare in the appellation and ideal for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.  Above the fog line, steep slopes and long hours of sunlight develop deep, complex flavors — but that same exposure demands meticulous canopy management to ensure even light and generous airflow through the fruit.  While most vineyards in the region are planted along the first ridgeline, Wayfarer sits just beyond the second: a warm spot in this cool region. 

And then there are the people, the most overlooked but most important aspect of terroir.  Our winemaker, Todd Kohn, has been walking these rows since 2013, creating a culture — inspired by his years at Opus One — where everyone works both among the vines and the barrels.  Todd farms vine by vine — not as a guiding principle but as a literal practice.  The farming here is relentless, the conditions too demanding, for anything less.

My father has always said that in wine, with great risk comes great reward.  These wines are proof.  

With gratitude,

Cleo Pahlmeyer

P.S. A note on the Syrah: we have long admired Syrahs of California and the Northern Rhône alike, and wanted to try our hand at a new challenge.  Few people have shaped California Syrah more than John Alban, who brought Rhône clonal material to our state in the early 1990s.  Our tiny half-acre of Syrah is grafted to his Alban 1 clone, and what has emerged is distinctly Wayfarer — savory, structured, and very much of this place.