Wine of the Week

 

Well, this is more like a "Winery of the Week" entry. As some of you may know, it can be difficult to get on the mailing lists of some of the better California wineries, with Sine Qua Non, Sea Smoke, Williams Selyem and others boasting long, sometimes multi-year waiting lists to even be offered the chance to buy their wines.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I signed up for the Pax mailing list earlier this week and immediately got a personalized email from the owner of the winery, Joe Donelan, inviting me to buy an array of their upcoming releases. Pax is a highly regarded, high Parker score earning Sonoma winery that specializes in Rhone style Syrahs, though also offers a couple of nice whites and a delightful rose in the springtime. Their packaging is meticulous, with ultra-thick bottles that fall somewhere between Burgundy- and Champagne-style in shape, and a hand-dipped wax seal over the cork that is almost so beautiful that it seems a crime to actually open a bottle of their wine.

Joe explained to me that they do things differently at Pax, and want to give an opportunity for all to try their wines. So if you sign up for the mailing list, you will receive the same treatment as I did, as long as the wine they've allocated for new mailing list customers lasts. NB, the Pax wines are not inexpensive, averaging about $50 a bottle (but for the rose for $18 and the whites which are in the $30 to $40 range). As far as I know, there is no minimum order so sign up even if you only want a bottle or two, as certain vineyard designations can be hard, if not impossible, to find in retail stores.