2025 Heringer Chenin Blanc

Enticing nose of lime verbena, apricot, and chamomile. Flavors of white tea, ginger and lemon meringue with playful acidity. SR (1/26)

Clarksburg has come to be recognized as a remarkable location to grow chenin blanc in California. Warm days are cooled by an afternoon breeze from the southwest, carrying brisk air from the Pacific Ocean. Summer temperatures allowed the grapes full maturity at lower levels while preserving firm acidity. Brief skin contact before fermentation enhanced aromatic complexity. Enjoyable now, it will develop further over the next four years. SR (11/25)

100% Sustainably Grown in Clarksburg, California, in the beautiful Sacramento River Delta Region. Since 1868 the Heringer family has cultivated this region with row crops: alfalfa, corn, sugar beets, and tomatoes. They planted their first wine grapes in the 1970’s and have expanded the vineyard operations to hundreds of acres. Their viticultural practices encourage the highest quality wine grapes at harvest including deficit irrigation, shoot thinning, leaf pulling, fruit thinning, herbicide free farming and rotating seasonal cover crops.

Rainfall: 20 inches (normal)
Bloom: Early June
Weather: A long, cool growing season brought perfect ripeness a week later than usual.

Harvest Date: 4 September
Grapes: Average Brix 23.2˚
TA: 7.21 g/L
pH: 3.43
Fermentation: 100% direct-to-press, stainless steel fermentation
Aging: Three months in stainless steel

Sustainably farmed, hand-harvested, grapes; whole-cluster pressed; fermented on the native yeasts, followed by a full malolactic on the naturally occurring bacteria; minimum effective sulfur for this wine (35 ppm at crush, 34 ppm over the course of aging); pad filtered at bottling. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions.

Wine Enthusiast + Editors’ Choice: 94 Points “Offerings from Ridge Vineyards are always a treat. Produced using brief skin contact, this delicious wine offers aromatics of supple stone fruit, guava, yellow apple, Meyer lemon, dried herbs, and mineral on the nose. The lively palate is focused, conveying lemon verbena, orange zest, coriander, lemongrass, and mouthwatering acidity on the finish.” -Tonya Pitts (August/September Issue)

Wilfred Wong: 93 Points “The 2025 Ridge Heringer Chenin Blanc is light straw in color; slightly rustic with dried spice and delicate aromatic floral notes in the nose; medium-bodied, dry, with lively acidity and excellent balance; flavors of dried earth, mineral, and tart citrus drive the palate; finishes racy, crisp, and focused. From the breezy Sacramento Delta, this wine finds a natural partner in a classic Dungeness crab salad—lightly dressed with lemon and olive oil—where the Chenin’s bright acidity and mineral tension elevate the crab’s sweetness, creating a pairing that feels both effortless and distinctly Californian. (Best Served: 2026-2030)” -Wilfred Wong (March 2026)

Vinous Media: 92 Points “The 2025 Chenin Blanc Heringer is the second edition of this bottling for Ridge, sourced from a vineyard in Clarksburg. It’s nicely rounded, tropical and lightly grippy. Ripe golden mango, chamomile, orange peel, white flowers and fresh ginger saturate the tongue, echoing with an enticing perception of fruit sweetness and a kick of gentle tannin. Stylish.” -Billy Norris (January 2026)

JebDunnuck.com: 92 Points “A 100% varietal wine from the appellation that’s continued to be a favored place for Chenin, the 2025 Chenin Blanc Heringer gets some skin contact and tastes light-bodied, refreshing, and buzzy in acidity, with notes of nutty apple, ginger snap, and peach. There’s layered complexity. Drink now.” -Virginie Boone (June 2026)

JamesSuckling.com: 91 Points “A medium-bodied, friendly white that’s fresh and delicious, with lots of tropical fruit and a spicy ginger note. Tangy and intricate but wrapped in a smooth mouthfeel, showing white peaches and lime zest. Drink now.” -Jim Gordon (March 2026)

OwenBargreen.com: 91 Points “Nicely textured, this shows off nutty nuances around shades of ripe melon and white plum. Enjoy now. Drink 2026-2031.” -Owen Bargreen (March 2026)

JancisRobinson.com: 17+ Points (out of 20) “Medium lemon. Intensely savoury on the nose – like salted-almond cashew-nut butter and gravel dust. Pleasing apricot-kernel bitterness and ripe viscous quality to the palate. Texture and body from the skin contact contrast with high, tight acidity. A ripe peachy flavour lingers on the long finish. The sort of wine that makes me debate if I absolutely love it or if I’m just taken with how damn interesting it is. Continues to develop in the glass for ages.” -Samantha Cole-Johnson (May 2026)

Average Rating: 91.3

No. of Tasting Notes: 6

View this wine on CellarTracker