Wind Gap Wines

Pax Mahle founded Pax Wine Cellars in 2000 and built a reputation there for rich Syrah. As he developed newer vineyard sources in cooler, coastal areas of Sonoma, some of his wines took on fresher, lower-alcohol profiles, and he and his wife Pamela established Wind Gap in 2006 to focus on cooler-climate sites. Speaking to Wine Spectator in 2014, Mahle explained: 'So that's why we started the Wind Gap label, to focus on the cooler sites.' In 2013 Terroir Selections, the wine arm of the Terroir Capital group that Charles Banks formed after leaving Screaming Eagle in 2009, bought a 50 percent share in Wind Gap together with a separate brand called Agharta; the price was not disclosed. As part of that expansion Wind Gap planned a new winery and tasting room at the Barlow, a multi-use complex in downtown Sebastopol, and by 2014 the Wind Gap operation had moved there. In June 2018 Mahle sold his remaining 50 percent share to Terroir. The deal included the winery, its inventory and Agharta, and the purchase price was not disclosed. Mahle kept his winemaking facility in Sebastopol and the former Wind Gap tasting room, which became home to his namesake brand, Pax, along with the long-term leases on several Sonoma Coast vineyards he had used for Wind Gap, including Majik and Armagh. In a July 2018 statement, Terroir CEO John Hawkins said the company was 'in the process of evaluating opportunities for the brand going forward.'

• 2000: Pax Mahle founded Pax Wine Cellars, known for rich Syrah.
• 2006: Pax and Pamela Mahle established Wind Gap to focus on cooler-climate sites.
• 2013: Terroir Selections bought a 50 percent share in Wind Gap and the separate Agharta brand.
• June 2018: Mahle sold his remaining 50 percent share to Terroir; the deal included the winery, its inventory and Agharta.
• Mahle kept his Sebastopol winemaking facility, the former Wind Gap tasting room and the long-term leases on Majik, Armagh and other Sonoma Coast vineyards.

Pax Mahle was Wind Gap's winemaker and owner when Terroir bought in, and after the 2013 deal he continued to make the wines while Terroir handled the sales and marketing. Before turning to production, Mahle was an East Coast sommelier who took a job on the West Coast as the corporate wine buyer for Dean & Deluca in 1997. He relaunched his Pax brand in 2013, and at the time of the 2018 sale he was producing about 3,000 cases of it a year. Charles Banks was no longer involved in Terroir by July 2018. As of July 2018, Terroir's CEO was John Hawkins.

• Pax Mahle: co-founder (2006) and winemaker until he sold his remaining share in June 2018.
• Pamela (Pam) Mahle: co-founder (2006).
• Terroir: 50 percent owner from 2013 and buyer of Mahle's remaining 50 percent in June 2018; CEO John Hawkins as of July 2018.

At the time of the 2013 deal the winery used purchased grapes. The wines came mainly from vineyards in multiple appellations influenced by wind gaps, with sources on the Sonoma Coast and in the Petaluma Wind Gap as well as vineyards along the California coast. In 2014 the Majik Vineyard, in the rolling hills about 10 to 12 miles from the coast, was a 1-acre parcel of Syrah on Goldridge soils, a sandy soil with a drop of loam; it faces north, and Mahle described waiting until November to pick it at around 21 Brix. The Nellessen Vineyard, a few minutes away, was also planted to Syrah on the same Goldridge soils and faces south on a slightly steeper slope. The Armagh Vineyard lies further south on heavier soils. Majik and Armagh were held on long-term leases, which Mahle kept when he sold Wind Gap in 2018. Other sources named in 2014 included the James Berry Vineyard in Paso Robles, the Woodruff Vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains, planted in the early 1970s, a 5-acre Russian River Valley vineyard planted in the early 1980s for Trousseau Gris, the Windsor Oaks Vineyards in Chalk Hill, and the Gap's Crown and Sun Chase vineyards on the Sonoma Coast, with Sun Chase located above Gap's Crown.

• Purchased grapes at the time of the 2013 deal; wind-gap-influenced vineyards in multiple appellations.
• Majik: 1-acre, north-facing Syrah parcel on Goldridge soils, picked in November at around 21 Brix.
• Nellessen: south-facing Syrah on the same Goldridge soils; Armagh: further south on heavier soils.
• Majik and Armagh were long-term leases that Mahle kept in the 2018 sale.

In 2014 the Wind Gap range covered Chardonnay, aromatic whites, Pinot Noir, Grenache and Syrah. The Chardonnay Paso Robles James Berry Vineyard 2012 was fermented in concrete and aged in neutral oak, and the Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains Woodruff Vineyard 2012 was fermented in a mix of concrete, steel and neutral oak, then aged in used barrels. The Trousseau Gris Russian River Valley 2013 was fermented and aged entirely in concrete, and the Pinot Gris Chalk Hill Windsor Oaks Vineyards 2012 was left on its skins in a concrete egg for up to three months, giving an orange-hued wine. The Pinot Noirs included a Sonoma Coast blend of four vineyards and single-vineyard wines from Woodruff, Gap's Crown and Sun Chase. The Grenache Sonoma County Old Vine 2012 came from a single parcel of 90-year-old vines on sandy soils and was aged and fermented in concrete. The Syrahs included a Sonoma Coast bottling and single-vineyard wines from Majik, Nellessen and Armagh; the Sonoma Coast Syrah 2012 came from the Armagh, Nellessen and Majik vineyards. Jon Bonné rated the Sonoma Coast Syrah 2012 95 points for Decanter. Agharta, the separate label included in both Terroir deals, was named after a record by jazz musician Miles Davis and focused on small-production wines from Bordeaux and Rhône varieties grown on mountain vineyards.

• Chardonnay: James Berry Vineyard (Paso Robles) and Woodruff Vineyard (Santa Cruz Mountains).
• Aromatic whites: Trousseau Gris (Russian River Valley) and a skin-contact Pinot Gris (Chalk Hill, Windsor Oaks Vineyards).
• Pinot Noir: Sonoma Coast blend of four vineyards, plus Woodruff, Gap's Crown and Sun Chase.
• Syrah: Sonoma Coast blend of Armagh, Nellessen and Majik, plus single-vineyard Majik, Nellessen and Armagh.
• Grenache Sonoma County Old Vine from 90-year-old vines on sandy soils.

Mahle framed Wind Gap around what each site gives rather than a target alcohol level. 'The intent is not to be set on some sort of alcohol level but on what these vineyards produce naturally,' he said in 2013, and in 2014 he added: 'I'd rather pick on the underripe side than the overripe side of things.' He usually fermented his red wines with whole clusters; the Sun Chase Pinot Noir was destemmed in its 2012 debut, and in 2013 he went to all whole cluster. Several wines were fermented or aged in concrete, including the James Berry Vineyard Chardonnay, the Trousseau Gris and the Grenache. The 2012 Armagh Syrah topped out at 12.75 percent alcohol.

• Site over a set alcohol level, in Mahle's own framing.
• Red wines usually fermented with whole clusters.
• Concrete used for fermentation and ageing across several wines.

Secondary sources:https://www.winespectator.com/articles/former-screaming-eagle-co-owner-in-talks-with-wind-gap-winery-48153, https://www.winespectator.com/articles/former-screaming-eagle-co-owner-closes-deal-with-sonomas-wind-gap-48213, https://www.winespectator.com/articles/the-evolution-of-pax-mahle-and-his-wines-50068, https://www.winespectator.com/articles/wind-gap-wines-sold-to-charles-banks-former-wine-company, https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/foerm-screamig-eagle-co-owner-buys-sonoma-s-wind-gap-19937/, https://www.decanter.com/wine-reviews/usa/california/wind-gap-syrah-california-usa-2012-2007, https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2018/07/wind-gap-wines-sold-to-former-charles-banks-owned-terroir/. Wine Spectator (Augustus Weed, 12 March 2013, 28 March 2013 and 24 July 2018; James Molesworth, 4 June 2014), Decanter (James Lawrence, 10 April 2013; Jon Bonné tasting note, published 24 November 2016) and The Drinks Business (Phoebe French, 25 July 2018). Last verified 2026-10-19.