100% Chenin Blanc

Food pairings: Roast chicken or turkey, pork belly with apples, and Southeast Asian dishes with a sweet-and-sour touch.

Winemaking: Winemaker Wynne Peterson-Nedry designed this 2024 as a nod to the mineral-driven side of Chenin Blanc. The wine aged for nine months in a mix of vessels: mostly neutral French oak, plus a concrete egg and a small share of stainless steel, which together build a smooth, round texture while keeping the acidity bright. It is fully dry and made to age for years. 2024 was a cooler, drier "Goldilocks" vintage, with enough warmth but not too much, the lowest growing-season rainfall since 2008-09, and balanced, fully ripe, disease-free fruit.

Vineyards and terroir: Ridgecrest Vineyards was the first vineyard planted on Ribbon Ridge, a small ridge of ocean sedimentary soils on the western edge of the Willamette Valley that was named its own AVA some 25 years later. The estate's Chenin Blanc is a young planting from 2020 and a very small part of the vineyard: Wynne had wanted to plant it for years. The vineyard is dry-farmed sustainably according to LIVE (Low Input Viticulture & Enology) standards.

Family and history: Harry Peterson-Nedry, who holds degrees in chemistry and English, bought the land in 1980 and planted the first vines on Ribbon Ridge in 1982 with his family and friends, at a time when locals thought the site too windy, foggy and cool for grapes. He went on to found Chehalem winery in 1990. His daughter Wynne, who was six months old when the property was bought, earned a master's in enology at UC Davis, worked harvests from Burgundy to New Zealand and was head winemaker at Chehalem. In 2018 the family sold their interest in Chehalem to make wine solely from the vineyard that started it all. Today Wynne is winemaker and co-proprietor alongside her father.

In the pictures: Winemaker Wynne Peterson-Nedry tasting from barrel; harvest at Ridgecrest Vineyards; and founder Harry Peterson-Nedry (photos courtesy of Ridgecrest Wines).