REGENERATIVE ORGANIC FARMING

PHILOSOPHY

We farm the way we do because nature has been at this a lot longer than we have.

From day one, we've farmed the Maha, our estate vineyard in west Paso Robles, organically, and in 2015 we made it official with CCOF organic and Demeter Biodynamic certification. In 2022, we became the sixth winery in the world to earn Regenerative Organic Certification®. We didn't chase those labels to follow a trend. We did it because we believed in the results and wanted to be held accountable to everyone who opens one of our bottles.

Compost teas and cover crops feed our soils, not synthetic chemicals. In late spring, we mow and crimp the vine rows into a natural mulch that holds water and keeps the soil cool. We go easy on irrigation on purpose, so the vines dig deeper for a drink, and what they bring back up shows in the glass. Most of the magic happens underground, and mostly we try to stay out of its way.

Above ground, we take our cues from centuries-old traditions in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, and Priorat: we head-prune our vines instead of trellising them. The foliage on those head-trained canes works like a built-in sun hat, creating natural shade so the fruit ripens slowly and evenly.

"We farm the way that we farm, not to lead, but to follow the path that nature puts out before us…" - Cris Cherry

Learn more about our certifications: CCOF Organic · Regenerative Organic Certification®

LOCATION

The Maha sits where the Willow Creek and Adelaida Districts converge: sixty acres (24.25 ha) rising from 1,500 to 1,800 feet (450 to 550 m) through oak forest and chaparral. Mountain springs and seasonal rain feed the land, and the Pacific, just 14 miles (22.5 km) away, sends its cool air up through the Templeton Gap. We don't try to tame this place. We listen to it.

Under our feet is an ancient seabed that was a whale-birthing ground some 14 million years ago (yes, there are whale fossils). What's left is a rare limestone bedrock found mostly on the west side of Paso Robles and Templeton, and it's one of California's most prized assets for growing grapes.

Limestone holds moisture without getting waterlogged, so we irrigate less, even in drought years, and roots reach deeper every season. Calcium-rich soils also hang on to acidity late into the year, which gives our wines their energy, purity, and staying power. Priorat and the Rhône get the fame, but we like our odds.

Jerry and Lillian Maha: The Original Adventurers

Before it was the Maha, it was Jerry Maha's walnut orchard, and Jerry always had a bottle in hand, which is why the rows weren't straight.

When we bought the property in 2003, that was about all we knew. Neighborhood lore, old newspaper clippings, and a few faded photos have since filled in the story of the Mahas, who lived and farmed here for 48 years. Jerry planted the walnuts, but he was happiest in the air. At age seven, he jumped off a two-story barn with an umbrella (he landed in a haystack), took his first airplane ride in 1916, became a pilot, and spent his later years in a glider, where he once spotted four or five California condors. He was also a machinist who invented the Big Boy self-propelled stump puller in 1927. His wife, Lillian, whom he credited with clearing more than a million trees, once pulled a seven-foot-wide tree in three minutes, in her pumps.

You'll find Jerry and Lillian on the labels of the 2020 Before Anyone Else and the 2019 Understory and Backlit, the wines we released in 2022. They're there as a reminder of the adventurers who came before us, and we like to think their spirit stuck around, and maybe their crooked rows, too.

GRAPES

Grenache is the heart of the Maha.

We fell for Grenache in 2001, walking the vineyards of west Paso Robles, and it was clear right away that it's at home on these limestone slopes. It makes up about 40% of what we've planted here, and it still surprises us. Our Grenache blocks sit no more than a quarter mile apart, yet they're usually picked three weeks apart, and each one has its own personality. As we like to say, Grenache delivers everything Pinot Noir promises.

In 2012 and 2013, we planted 13 acres to seven Rhône varieties, and each one earns its spot:

Carignan: Grenache's partner in crime in west Paso. A bumper crop in 2022 gave us the push to make Trovador, our Catalonia-inspired red, entirely from the Maha.

Mourvèdre: The steady presence in both Understory and Backlit.

Syrah: Our Maha Syrah has been coming into its own, and in the 2020 Backlit it took the lead for the first time.

Petite Sirah: Syrah's co-star in Backlit, and a big part of what gives that wine its heft.

Clairette Blanche: Our white wildcard. It's the 100% Clairette behind Before Anyone Else, a wine that has been touted as one of California's great whites and has inspired a handful of new Clairette plantings around Paso.

Roussanne: The younger Maha vines bring a tropical, energetic side, especially when we blend them with older-vine fruit from James Berry Vineyard.

If it sounds a little like Priorat, that's not an accident. West Paso and Priorat share a big body of water nearby (the Pacific and the Mediterranean), elevations from roughly 1,000 to 2,500 feet, and unusual soils (limestone here, llicorella there). Together, those make both places sweet spots for Grenache and Carignan.