Ken Wright Cellars

We booked a tour here with Jaime our first day in the valley. What an experience! We had to call to book as we were here the first weekend of October which is right in their harvest. I was so thankful Jamie was able to make time for us. She took us out to one of the vineyards where we sipped on a glass of Chardonnay while she spoke to us about the biodynamic of the vineyards and wine making process. She clearly has a passion for wine, and I loved learning about it. We went to an old post office turned art studio for a private tasting where we also enjoyed a meet and cheese board. Jamie talked more about each wine and the history of Ken Wright. It was truly a special experience. Two of our party even ended up joining their wine club. We got lucky and Mr Ken Wright himself just happened to be pulling up when we got back to the old depot and got to meet him and get a picture with him. Highly recommend a stop here and a tour if you’re able.

Winner of Wine Spectator's wine of the year in 2014, the quality is still going strong. Great tasting experience in a beautiful converted train station. All outside tables have fire pits. This is a great place to enjoy great wine. Staff are very friendly. Easy to have an interesting conversation. Really loved the 2021 Bonnie Jean. A top Pinot.

This is a wine tasting station, but that with said Ken Wright has some phenomenal wines to taste. The atmosphere is perfect for tasting and the staff are extremely well knowledgeable about Ken Wright, his vineyards, the wine and processes. Will definitely return here in the future!

An incredible experience. The Chardonnay was crisp, fruity and satisfying. The Pinots are full bodied and well balanced. The Syrah was amazing, bought a bottle to enjoy tonight. Have never had a more passionate tour guide for the elevated wine experience. J'Amiee was memorable!

I’ve had their wine before and had to make a stop on our way through Oregon. You don’t get the vineyard atmosphere here but the wine and the personable staff make up for it. Maria was our server and she made the experience special for us. She knew all about the wines, vineyards they’re grown on and the history of Ken and the winery itself. All of the wines we sampled were great and the olives and almonds were a perfect pairing. There’s indoor and outdoor seating and even cornhole for those who want to hang out and play a game or two while enjoying a glass of wine. Limited parking in front but there’s sufficient street parking close by.

The ambience of this place is amazing. The tasting room is in a renovated train station with gorgeous outdoor areas including a covered patio and a small garden. While the staff were friendly, on a Sunday afternoon it was obvious they were understaffed and as such we were not really given any information about the wines themselves. I would have appreciated more education on the wines and the wine making process employed. The overall tasting experience felt rushed.

Great year round patio with fire pits in the heart of Carlton. Chill atmosphere to enjoy the small town pace while enjoying amazing pinots.

Ken Wright transformed the old Carlton Train Station into a warm and inviting tasting room . Great choice of wines

We recently picked up our latest shipment as members of the Ken Wright Cellars wine club, and it was another fantastic experience! We actually became members after winning a stay at their Carlton Winery Lofts (highly recommend!), which included a private tour and tasting. The property is stunning, and the hospitality was top-notch. This time, we visited one of their barrel rooms to pick up our wines. It's so much more fun than just picking up a box at the tasting room! They offered delicious bites to pair with the tasting, which included not only their fantastic Pinot Noirs (we tried 4!), but also a refreshing Pinot Grigio and a delightful Rosé. It was a great way to explore different styles and find new favorites. Afterward, we enjoyed the beautiful Oregon weather by the fire pit on the patio.

Nice setting for a wine tasting room. Inside and outside seating. Less than friendly server. Tasty wines.

First visit back on our journey visiting wineries after a long hiatus. We came for the flight but the experience was so much more... Sharon, the server ( she was wearing a fedora and a smile) , we believe that's her name made the experience extremely enjoyable with attentive but a relaxing pace in providing service. She was extremely knowledgeable about each wine and included little vignettes of history with the wines. Again, the wines were superb but the entire experience was delightful because of her personality and service.

Beautiful flower garden at the tasting outside area. Wine and roses. Great place to relax.

Thank you Sydney and staff for being so welcoming and friendly. It's a beautiful tasting room specializing in single vineyard Pinot Noir. Parking is plentiful, street or lot parking. A nice big beautiful dog friendly patio. A must see if visiting WV

Delicious wines and the pumpkin hummus was amazing! Great spot to taste or swing by for a glass of Pinot!

We were wine club members for a few years but decided to cancel for a few reasons. I do like their pinots, but the wine club membership just wasn't for us. For one, they charged us a flat fee for the wines ($125 for two bottles-Duet Club). Regardless of what we received we were always charged the same amount. I reached out to them as some bottles appeared to retail for less, but am still not clear on the reasoning behind this. I suppose it makes it easier from an accounting purpose, but we weren't fans of the policy. I do appreciate that our wine club membership was only 4 bottles per year. We're members of 8 OR and CA wineries and none of them have this low of a minimum purchase. The wine club membership allowed for two free tastings per visit and then each additional tasting was $30 per person. The winery is centrally located, but I personally wasn't a fan of it. Its located at a old train depot right in town. The lawn is nice, but the picnic tables and benches, where tastings occur, weren't super inviting. Inside had this old fashioned country home feel to it and it just wasn't our cup of tea. Wine events were decent, but I think we just weren't huge fans of the winery and then the flat fee for wine bottles made us decide to cancel. Worth trying their wines if you're in the area, but hard for me to recommend the wine club.

One of the wineries I was most looking forward to but we were all disappointed. The host seemed very disinterested and that took a lot away from the experience.

The BEST winery we have ever visited! The wine and people were incredible. We traveled from Virginia to Carlton, OR and it was worth it!

Wines served very warm, so could not tell if bad wine or too hot wine. Do not recommend a visit.

Personal opinion from experience is that The owner is pretentious and has an ego where he justifies his personal marketing of being the best. He thinks the Ken Wright name is something more important and special than any other! Prices are grossly inflated when the truth is that their wine tastes no different than the local respectable makers on the same street and same town. They throw a little bit of money at the school district with the ulterior motives, using the school to display their name on banners at a much cheaper price than marketing ads would cost. Californians, wanting to line their pockets, trying to benefit by depleting our grounds with wine grapes rather than produce. Drunk, drivers frequent our town, where our kids and families are no longer safe to casually Enjoy the town We move to or grew up on. They spearhead the Yamhill Trail and lied about it being a pedestrian path when their documents to the county clearly state, the trail will be turned into a tram to move wine out of Yamhill and people/drunks into Yamhill County. If you have to lie about it, it's not a good thing. The building is set on a nice piece of property, but is polluted by the greed. No thank you. Too many burned bridges with community members here in Yamhill and also sports groups in Mcminnville and Newberg. Wolf in shapes clothing.

Very pretty tasting room in heart of Carlton Oregon. Plenty of room to spread out inside and outdoors. Tasting room staff were friendly and knowlegeable about the wines and vineyards. They offered 6 wines to taste for $20 in Riedel glasses. The tasting fee is waived if you join one of their wine clubs or buy $100 of wine. For ot of towners, the clubs are not a great deal since the wines in shipments are not discounted. A visit to the tasting room is recommended.

Every year I look forward to attending Ken Wright's Fall Release Event. They really put on a fantastic tasting serving full glasses of their delicious Pinot. They also have a bar serving a signature cocktails and delicious appetizers and desserts (from Carlton Bakery). Ken's wife, Karen, is a jewelry designer and she sets up a shop in one corner filled with her creations. Exquisite beaded and chain necklaces, earrings and bracelets. Since the jewelry sells out quickly, I make sure to be there when the doors open at 5pm, get a glass of wine, then head right over to the jewelry! Sometimes she invites a hair stylist and make up artists and people line up to be styled. After selecting jewelry for myself and gifts, I make my way back to the tasting area. It's crowded and has a super fun energy. It's a wonderful kick off party for both the wine season and the holidays as the event is usually the Friday before Thanksgiving. Unfortunately this year it's cancelled, like everything in 2020, another Covid victim. Hoping they can bring this event back next year! Throughout the year, I have enjoyed tastings here as well. Located in the heart of Carlton in a historic railway depot, it's a beautiful setting. Inside you can do your tasting at the bar; make sure to order the charcuterie plate along with the flight. The server always shares the background of each wine, the source and vineyard, and is available to answer any and all questions. Outside there are lounge chairs and fire pits; even an area for kids to play if you are making this a family outing. This arrangement is perfect for these 2020 Covid days. During Covid, appointments are required so do plan ahead.

Admittedly, was not a fan of Pinot noir. Nephew had an internship here and suggested we try them. So glad we did as the wines were really good. Price point was steep for me, but the wines were really good. Staff was friendly. The tasting room was awesome and I will be back when it's warmer out as the outside is awesome!

Hostess wasn't very interested in talking about the wine other than to drop off the book. Brought a list of 5 wines.... 4 of which were Pinot Noir and we only got to taste 2 Pinots. Oh, she brought out a very mediocre Cab, made by the winemaker... it had a licorice nose and was a drain pour. Nope, won't go back.

We called ahead to inform the tasting room to let them that we were going to be 20-30 minutes late. They were very accommodating and super friendly over the phone. already off to a great start! The wines were fantastic. The tasting room associate, Julianne, was very knowledgeable about the wines, specific terroirs, vinification, and overall information about the Willamette Valley region. 11/10 for her. She is great! We were sat in the covered patio. The grounds are beautiful. I'd recommend the covered patio on a hot day as well as a cool day (they have heaters on their tables in the covered patio). Personally, I really enjoyed the barrel fermented Pinot Blanc and the Pinot Noirs from the Eola-Amity Hills AVA/vineyards. All the wines we tasted were clean and without flaws. What really stood out to me on all the wines was the aromatic intensity. Great wines. Excellent staff. Beautiful grounds. I will be back.

We had a large group of 9 and Carrie was great to work with! Our table was ready when we got there and they made sure we had enough shade - it was a hot day! Service was great and gave interesting info on the wines, vineyard and history of the winery and tasting room in the old train station. He even gave us a 'bonus' sample! Loved the wines before, love them even more now!

Maria was THE BEST and the wine was delicious!!!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND 10/10 try the hirshy vineyard 2019!

My wife and I love stopping by. We are always treated like family. Everyone is so kind and caring. We have two young girls, and we bring them with us. Your staff is always quick to accommodate them and make them feel special. When we visit other wineries, the experience isn't even close. I told our steward that even if Ken made mediocre wine we would still come by consistently just because of how great the experience is. Good news is, he doesn't, he makes the best wines, so we get the complete package. Thank you all so much for not being pretentious. We appreciate you!

Amazingly friendly folks and the wine was delicious. Loved that all of the employees we talked to had just the nicest things to say about Ken wright. Nice to support a winery that treats their employees so well!

Not cheap, but an excellent tasting experience start to finish. Ken Wright is one of Oregon's top vintners, focusing on single vineyards. Bottlings from over a dozen Oregon vineyards, with four Pinot Noirs and one white available on the $20 tasting menu. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, and the tasting room is a nicely repurposed 1920's depot. Expansive outdoor tasting area too. Tasting fee waived with $100 purchase. Recommended.

Ken is Oregon wine history. A lovely historical building, with delicious wines, and excellent hospitality make Ken Wright a must stop.

We came to Oregon for Pinot Noir wine tasting. On our last day in this area we went to Golden Valley Brewery for lunch. We asked our server John for some recommendations. He gave us three locations and said that if we were only going to one that Ken Wright is the best there is. He was not wrong. After visiting nine wineries we hit the jackpot! First of all, our Host Jansen was fabulous. He has an extensive knowledge of the wines and his explanations made me want to immediately taste the wines. He recommended a cheese he liked and even got it and some crackers for us to enjoy and it was perfectly matched with the wine. The wines were delicious and Jansen was fabulous. We were happy that we stopped there and will forever remember this stop. We will also remember Ken Wright as a choice for some really good, reliable wine in the future. Of course we rated this winery #1 out of our 10 wineries, hands down!!

Learning that Ken Wright was one of the "pioneers" of Willamette wine country, I wanted to make sure we went to taste here. Our host was friendly and enjoyable while she ran us through the tasting giving us stories of each wine and their background. Every wine is super distinctly representative of its source and it's a fascinating flight to see the vast differences in Pinot from multiple vineyards and sub-AVAs. I recommend them without hesitation. Appointment recommended as it's a small space that can easily fill up.

We visited Ken Wright Cellars during our trip from SF up to Portland. We stayed in nearby McMinnville. An SF bottle shop had turned us on to Ken Wright and the Pinot we had was great so we had to visit the source! We sat inside as it was a windy, rainy day in Canby. There also was outdoor seating with fire pits. We tasted many Pinots and really enjoyed them. The hostess was friendly and we had a great time chatting with her about wine and the region. We plan to return to Ken Wright cellars on future visits to the McMinnville area!

love the atmosphere of this place! like that they have a heaters outside/ three firepit, cause let's face it who doesn't want to sit next to a fire pit. the main one is beautiful and I've finally found a wine I enjoy. Sarah wine, you good! I like that you can bring food, but it's stinky suggested to support Carlton eateries and in about that, so next time I'll be prepared!

KWC is a wonderful stop on the Carlton winemaker's tour, I always bring my out of town relatives here. The tasting room is in a historic railway depot and is amazing no matter the time of year. Outside there are fire pits and lounge chairs with corn hole and a play area for kids. Inside, is a cozy bar with friendly, knowledgable staff. My personal favorite is the Bonnie Jean Pinot Noir. My friends keep encouraging me to join the wine club because of their amazing membership benefits, once my teaching job makes it big, I'll keep signing up ASAP. Last year, my husband and I attended Flavors of Carlton and was touched by the generosity of Ken Wright and his family. 5/5 stars. PS you MUST check out Karen Wright's handmade jewelry in the tasting room. I never leave kWC without some :)

I'm not a big wine fan, but I do love the location and the outdoor /under cover seating area. We enjoyed the charcuterie plates and flights.

Tasting room staff who helped us through our tasting group of five (we had a reservation) were incredibly unhelpful and unfriendly. We had to beg them for information about the wine. Don't get me wrong, the wine was great. The only downfall was the pretentious staff member who couldn't bother giving us the time of day.

The tasting experience at Ken Wright Cellars is always fun and Carrie and the tasting room team are so welcoming. We love to stop in prior to visiting one of our many favorite restaurants in Carlton. This is a genuine small town experience that you don't find everywhere

Years ago a bottle of Ken Wright triggered my now decade long addiction to Oregon Pinot Noir. The tasting room was pretty basic, but Jesse was a great resource. I found a number of fantastic wines that I took home with me. Also right before I left I tried their newer label Tyrus Evan and was similarly blown away. By then I had already purchased more than I expected, so I'll have to try that one again some other time. The best wines on offer could only be purchase in half case increment (6 bottles) so if you're not hard core, this place might not be for you. However I remain a very big fan.

Wife and I stopped by on 12-6-14. Not impressed. The place is very nice, the wine pourer were great, the other guests seemed enjoyable. That said, the wine was not very good and the cheese and crackers were stale. $20 for 5 bottle flight tasting!!! ridiculous. ... We decided to have a glass each. The gal that was pouring said $8 for my wife's white and never said for my red...well it turned out to be $10 for the white and $15 for red. Could have bought a bottle for that. We will never go back to Ken Wright.

This place is busy, having said that, they're rude as well. My friends and I walked in, see the bar packed we decided to sit on the couches and wait. The staff made eye contact, but never acknowledged us otherwise. After almost 20 minutes sitting there waiting we decided to go when a couple who came in after us was served, but we were ignored. Because of this behavior, we left and as fortune has it lead us to find a fabulous winery across the street that was more than welcoming.

Andy was amazing! Joined the club, purchased lots o wine. We returned one week later for 6 more bottles and tasting , very disappointing service, had to ask for water intended to purchase much more but the bums rush sent us packing.

Great tasting room and very knowledgeable staff. You'll enjoy the wine and learn a lot

The Pinot is outstanding! We met directly with Ken and both he and his team were incredibly cordial and helpful. This has got my vote for best in the valley.

Is this the Robert Modavi of Carlton Oregon? I tasted all the Pinot wines from 2013. They were ok. The tasting room looked like a gift shop selling jewelry, clothes, candles and other touristic little trinkets.

I'm gonna confess I didn't know who Ken Wright was until two days ago. Maybe you don't know either, but it is about time you did. He makes some great Pinot Noir and Tyrus Evan (named after the middle names of his two sons) is his label for his Clarets, Syrahs, Malbecs and Cabernet Francs. For a short time, they have some of the Ken Wright Pinots to taste. It's pretty rare when you go somewhere and like everything or nearly everything, but the wine here is very good and very much on the high end side of things. Mostly out of the Walla Walla and Southern Oregon region, our group raved about nearly everything that was poured for us and we were even fond of the crackers. My boyfriend and I loved the Syrahs the best, but some of our friends ended up with some bottles of Claret. Most the bottles were in the $30 range, but the quality is very high. If you come to Carlton, I recommend stopping here first and then proceeding to the other tasting rooms on Main St. With plenty of parking, the tasting room is very cute and decorated with wine barrel furniture such as Adirondack chairs and bar stools. The staff is friendly and knowledgable and the pours were generous (which I was grateful for as they were $2.50 a taste). For a higher end facility, this place was far from pretentious, they kindly suggested that two people could share a flight and it was perfect. They even stayed open a little late for us as we finished up our tasting and pondered our purchases. Everyone in our group left extremely impressed despite our much lighter wallets. Overall, highly enjoyable and highly recommended.

My husband and I revisited the tasting room on a non event day and had a much better experience. The staff knew a lot about their wines this time around and it was fun to learn that they only bottle single vineyard Pinot noir. We brought our kids and enjoyed the beautiful summer day on their back patio. Much improved from our last visit!

Ken Wright wines are amazing. Next month they will have Abbott Claim Vineyard, my favorite. I'm drinking Savoya Vineyard, yummy.

Although the wine was lovely - it did not warrant a $20 tasting fee and pretentious staff. The entire time we were in here I wanted to leave, but spending $40 for the two of us made sure I stuck around! The single vineyard Pinots were pleasurable, but forget about purchasing any - you can only purchase them by the 1/2 case. Additionally, they offer no benefits for 'industry people' as they apparently have an industry day at the winery. My personal opinion? They are living off past accolades. There are so many other fantastic wineries in this area with warm staff & lovely wines. Don't waste your time.

I recently visited Ken Wright Cellars with two separate large groups of our members from from Sawgrass Country Club, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida where I am the Beverage Director. Ken Wright was one of seven different top flight wineries my groups visited while in Oregon's Willamette Valley. Honestly, I have never seen our members as a group literally swarm a sales counter after tasting through a series of wines ever! While Ken's wines are my favorite in Oregon, I saw with my own eyes two sperate groups of very savvy wine consumers confirm what I already felt to be true: KEN WRIGHT PRODUCES THE BEST WINES IN THE WILLAMETTE VALLEY. If you plan a trip to Oregon wine country do not miss an opportunity to stop by Carlton and visit Ken Wright Cellars.

My sister and I did a tasting at the Carlton tasting room today and I just wanted to express my thanks to our amazing host, Carrie. She was warm, kind and extremely knowledgeable. We loved hearing the stories of the vineyards and the community that brings the wines to life. She made us feel extra special and we left singing her praises along with the wine's. I work in the service industry in Seattle and it was so nice to receive such fantastic hospitality on my vacation. I'll definitely be sending people your way. Thanks again! Cheers!

My wife and I discovered Ken Wright Cellars 2009 Pinot Noir on our honeymoon and, since then, we have been buying bottles, half cases and full cases every chance we get. Wonderful wines every time. Their tasting room is in the small Yamhill County town of Carlton and is a good hour or more (depending on traffic) from Portland. Tasting is $20, which is steep, so maybe you should hit New Seasons or another store that sells Ken Wright wines and sink the tasting fee into a bottle of their wine instead. Another option is purchasing online, which is a little cumbersome, but at least it is available.

I have been to the Ken Wright Tasting Room several times and have always enjoyed my visits, the staff is awesome and very informative. My personal favorite is the Pinot Blanc! A must stop in when traveling through Carlton!

It appears Ken Wright is trading on their past reputation and not current quality. Pretentious and overpriced are the words I would use to describe the atmosphere and wine.

Not the place for me... they don't credit the tasting fee towards the purchase, which was a surprise upon purchase. The wine was good but not outstanding and the woman behind the counter was clearly irritated with our party when I announced I wasnt interested in the pinot tasting if the wine could only be purchsed in a six pack. Too pretentious for me... and there wasnt any great scenery to redeem it.

When you pour a 2007 that is past it's prime in a tasting then you probably don't know what you are doing. Worst stop of our entire trip. We were huge Ken Wright fans prior to this tasting and now will never buy another bottle. The employee conducting the tasting was not knowledgable , not personable and could careless if we enjoyed ourselves. Please don't waste your time there are too many other choices that are outstanding.

A friend suggested we search out Ken Wright wines while traveling through Oregon. At a restaurant on the coast we had a pinot noir from Angela Vineyards. We loved it. Upon reading the label we realized it was a Ken Wright wine. We were hooked! We stopped by the cellars on our way back to Portland. By the time we left, we had joined the wine club. The wines were outstanding and the pourer very informative. We learned a lot! Since that visit, we have ordered more. Wish we lived close enough to drive by occasionally!