An Oregon winery called bhn has put out two rye spirits that sit somewhere between wine and whiskey-style distilling. They are called Duet N. 15 and Duet N. 23, and the company describes them as a new-to-world category where fine winemaking and craft distilling meet. The idea is simple to say and hard to pull off: take a clean grain spirit and give it the character of wine grapes.
A Spirit Made From Two Worlds
Both spirits start with organic rye moonshine. That raw spirit is then infused and macerated for 24 months on grape skins left over from bhn’s own wine production. Nothing is added along the way, and nothing is filtered out.
The grape skins are not ordinary ones. They come from grapes touched by noble rot, also known as botrytis, which is a mold that can concentrate sugars and flavors in the fruit when conditions are right. The result, according to the winery, is a sensory profile that is “entirely original,” a classic distillate seen through the lens of rare wine.
bhn describes the approach as a minimal intervention one. That means no additives, no filtering, and a hands-off style that lets the grain and the grapes do the talking.
Duet N. 15: Chardonnay Meets Rye
Duet N. 15 is built on the skins of bhn’s 2022 skin-contact Chardonnay. The winery says it offers the bouquet of Chardonnay along with the grain structure of a rye spirit.
Here are the specs the winery has shared:
- Base: raw rye moonshine from organic rye
- Infusion: 24 months on botrytised 2022 Chardonnay skins
- Aging: 24 months in clay amphorae
- Strength: 44.4% ABV (89 proof)
- Production: fewer than 500 bottles
- The spirit is described as a marriage of the rich character of noble rot and the frame of rye.
Duet N. 23: Riesling Meets Rye
Duet N. 23 follows the same path but uses a different grape. It is made with skins from the 2023 skin-contact Riesling. The winery says this one carries the tension and aromatic lift of Riesling skins on top of the grain structure of rye.
The specs are close to its sibling, with a few differences:
- Base: raw rye moonshine from organic rye
- Infusion: 24 months on botrytised 2023 Riesling skins
- Aging: 24 months in clay amphorae
- Strength: 41.5% ABV (83 proof)
- Production: fewer than 1,000 bottles
- Like Duet N. 15, it is unfiltered and made with no additives.
No Oak Barrels Here
Most people who know whiskey, bourbon, or rye think of oak. Barrels give color, vanilla, spice, and a good deal of the flavor. bhn skips all of that.
Instead, both spirits spend their 24 months in clay amphorae. The winery imports its amphorae from an Italian company that holds a broad range of patents on both the clay mix and the kiln process. Those patents let the maker produce vessels at different levels of porosity.
Clay is porous, but it does not add flavor the way oak does. According to bhn, that makes it a good fit for these spirits, because the tension of the grape skins and the structure of the rye can come together without a wood flavor in the way. The winery says the amphora captures the depth of botrytis next to bold, grain-forward notes.
The Wines Behind the Spirits
The rye spirits were created to go along with bhn’s wines, which have a lot in common with them. The winery’s debut lineup has three wines, all aged 18 months in the same kind of clay amphorae, all farmed using organic practices, and all made with no additives aside from a small amount of sulfur at bottling.
2023 Pinot Noir
This one comes from the red volcanic soils of Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The winery calls it terroir-driven, intellectual, and structured, with a raw, unpolished edge that still stays elegant. Because it ages in clay rather than wood, the pours come out fruit-forward and bright. It has an ABV of 15.5%, and fewer than 1,000 bottles were made.
2022 Chardonnay
bhn describes this as a cellar-worthy wine sitting where fine table wine meets art. It is 100% Chardonnay and uses skin contact, which is more common in orange wines than in classic Chardonnay. The winery points to rare aromatic complexity, texture, remarkable body, richness, and a saline grip, all paired with an exquisitely dry palate. The ABV is 17.1%, and fewer than 500 bottles were produced. It was awarded Bronze at the 2026 Decanter World Wine Awards.
2023 Riesling
This is an amber wine, made from 100% Riesling with skin contact. The winery says it carries the tension of Riesling and the depth of noble rot, and that it has an off-dry but balanced palate. The ABV is 15.5%, and fewer than 500 bottles were made. It earned Gold at the 2026 Decanter World Wine Awards, and bhn notes that it was the first orange or amber wine from Oregon to win gold in the history of that competition.
What “bhn” Means
The name is short for “be here now.” The winery says it approaches winemaking as a slow and patient collaboration with nature, and the aim is small-batch wines that are different from what is usually on the shelf.
The vineyards sit in the volcanic soils of the Willamette Valley. They are farmed using organic practices, which leads to low-yield harvests and a lot of hands-on care from the vineyard all the way to the cellar. The winery points to the dense, nutrient-rich volcanic soil as an unmatched canvas for growing grapes and showing true terroir.
bhn also avoids common cask-aging methods and additives. The winery says the goal is to protect the natural flavor of the grapes and let the wines develop their true character without the influence of oak.
The Man Behind the Bottles
Marco Prete is the founder and winemaker. He grew up in Milan, Italy, and developed a love of wine early. After his studies at Bocconi University, he built a career in business, working on international business distributions and acquisitions.
Wine never left his mind, though. For decades, he spent his free time traveling, tasting, and learning from cellar masters across Europe. Two of them shaped his thinking more than others. One was Gianfranco Soldera of Montalcino, and the other was Josko Gravner, a winemaker from Friuli. Gravner’s skin-contact whites, which are aged in amphorae, were a direct inspiration for bhn’s approach.
After moving to the United States, Prete went looking for the right place to make a wine of his own. A bottle of Oregon wine is what pulled him to visit the area. He discovered Oregon Pinot Noir during the pandemic, and that led him to start bhn. The result is a small, uncompromising lineup built around custom clay vessels, long skin contact, botrytis, and minimal intervention.
The winery’s own line on the story is a short one: “I dreamt of the wine before it existed.”
Why This Matters for Wine and Spirits Fans
Plenty of drinkers like both wine and whiskey, and the two worlds rarely cross. Duet N. 15 and Duet N. 23 are an attempt to bring them closer. Rye gives a spirit its grain backbone, while grape skins bring aroma, tension, and the funky depth that comes from noble rot.
The choice of clay over oak is also worth noting. Oak has been the default in aging for a very long time, so a spirit that skips it entirely offers a different way to think about what aged spirits can taste like.
Production is tiny. With fewer than 500 bottles of Duet N. 15 and fewer than 1,000 of Duet N. 23, these are micro-run releases. That is in line with the rest of bhn’s work, where the wines are made in numbers well below 1,000 bottles each.
The Bottom Line
bhn started out as one man’s long obsession with wine and has grown into an Oregon winery that makes amphora-aged Pinot Noir, skin-contact Chardonnay, and an amber Riesling that picked up a gold medal. Its newest move is a pair of rye spirits that bring wine grape skins and grain together in clay. Whether the idea catches on with a wider crowd remains to be seen, but it adds a fresh and unusual chapter to what Oregon producers are doing with grapes and grain.
