Tricky dance of sharing a winery in the pandemic era

Sebastopol, California

NO business is built to withstand the physical distancing demands of the coronavirus pandemic. But Pax Mahle Wines here in western Sonoma County is less equipped than most.

That's because the winery is home to at least six different producers, all sharing space and equipment. Depending on whether you count side projects and hobby-scale ventures, the producers might number as many as eight.

I visited the facility in late February, before Covid-19 swept through the country, to chronicle how a group of like-minded wine producers all managed to work closely together yet each produce singular wines that were occasionally idiosyncratic and almost always excellent.

Instead, the story became just as much how these producers are managing the delicate balance of doing their necessary work in one large space without risking one another's health and well-being.

The cast of characters includes Martha Stoumen Wines, producing classic California cuvées with Italian accents; Jolie-Laide, which sometimes takes a more Francophile approach; RAEN, a Sonoma Coast pinot noir label started by two brothers who happen to be grandsons of Robert Mondavi; and Jaimee Motley Wines, which explores some unusual grapes like mondeuse while also making more typical California blends.

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It also includes Monte Rio Cellars, a project from sommelier Patrick Cappiello dedicated to making inexpensive, thirst-quenching wines in the imagined spirit of an older era in California, and a few other small labels.

At the centre of things is the husband-and-wife team of Pax and Pam Mahle, 20-year veterans of the Northern California wine business. Their focus under the Pax label is syrah, but they leave plenty of room for exploring less typical varieties like trousseau, gamay, charbono and freisa.

All the producers share a conscientious approach to farming - they tend vines, though they own no vineyards - and a light hand in the winery. The use of commercial yeast or other additives is not permitted.

Although their wines are different, they all lean toward delicacy and grace, and they share a sense of exploration and curiosity, an aesthetic of sculptural discovery that looks at vineyards and grapes and asks what they want to become rather than molding them to fit some predetermined ideal.

In total, they collectively produce about 15,000 cases of wine annually, including about 5,000 from Pax.

In a space where togetherness is taken for granted, with occasional group lunches, frequent consultations, exchanges of equipment and opinions, the new distancing requirements have not been easy, though a shared sense of purpose has helped.

The winery is owned by the Mahles, whose experience includes starting, then losing, the rights to the Pax brand; creating a new label, Wind Gap; then regaining the rights to Pax before selling off Wind Gap.

In 2013, the Mahles moved their operation from the small Russian River town of Forestville to their current location in the Barlow, a huge old apple-processing and industrial complex in downtown Sebastopol that, as western Sonoma evolved from apple country into a viticultural center, was reinvented as a culinary and arts venue, with brewers, cheesemakers, producers of cold-pressed juices, restaurants and bakeries as well as wineries.

The unit occupied by Pax Mahle Wines was once used to manufacture caps for jars of applesauce, mayonnaise and soda. With concrete walls 6 inches thick and soaring old redwood beams that evoke the interior hull of a ship, the huge, airy room is naturally cool, with plenty of room for tanks, barrels and other necessary equipment. In front is a rustic wine bar and tasting room, which, in better times, offers light bites and live music.

Fortunately, spring is a time of rote tasks and minimal activity - topping off barrels as the wines mature, for example, to prevent oxidation. This can generally be done by one person at a time.

"For the most part in springtime, we let the wines sleep and evolve without input," Mahle said. "This is a bona fide saving grace in a Covid-19 world." The winery they share is not a custom-crush facility, in which anybody can pay to use space and equipment, nor is it a communal operation in which everybody works toward a common goal.

"It's all very individual, but a shared ethos," said Scott Schultz, who makes wines under the Jolie-Laide label. "There's an element of Pax in all of us."

The sense of community that's been built endures, despite the pressure of the pandemic.

"It's like roommates, you don't get to have your way always," Stoumen said. "Pax and Scott are very helpful. They set the tone, and they've chosen people who are really hard-working and well-steeped in cellar work." It helps that the space is lofty and well-ventilated. When they do have to work, they try to schedule around one another.

"We all are on a text thread, and check in with each other to schedule cellar work," said Motley, who has been especially careful, as she is pregnant. "We are going into work one at a time to get what we need done and keep our distance." Stoumen said she enjoys the shared energy, the seriousness with which the producers approach their work and their general willingness to perform some of the more underappreciated tasks in a winery.

"We took really good care of each other, and went overboard on sanitising and gloves," she said. "My hands were cut and bleeding by the end of the week because we washed our hands and sanitised them often."

"We hope to create a safe environment because the shared aspect of what we do is what makes our space work," Mahle said. "This community has shown a real dedication to helping one another to succeed. I suspect that will only intensify as we enter this next phase." NYTIMES