Winemaker Notes

The grapes were hand-picked at night to preserve freshness, then hand-sorted at the winery. The fruit was fermented with native yeast in stainless steel tanks and periodically punched down by hand as determined by daily tasting throughout fermentation. The wine was aged in 13% new French oak barrels for 10 months before bottling.

Tasting Notes

Aromas of Bing cherry, strawberry, rose petal potpourri, violets and lilac develop in the glass. The 2022 has a freshness that can only come from a cooler growing season. The wine is creamy on the entry, with a mix of dark and tart cherry, pomegranate, licorice, brown sugar and Madagascar vanilla on the palate. Lighter in body than the Wayfarer Pinot Noirs but oh so pretty, it is a lovely wine, fresh and giving upon first opening.

Vintage Notes

Wayfarer's 2022 vintage was the product of a cool growing season and a warm harvest. Budbreak came two weeks earlier than average and resulted in an early September harvest. Wayfarer received significant rainfall in the winter months, replenishing the soil, followed by a very dry April and May, which moderated vigor in the vineyard. June rains required diligent canopy management to balance airflow and sunlight, which proved to be essential to both ripen the fruit in a cooler year, and to not overexpose it to heat later in the season. With below-average temperatures in June and July, 2022 was a cool growing season on the Sonoma Coast. The weather warmed significantly during harvest, though even on the hottest days, Wayfarer experienced a diurnal shift of 30 degrees Fahrenheit, preserving acidity and freshness in the fruit. Due to a series of prior drought years, 2022 was a very low-yielding vintage, with Chardonnay production down 50% and Pinot Noir production down 35%, creating a profound concentration in the wines. The 2022 wines display both the luxurious texture and fruit-driven character of a warm harvest as well as the elegance and vibrancy indicative of a cool growing season. 

Winery Notes

Wayfarer was founded as a secluded farmstead more than 40 years ago, before its locale was defined as the now coveted Fort Ross Seaview AVA. In 1989, Jayson Pahlmeyer's winemaker, Helen Turley, discovered the site for sale down the road from her Marcassin vineyard. She introduced Pahlmeyer, declaring it destined to become "the La Tache of California."

In tandem with his daughter Cleo and renowned winemaker Bibiana Gonzales Rave, Pahlmeyer drives to make intricate wines of transcendence, answering to powerful, ever-unpredictable climate that rewards only the most observant and meticulous. It is an endeavor of true passion, an experiment that pushes the exactitude of winegrowing and winemaking to the farthest limits.