Regular readers of our newsletter and the blogs on our website know that we have discussed and promoted the "New California" wines for some time. In a nutshell these are wines that emphasize balance, freshness... Read More

Regular readers of our newsletter and the blogs on our website know that we have discussed and promoted the "New California" wines for some time. In a nutshell these are wines that emphasize balance, freshness and drinkability instead of rich, jammy fruit and high alcohol.

One of the early adopters of this new wave approach (and in truth it resembles the old school wines of the '60s and '70's) was Pax Mahle. Pax first gained renown in the wine world with his robust, richly fruited Syrah's made under the PAX label. But almost by accident he made a batch of very cool climate Syrah one year and realized that he really enjoyed the brightness and freshness of the resulting wine.

So he started a second label called Wind Gap. The idea was simple: source fruit from the coldest vineyards in California, treat the wine very gently in the winery (native yeasts, stems and whole clusters, neutral oak etc.) and make wines that you can drink day in and day out.