Meet the Winemakers: Pax and Luddite

We are honored to host a very special wine dinner in collaboration with Culture Wine Co. to kick off Hella Chenin featuring Pax Mahle of Pax Wines and Niels & Alice Verburg of Luddite Wines. Our kitchen team will prepare a family-style, five-course menu thoughtfully paired with selections from Pax and Luddite. Throughout the evening, enjoy conversation with the winemakers as they share the stories behind each wine, alongside insights from Chef Geoff Davis on each course and pairing.

ABOUT PAX MAHLE and PAX WINES: Pax and Pam moved to wine country in 1997 to create a lifestyle that involved working with wine. After a few years of tasting and sourcing wine from all over California, Pax finally found a vineyard in which he felt a kismet connection. Alder Springs Vineyard was the site and subsequently led to the launch of the PAX brand in 2000. The Mahles made a bold choice by favoring the “untapped potential" of the Syrah grape. Their entire lineup of wines came from cool climate vineyards in Sonoma County and Mendocino. These wines went on to be highly sought after and Pax quickly became established as one of California’s premier producers of Syrah. From day one, all fruit has been sourced from organically and/or sustainably farmed vineyards. All Pax Wines are crushed by foot, fermented using ambient yeasts and crafted without the use of unnatural additives. Presently, their production has evolved to include rare and intriguing varieties including Trousseau Gris, Pineau D'Aunis, and Mondeuse Noire, along with a host of others from carefully selected sites up and down the California coast.

ABOUT NIELS & ALICE VERBURG and LUDDITE WINES: Niels and Penny met in 1985, where they discovered that they were both going to the same school in the new year. They became close friends at college, and romance blossomed late one night cramming for exams. On finishing their studies, a desire to make wine but with no access to vineyards (these were the dark days in South Africa), Penny and Niels left the country in 1989. In 1995, the Verburg family returned to South Africa from Europe. Niels had worked as a flying winemaker but a longing to work on a small farm led them to Bot River. After 8 vintages at Beaumont, they moved up the hill to a 16 hectare patch of land. Of their three children, it was their middle child, Alice, who chose to join the world of wine and she became Luddites cellar assistant in 2017. Alongside Niels, Alice Verburg is now making wine on the farm and brings her own personality into the cellar.

Preview of wines we are pouring and pairing:

To Start:

2025 Pax ‘Helios’ Chenin Blanc

2024 Luddite Wines Saboteur Chenin Blend

Whites:

Pax

2022 Lyman Ranch Chenin Blanc

2024 Lyman Ranch Chenin Blanc

Luddite

2022 Chenin Blanc

2024 Chenin Blanc

Reds:

Pax

2017 Syrah Armagh Vineyard

2021 Syrah Sonoma Hillsides

Luddite

2017 Shiraz

2021 Shiraz

Full menu to follow! Be part of the conversation with Pax, Niels and Alice about each of the wines paired with each course and with Chef Geoff Davis about the inspiration for each of the courses and pairings! This is an intimate, communal dining experience you do not want to miss. Each dinner ticket includes tax & service. Very limited seats are available, we hope to see you then!