Penner-Ash Winery
Shark sighting at Penner-Ash Winery!
February 2006- It's been a record year for rain
in Oregon, and you know what that means- a usually winter-rainy state
has been awash in water, with creeks and fields flooding, and any low-lying
land turning into ponds and lakes. When I asked Ron about flooding
at Penner-Ash, I'd heard that he and Lynn were using a canoe to get
to the winery these days. That's not super unusual out here, but worth
a comment.
Little did I know that, when Ron sent me a photo,
he'd add a bonus feature- a SHARK that showed up in the water on their
land. Penner-Ash is not that far from the Pacific, but for a shark
to make it up the creeks to Ribbon Ridge- well, it's pretty incredible.
Of course, perhaps someone had an aquarium accident
(do fish people keep 3 foot long sharks in aquariums?) Or maybe the
Oregon Aquarium had a mishap- although that's many miles north. No,
most likely, the shark either swam inland or was washed in. Any way
you look at it, not many wineries can boast deep sea fishing from a
canoe in their driveway!

Lynn and shark

Ron and Lynn in the lake
that was their winery's driveway, with shark
Ok, if you've read this far, I can tell you- it's a joke. Ron and Lynn told me it was a real shark, but I heard from Dick Shea that it is rubber. Thanks Dick- sorry Ron- the jig, so to speak, is up. And wasn't I an idiot to think it was real! Call me gullible.
The Penner-Ash winery and tasting room building, high
atop a hill in the Ribbon Ridge area of the North Willamette Valley in
Oregon, is now complete.
Penner Ash is a family
winery, the dream of long time Rex Hill winemaker Lynn Penner Ash and
her husband, Ron Penner Ash. They founded the winery in 2000, made
their first wines for the 2000 vintage, and planted eight acres of
their estate vineyard in April of 2003. They made their wine at the Carlton
Winemakers Studio, a cooperative winery facility, for two
years until their own winery was built.
The mission at Penner-Ash Wine Cellars
is to produce limited quantities of carefully crafted Pinot Noir and
Syrah. Lynn and Ron work in partnership with their growers, who share
their commitment to optimal viticulture using such methods as timely
shoot positioning, leaf removal and early crop thinning.
Lynn and Ron's 80 acres of land on Ribbon
Road are across the valley and above Beaux Freres and Patty
Green Cellars. The Penner-Ashes have planted about 20 acres
to Pinot noir at the winery. Their wines are currently made from grapes
sourced from Seven Springs, Palmer Creek, Shea, La Colina and
Momtazi Vineyards, and Syrah (the new darling of the Willamette
Valley producers) from the Del Rio and Lewis
Vineyards in warmer Southern Oregon.
Penner-Ash Pinot
noir 03 $40/$36 received 93 points from Wine Spectator in
2005! Here's what they said:
"Packs an amazing amount of dense flavor
into a lithe, elegant package, layering cherry, boysenberry and exotic
spice character, which extends into a long, long finish. Has all it
needs to develop beautifully. Drink now through 2015. —H.S."

This is the highest score ever from Wine Spectator
for the Willamtee Valley Pinot noir from Penner Ash!
The Penner-Ash's are known
for their Pinot noirs. but don't miss their Syrah! Blended from fruit
sourced from both Southern Oregon and the Columbia Gorge, their Syrah
isa big, juicy, textured Big Red.
For
a bargain red wine from a top-flight winemaker, you can't beat
Lynn's irreverent blend,
"Rubeo". Who thought that Pinot noir blended with Syrah
could be so much fun. No illusions to intellectual wine analysis
here, just snappy, quaffable ready to drink red wine, impeccably
created by a master winemaker.
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