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Alexana Winery 2016 Reisling
Living Legacy
Lynn's dad was stationed in Washington, DC at the Pentagon at the time, and she was working for the Smithsonian Institute as an intern in the botany department where she was told that one of the best places to go to school for botany would be University of California, Davis. While studying there, one of her roommates in college worked at local winery every summer, and so he said, ‘Why don’t you come work at Domaine Chandon with me and just see what it’s like to spend a summer in Napa Valley versus going back to Washington, DC?’
Lynn Penner-Ash spent over 40 years making wine, most of it in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. A couple days after she & Ron were married, Lynn was invited to fly up and visit Rex Hill in Oregon - where she was offered a job on the spot. After working eight years in California, she moved to the Willamette Valley in 1988, when the Oregon wine industry was still in its infancy. From 1988 until 2001, she worked at Rex Hill Winery in Newberg as winemaker and ultimately as president. In 1998, she and her husband Ron started Penner-Ash Wine Cellars. As the winery grew, Penner-Ash left Rex Hill to focus on the project full time.
After a long string of successes – with plenty of challenges along the way – the couple sold the winery to Jackson Family Wines in 2016 where she remained on as founding winemaker. In 2022, Penner-Ash announced her retirement from an industry that she helped define, not just as one Oregon’s most prominent ‘second wave’ of winemakers, but as a woman.
Cellar 503 Tasting Notes
Alexana Winery, Newberg, Oregon
2016 Reisling
In 2005, while representing his Napa Winery, Revana, at a wine conference in Houston, Dr. Revana met Lynn Penner-Ash, who was attending on behalf of the Willamette Valley Winery that she owned at the time, Penner-Ash Wine Cellars. He shared his love of the great wines of Burgundy and became fast friends with her. In the spring of 2005, Dr. Revana enlisted Lynn’s expertise to begin a search for both the ideal piece of land and an experienced winemaker to produce Pinot Noirs that could rival those from Burgundy. His search ended with an 80-acre estate that was largely unplanted, and Lynn agreed to make his wines at her facility for the first seven years. In 2006 under Lynn’s guidance, east and middle blocks 6, 9-15, and 18-19 that face to the south and west are planted to 15.08-acres of Pinot Noir and 2.97 acres of Riesling. We selected the 2016 Alexana Reisling to honor just one of many examples of Lynn's living legacy. Ten years after the vines had been planted and now seven years after the wine has been bottled, this is what 17 years of patience tastes like.
TA S T I N G N O T E S
Nose | honeysuckle, lemon zest, green apple
Palate | rich, delicate, bright acidity
This parcel's cool microclimate consistently produces a dry-style of Riesling that provides bright & vibrant acidity making it versatile for pairing with a wide variety of foods. On the nose, notes of honeysuckle, lemon zest and green apple. On the palate, flavors of jasmine, ginger and grapefruit.
HARVEST DATA
Date: September 29th, 2016
Brix: 23.4
Double Hand Sorted
FARMING/WINEMAKING
100% Estate Grown Fruit
LIVE Certified | Dry-Farmed Vineyard
Native Yeast
Whole Cluster Pressed
Cold Fermented
VARIETIES
100% Riesling
Dundee Hills AVA
WINE DATA
90% Stainless Steel Tank
5% New French Oak
4 Months Aged Sur Lie
Finished pH: 3.09
Alc: 12.5%
Founder Story
Alexana's Founder & Sole Proprietor, Dr. Madaiah Revana, immigrated from India to the United States in the early 1970's as a young and ambitious Med School student. Since then, he has worked tirelessly to become a leader in the cardiology community for over 40 years, honing his skills and building a reputation as one of the top doctors in Houston. He balances a successful practice as a cardiologist in Houston, Texas with his commitment to the Revana Wine Portfolio. Today, he is the only immigrant from India to own three wineries that have all been featured on Top 100 lists and are highly acclaimed.
A Cellar 503 selection in March 2024, Women in Wine Dundee Hills | Riesling
