The Wine

Featuring the most distinct qualities from two celebrated AVAs, McMinnville and Ribbon Ridge, we give you The McRib! Born of mutual admiration across the north Willamette plains, this collaboration of Adelsheim and Brittan Vineyards marries distinct plots of Chardonnay into a new and fantastic expression. Adelsheim Winemaker Gina Hennen uses a single-acre block of Clone 76 Chardonnay from the Ribbon Ridge AVA, where Willakenzie soil contributes to a focused wine with depth and nuance. Robert Brittan crafts his Chardonnay with seven-plus clonal selections on his McMinnville AVA site. The combination is extraordinary: a synergistic cooperation of textures and flavors that’s a sheer pleasure.

The cellar teams at Brittan and Adelsheim are longtime pals who love to share winemaking knowledge, so it was a natural fit for them to partner up and create a top-flight Chardonnay for the Auction. Always up for an oenological challenge, winemakers Gina Hennen and Robert Brittan set to the task of perfectly pairing their respective estates.

Separately crafting their contributions, the crews chose alternate approaches to the task at hand. Team Adelsheim selected a single-acre block of Clone 76 Chardonnay from estate fruit in the Ribbon Ridge AVA, conducting fermentation and élevage in a single new French oak puncheon. The Brittan Brigade cast a wider net, using seven-plus clonal selections interplanted on their McMinnville AVA estate, while fermenting and maturing their wine in new and previously used French barriques.

The WIneries

Since 1971, Adelsheim has obsessively pursued benchmark wines that celebrate the unique bounty of our estate vineyards, home to some of Oregon’s most diverse soil types, elevations, and exposures. As a founding winery of the Willamette Valley and Chehalem Mountains’ first winery, Adelsheim has played an instrumental role in nearly every aspect of the Oregon wine story. As leaders, we believe it is our duty to be voracious stewards of this abundant land and to rally our community in support of equity and education. Adelsheim is a LIVE certified sustainable winery and the official wine sponsor of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Robert and Ellen Brittan left Napa to pursue their dream of making cool-climate Pinot noir and Chardonnay in Oregon. They purchased 128 acres in the McMinnville AVA, where they have 30 acres planted to Pinot noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. Robert brings 45 years of viticulture and winemaking experience to their venture, having worked as winemaker at Far Niente, St. Andrew’s and Stags’ Leap Winery prior to launching Brittan Vineyards in 2006. Brittan produces five distinct Pinot noirs from the estate vineyard, taking advantage of the various elevations, facings and geologic diversity on the site.

All wine is sold FOB the location of the winery that produced the lot purchased. WVWA is not responsible for shipping wine. Shipping or delivery arrangements, expenses and insurance are the sole responsibility of the purchaser. Any shipment of wines out-of-state is the responsibility of the purchaser, who is solely responsible for compliance with the laws and regulations of said state.

The producing winery currently has distribution in the below listed countries and states. A list of distributors is available upon request.

AU
CA: AB, BC, ON, QC
CH
DK
DE
MX
NO
PH
KR
UK
USA: AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WV, WY