Michele R.
Yelp
Over the years we've enjoyed a good number of bottles of Penner-Ash wines but my hubby and I had not made a trip to the winery until last week.
BOTTOM LINE:
Great wine, remarkable views, a beautiful and accessible tasting room....GO...drink some wine, buy some wine, you'll love it.
TASTING THE WINES:
There were six wines in the tasting flight at a cost of $10. (Not refunded with purchase. More on that below.) The six were Viognier, Syrah, Rubeo, Dussin Vineyards Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir.
Rubeo was the wine that introduced us to Penner-Ash. It remains one of our favorites for a great bottle at a good price. Winery price is about $20 and available by retail for less. A wine writer called this Syrah / Pinot Noir blend an "irreverent" wine. That meant as a compliment for this approachable and versatile wine balanced with nice tannins and lush flavor. Even if they're not sampling it at the tasting room when you go, you won't be disappointed if you purchase a bottle of Rubeo blind and take it home to try it. (Or drop by our house, we always have Rubeo on hand!)
STAFF:
The tasting room staff was so knowledgeable about wine and passionate about the products of Penner-Ash it was delightful to talk with her and the other customers there for tasting.
THE SETTING:
Stunning view from this facility and the tasting room is warm welcoming in spite of the contemporary design. In some hands this can be too stark, but the Penner-Ash design it is just right. Also from the tasting room you can see into some of the production facility on the level below which has the sense of opening up the space and adding to the "winey" ambiance both. Go peek in the fireplace / private use room right off the tasting room and see the views from there.
ACCESSIBILITY:
Great to see how perfectly done is the Penner-Ash facility for equal access for people of all abilities. No surprise, we guess, given the high quality they use for all else to be extended to this too. From the parking lot, to the walkway into the tasting room, to the bi level tasting bar (that is one part lowered so people at seated height can access it) it was "spot on". In making this universal access so seamless, Penner-Ash in essence, posts a sign that says "All people are welcome here". Good for them!
ONE DRAWBACK:
We think tasting fees are good things for many reasons. But wine buyers pay more for wine at the winery than any other retail channel and winemakers make the biggest per bottle profit from those sales. As semi-serious wine drinkers and serious supporters of small farmers, we don't mind paying more for wine at wineries to support farmers and food artisans as wine makers are both. But, we feel "used"when we pay more to purchase wine at a tasting room to extend our support, to not have the tasting fee refunded with our purchases. We hope Penner-Ash will consider modifying their no fee refund policy. As it is now, it is the reason for a four and not five star review.
