Norris Wines

A family-owned estate winery in the Ribbon Ridge AVA producing site-specific Pinot Noir and Riesling entirely from the Norris McKinley Vineyard, planted in 2007. The estate spans roughly 12.5 acres, with about 10 acres of Pinot Noir in Coury, Wädenswil, Dijon 667 and 115, and Pommard clones, and 2 acres of Riesling in Geisenheim Clone 9 and Neustadt Clone 12.

The vines are dry-farmed on well-drained ancient marine sedimentary soils, with six distinct variations of the WillaKenzie series — a fine-grained blend of oceanic sand and siltstone. The west-southwest slope faces Chehalem Creek, giving long afternoon sun and cool maritime evening winds that slow ripening and extend hang time. Ribbon Ridge itself measures only about 3.5 miles by 1.75, making it Oregon’s smallest AVA and, by consensus, some of its most valuable vineyard land — neighbors include Beaux Frères, Brick House, and Penner-Ash.

Winemaker Robert McKinley, a Southern California native, developed his interest in wine traveling in Europe. His family purchased the Ribbon Ridge property nearly two decades ago. He graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Wine and Viticulture program and worked in vineyards, cellars, and tasting rooms at Williams Selyem, Jonata and The Hilt, Trisaetum, and WillaKenzie, plus cellar work at Craggy Range in Hawke’s Bay and Torbreck in the Barossa Valley. Though he has worked the family property for over 15 years, 2020 was the inaugural Norris vintage at 213 cases of Riesling and 650 of Pinot Noir. Farming is organic; winemaking is low-intervention, with an approach that changes by vintage rather than following a set recipe.

Everything is grown, harvested, fermented, and bottled on site. Tastings are 90-minute seated experiences, with a dedicated Riesling flight available covering library and current vintages.