Ridgecrest

In 1980 Harry Peterson-Nedry bought land on a chilly rise at the western edge of the Willamette Valley and planted the first vineyard on what would become Ribbon Ridge. He did it by hand — himself, Judy, the kids, and their closest friends. The valley had barely 800 acres under vine at the time, and the idea of vineyard consultants or planting crews didn’t exist yet.

Everyone told him he was nuts. Too far west, too deep into the Coast Range shadow, too high at just under 700 feet. His own account of it: a little lucky, a little stubborn, and focused on a short checklist of what actually mattered.

He holds degrees in chemistry and English, which explains a lot. He founded Chehalem Winery in 1990, co-authored the Ribbon Ridge AVA petition in 2001 — approved in 2005 — and then gave up the Ribbon Ridge name on his own label so other producers could use it. Bill Stoller invested in Ridgecrest in 1988, which is how he entered the Oregon wine business at all.

Wynne Peterson-Nedry joined in 2009. She has a chemistry degree from Bryn Mawr, a UC Davis master’s with a thesis on tannin evolution from grape to wine, and harvests behind her at Martinborough in New Zealand, Hanzell in Sonoma, Albert Bichot in Burgundy, and Craggy Range. She became winemaker at Chehalem in 2012.

In 2018 the family sold their stake in Chehalem and came home to the vineyard that started it all, keeping Ridgecrest and Wind Ridge. The RR label had been Harry’s side project for sixteen vintages — a Pinot built to demonstrate ageability, with half of each vintage held back for library release. They still offer vertical cases for people who can’t cellar wine themselves.

The vineyard has grown from 12 acres to 40, on Wellsdale loam over ocean sedimentary rock. Two acres of old-vine Pinot Gris from 1986 remain. Alongside Pinot Noir there’s Riesling, Grüner Veltliner, Gamay Noir, and Chenin Blanc, planted at Wynne’s urging.

The tasting room is a converted house — homey, unpretentious, with a winery dog.