Jackson Family Wines to buy Oregon’s Penner-Ash

Jackson Family Wines has agreed to buy control of the Penner-Ash Wine Cellars business in Oregon, but says it will respect the autonomy of current winemaker Lynn Penner-Ash.

Jackson Family Wines’ latest purchase deal includes all Penner-Ash Wine Cellars’ business assets, such as the winery and six hectares of estate vineyards.

But, existing owners Ron and Lynn Penner-Ash will retain a financial stake in the business, a Jackson Family Wines’ spokesperson told Decanter.com. Precise financial and ownership details within the deal were not disclosed.

Penner-Ash, previously owned by Ron and Lynn Penner-Ash, is a respected producer particularly known for Pinot Noir and Viognier in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. It currently makes around 12,000 cases of wine annually.

Its current winemaker, Lynn Penner-Ash, has been named a trailblazer of the Oregon wine scene, and Jackson said that she would retain full control over winemaking decisions and grape sourcing.

It marks the latest in a series of moves in Oregon for Jackson Family Wines.

In 2013, it completed its purchase of the Zena Crown vineyards in Willamette Valley. Fruit from some of those vineyards was being sent to Penner-Ash at the time.

Lynn Penner-Ash said, ‘After touring several of the Jackson family’s beautiful vineyard properties, it became clear to me very quickly that [chairman] Barbara Banke, the rest of the Jackson family and Ron and I share a deep love for the land and for the complexity, challenges and rewards of site-specific winemaking.

‘As many Oregon winemakers already know, their Zena Crown and Gran Moraine vineyards are amongst some of the best vineyard sites in the Willamette Valley. As a winemaker, I am intrigued and excited about some of the new vineyard resources at my disposal.’