Pahlmeyer Estate was established by highflying Californian attorney Jason Pahlmeyer in 1980. From the outset, his philosophy was simple - take the best fruit from the best vineyard sites in the Napa Valley and then vinify and mature the wines with as little interference and manipulation as possible. The operation was successful during the 1980s but it was with the appointment of cult winemakers Helen Turley and Randy Dunn in 1993, that Pahlmeyer reached new heights.

The Chardonnay undergoes barrel fermentation in 100% new French oak barrels. It is then aged on the lees for almost one year and, in most vintages, bottled neither fined nor filtered. The red wines are aged in a combination of new (80%) and one-year-old barrels for approximately two years and then bottled unfined and unfiltered. The wines are now made by Helen Turley's long-term protégée, Erin Green.