Oregon, The United States
Lynn Penner-Ash was one of the first female winemakers hired in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.
Lynn’s interest in winemaking grew out of an early passion for the sciences. After a summer working for the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., Lynn set out to study botany. However, she changed her major during her junior year of college, and graduated with a degree in Enology from the University California, Davis - the birthplace of the American wine industry.
Lynn worked at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Domaine Chandon, and Chateau St. Jean, before becoming intrigued by the emerging wine industry in Oregon. In 1988 Lynn and her husband Ron moved north. Shortly thereafter, Lynn went to work for Rex Hill Vineyards.
In 1998, Lynn started Penner-Ash Wine Cellars with her husband Ron, while still working at Rex Hill. Their early success caused them to dream of what ‘could be.’
In 2001 Lynn focused full time on building Penner-Ash Wine Cellars.
As a pioneer in the Willamette Valley, Lynn built the foundation of her legacy as a ‘master blender’ of the Willamette AVA, and early champion of the region’s promise.
Today, she works side by side with winemaker, Kate Ayres, who has been entrusted to carry forward the longstanding relationships with grower neighbors and friends that Lynn has fostered over the past twenty years.