Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
Located in the heart of the Willamette Valley, Panther Creek Cellars has been producing signature Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay wines since 1986. The winery has been recognized for its signature blends as well as single vineyard designate wines.
“Panther Creek has a storied history and I’m eager to build on that legacy,” says Tony Rynders, winemaker. “I have been making wine in Oregon for almost 20 years, and I look forward to beginning this chapter with one of Oregon’s most established Pinot Noir producers, founded by one of the wine industry’s great heroes, Ken Wright.”
Our goal, in making Panther Creek wine, is simple: We hope that each wine will express the personality of its vintage and character of its vineyard. This expressiveness is the essence of great Oregon Pinot Noir. Our wines are crafted to complement a variety of foods, as well as be enjoyed on their own. We believe that great Pinot Noir can be enjoyed as a young, fresh wine that showcases ripe, sweet fruit, as well as an older, mature wine that features unparalleled complexity and beauty.
Home of some of the planet’s most amazingly elegant and expressive Pinot noir, the Willamette Valley is a pastoral, mixed landscape of green, bucolic rolling hills, dramatic forestlands and small, independent, friendly wine growers. As a leader in environmental stewardship, the valley has some of the nation’s most protective land use policies, with two-thirds of its vineyards farmed sustainably and over half, organically. While the valley claims a cool, continental climate, and is heavily influenced by the cold, moist winds of the Pacific Ocean, its warm and dry summers allow for the steady, even ripening of Pinot noir.
The potential of Willamette Valley Pinot noir continues to attract the investment of serious growers and winemakers both locally and from abroad, as naturally the finished wines bring accolades from professionals and enthusiasts. With a range of styles from delicate dried cherry, raspberry and hibiscus to stronger notes of truffle, mocha, plum and spice, a fine Willamette Valley Pinot noir is a perfect expression of both character and grace.