The Vintner

Continuing a Legacy

Katie Vogt, Pahlmeyer Winemaker

Pahlmeyer Winemaker Katie Vogt carries on Pahlmeyer’s pedigree with expertise, artistry, and keen understanding. Building on the eminence Pahlmeyer has earned over three decades, Katie approaches each new vintage as an opportunity to honor the extraordinary success of her predecessors while continuously raising the bar.

“I’m not making individual wines, I’m continuing a legacy,” Katie says of the winery she joined in 2019. “Pahlmeyer wines demand attention. They are truly inspired, showcasing the consideration and thought behind every choice and every detail. We farm deliberately at Pahlmeyer — we’re taking vineyards to the edge and exploring the tension. When you’re making this caliber of wines, you are fiercely selective. The fruit that becomes Pahlmeyer is nothing short of phenomenal, with incredible balance, intensity, and power.”

A graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where she earned a degree in Agribusiness with a minor in Viticulture and Enology, Katie began her career in 2008, mentored by maverick winemaker Christian Tietje at his Four Vines and Cypher Winery projects in Paso Robles. Rising from intern to assistant winemaker, she delved deep into every aspect of winemaking, from vineyard sampling to managing the cellar to leading blending trials.

“In Paso, working with Rhône varieties, blending is their essence and core,” she says. “I was very lucky to be part of that very early on in my career. I get a lot of joy out of blending, of tasting a lineup of wines and envisioning what it would look like putting them together.”

Katie describes her winemaking style as having steadfast focus. She brings the precision and thoughtfulness of a master blender, constantly evaluating which vineyards and blocks will deliver the intensity and power to earn their way into the Pahlmeyer portfolio.

In 2014, she joined the Central Coast winemaking team at E. & J. Gallo Winery, working at Edna Valley Vineyard and Bridlewood Estate Winery. There was little room for error or second-guessing with large portfolios and significant investments at stake. She learned quickly to trust her talent, instincts, and technique. In turn, she quickly earned the esteem of her winemaking peers.

A year later, Katie joined Napa’s historic Louis M. Martini Winery as Associate Winemaker, crafting small-lot and single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon in the winery’s Cellar No. 254. “In Napa, you’re focusing on the long term,” she says. “To succeed, you learn the nuances and appreciate the personalities of the sites. We commit to a clear vision, then we are relentless in bringing that to life.”

The Wines

2022 Pahlmeyer Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley

Our debut Pahlmeyer Sauvignon Blanc comprises concentrated low-yield mountain fruit from a single prized block in Stagecoach Vineyard blended with a portion of fruit from Amendola Vineyard, a tiny hidden gem on the Valley floor in St. Helena. The wine opens with a kaleidoscope of intense aromas: Key lime, Kefir lime leaf, white flowers, and toasted almond. The palate is a tightrope walk of full, opulent texture and bright, buoyant acidity, delivering a deep, complex flavor arc, finishing with a wash of fresh acidity and lingering minerality. Opening notes of Key lime and lychee unfurl to a tropical mouthwatering richness with hints of dried mango, lemongrass, white pepper, and dusty gravel that linger long through the lifted finish. – KV

Chardonnay, Pahlmeyer Estate, Napa Valley, 2022

Our 2022 Chardonnay is a masterful balance of opulence and vibrancy. Stone fruit aromatics give way to a fresh tropical lift with underscoring hints of toasted marshmallow and flint. This Chardonnay is concentrated and focused on the palate, unfurling a rich tapestry of crushed Marcona almond, freshly baked macaroon, and preserved lemon buoyed by dynamic acidity. The palate is textured and rich while bright and lively, with intense, ever-evolving flavors that linger through the finish. Exhibiting a full, layered palate upon release, this wine will continue to gain detail and depth over the next 5-7 years of careful cellaring.  – Katie Vogt

Knockout aromas of white peach, pineapple, and salted lemon peel, coconut, and wet stone. Full and rich with an extraordinary depth of sweet, creamy fruit that inundates the palate, suspended by an equally penetrating core of saline minerality infused with a luxurious finish of almond pastry notes, dried apricots, and white flowers. One of the most memorable young Chardonnays I tasted all year. Aged in 100% new Francois Ferrer heavy toast oak barrels. Number four of my top 10 wines of 2023.

Pinot Noir “Jayson-Laguna Ranch”, Pahlmeyer Estate, Sonoma Coast, 2021

This single-vineyard bottling hails from the Laguna Ranch vineyard in the cool region of the Sonoma Coast AVA. The 2021 growing season was moderate and steady, giving us slow, intense flavor development. Yields were low, consisting of tiny berries on small clusters that possessed incredible concentration. We gently destemmed clusters to keep berries as whole as possible, while 25% of the fruit was whole-cluster fermented to impart additional depth and structure. After a five-day cold soak, the tanks returned to ambient temperature, coaxing spontaneous native yeast fermentation. Free run juice was collected and aged separately in new oak barrels.

The 2021 Jayson Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is silky, concentrated, and dynamic. Aromas of leather and camphor peek out from behind a generous nose of sun-warmed plum and bright raspberry. Medium-bodied with a seductive opulence, the palate possesses a dense core of black cherry and bramble berry, revealing hints of fresh-plowed earth and warm spice. A lifting acidity drives the flavors through a long, intricate finish, each new sip opening greater depth and nuance. – Katie Vogt

Cabernet Sauvignon “Jayson”, Pahlmeyer Estate, Sonoma Coast, 2021

Classic Napa Valley Cabernet aromas of ripe blackberry and red currant are underpinned by an alluring dark forest floor earthiness and a high note of red licorice/candy shop. Valley floor fruit brings mouth-filling plushness to the palate, while concentrated mountain fruit drives through the core. Focused black fruit –cherry, plum, and raspberry –surge long and deep with hints of black olive and freshly cracked pepper. Polished tannins frame and lengthen the palate as a balancing acidity provides a magnifying lift. The finish is long, juicy, and plush with a thrust of grippy tannin, persisting with notes of vanilla bean, warm spice, and toasted hazelnut. – KV

The Environment

Defined by Mountain Fruit

Jason Pahlmeyer understood that making wines with exceptional concentration, complexity, and ageability required venturing to extremes. That’s what drew him to the rugged parcel of vines on the ridgeline of Atlas Peak that would become his iconic estate vineyard. That is why, more than 35 years later, Pahlmeyer remains defined by mountain fruit, possessing the soulful character born of demanding terroir and exacting fieldwork.

More hours of sunlight lead to greater ripeness and complexity.

Vineyards above 1,400 feet—such as our Water’s Ranch, Stagecoach, and Antica parcels—typically benefit from three more hours of sunshine per day compared to lower altitudes that are often cloaked in morning fog. This additional sunlight ensures the berries achieve a deep, rich color and complex flavor compounds.

Cooler temperatures result in more complete phenolic ripeness and greater fruit intensity.

With daytime temperatures averaging 5-10 F cooler, our mountain vines respire less acidity to produce energy; the acidity retained in the grapes results in greater freshness and balance in the wines. Cooler temperatures also prolong the growing season, allowing the clusters to hang longer on the vine and achieve optimal flavor development. Our Rancho Chimiles parcel, while slightly lower in elevation, sits close to the San Pablo Bay and enjoys cooling afternoon breezes that moderate temperature.

Low-Fertility, low-vigor soils yield smaller berries with greater concentration.

Thinner, rockier, poorer, and better-drained high-elevation soils naturally stress the vines, reducing yields by generating fewer shoots with limited clusters and smaller, thicker-skinned berries. The higher skin-to-juice ratio brings higher acidity, more tannin, and greater flavor concentration.

We farm responsively for balance and depth. 

Farming our mountain parcels vine-by-vine, we can achieve a careful balance between broad structure and phenolic maturity. Dramatic mountain terrain challenges us with various slope grades, sun aspects, and microclimates. Through meticulous fieldwork, we optimize hang time and reach optimal ripeness, moderating Brix levels (e.g., 26.7 Brix for Cab and 24.5 for Chardonnay) so that our wines possess focused fruit and tremendous finesse.

We vinify gently for honest and vivid expression.

From vine to barrel, we handle the fruit with extreme care. We hand harvest, block by block only when each vine has reached optimal ripeness. The fruit, picked before sunup when skins are cool and firm, are gravity-fed to tank. Throughout the fermentation process, we employ little to no pumping, extracting juice gently with a basket press and bottling unfined and unfiltered to retain the purist, most eloquent expression of the wine.