Penner-Ash Wine Cellars Hires
New General Manager Patrick Connelly
Newberg, Ore. (June 2, 2015)—Lynn and Ron Penner-Ash have grown their family-run Penner-Ash Wine Cellars into one of the best known Oregon wineries, producing 16,000 cases of wine last year from just 125 cases in their first vintage (1998). To guide the winery’s strategic wholesale and retail business plan and oversee day-to-day operations, Penner-Ash Wine Cellars has brought on a General Manager, Patrick Connelly, allowing Lynn Penner-Ash to focus solely on winemaking, and for Ron Penner-Ash to expand his industry relations role and year-round philanthropic initiatives. Connelly is a multi-generational native of Napa Valley, and brings to Penner-Ash a successful track record of strategic positioning of premium brands in the wine industry. He has experience in every aspects of the wine business, from farming and winemaking to marketing, sales, and hospitality. His management experience includes Clos Pegase and Pine Ridge wineries in Napa Valley, Jackson Family Wines in Santa Rosa, and Kristine Ashe Vineyards and Entre Nous in Oakville. “Oregon produces some of the finest wines in the world and is the future of American Pinot Noir,” says Connelly. “I’m delighted to work with an incredible winery like Penner-Ash in the Willamette Valley.”
Along with new management, Penner-Ash Wine Cellars is developing an array of wine and culinary hospitality programs. Tasting experiences for visitors will be expanded to include winery and vineyard tours, and a menu of offerings for corporate groups will soon be available. Penner-Ash’s tasting room on the winery estate is open daily overlooking the verdant Chehalem Valley.
About Penner-Ash Wine Cellars
Penner-Ash Wine Cellars was founded by Lynn and Ron Penner-Ash in 1998. Located in Newberg, Ore., Penner-Ash is a sustainable, gravity-flow winery surrounded by estate vineyards in an exceptional setting overlooking the Chehalem Valley. Lynn studied at the University of California, Davis, the birthplace of the American wine industry, and was the first female winemaker hired in Oregon. Ron served as a public school teacher for 20 years and has been recognized and awarded for his developments in technology and innovation. Embraced by 80 acres of land, the Penner-Ash winery sits amid 15 acres of Pinot Noir grapes and is stepped into the hillside on three levels. The tiered position takes full advantage of the breathtaking and expansive views of the vineyard and the valley, bound by the Chehalem Mountains to the north and the Red Hills of Dundee to the south. The first harvest from the estate vineyard was in 2005 and Penner-Ash wines have consistently received high rankings year after year. As pioneers in the Oregon wine industry, Lynn and Ron strive to push the boundaries while maintaining a consistently high quality in their wines with each vintage of Pinot Noir, Syrah, Riesling and Viognier. Their dedication to philanthropic initiatives is evident in fundraising concerts and dinners hosted at the winery each summer, as well as sponsorship of numerous wine events throughout the year. Penner-Ash Wine Cellars’ winery and tasting room is located at 15771 N.E. Ribbon Ridge Road in Newberg, Ore., and is open daily for tastings, and tours and seated tastings by reservation. Visit pennerash.com and follow Penner-Ash Wine Cellars on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
