Pahlmeyer, in St. Helena, was founded in the mid-1980s when Jayson Pahlmeyer, a Bay Area lawyer, found he preferred thinking about wine to reading legal briefs. Pahlmeyer produced its debut vintage in 1986, and Robert M. Parker Jr. gave it 94 pts. Today the winery owns 88 acres near Atlas Peak and 30 acres on the north Sonoma Coast and and grows Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Randy Dunn was in charge of winemaking for the first few vintages and in 1993 Helen Turley became Pahlmeyer’s winemaker. Today the winemakers are Kale Anderson at the Napa Valley vineyards and Bibiana Gonzalez Rave is the consulting winemaker for the Sonoma Coast vineyards. Pahlmeyer is known for its Bordeaux-style blends as well as Chardonnay, Merlot and Pinot Noir. The wines earn consistently complimentary reviews.