ken wright cellars

I'm a huge fan of Ken Wright wines and was pleased to see we were tasting some of the single vineyard bottles, as well as a mix of some 2013 and some 2012 vintages. They were terribly low on everything, though, as they seem to really sell the majority of their wine to club members. The atmosphere is odd, and the service was just okay. Right upon arrival, before even sitting down, we were told they only sell in six packs and not single bottles. That's fine, but it doesn't really start off our tasting on a positive note, and we weren't sure why she said that in such a manner. Service was fine otherwise, but a little arrogant. Ken's wines were going to be a highlight of our trip, but I would have rather just bought the same bottles and tried them at home - at least I'd be comfortable there. This is an easy miss if you're crunched on time in the area and have to decide on which tastings to leave out.

We know the wines quite well and had a very positive experience. The hostess spent an hour with us explaining each single vineyard pinot and treating us to special wines not on the menu. The 2012 Guadalupe and Savoyna were the top ones for us.

My husband and I have been long time fans, and customers, of Ken Wright wines, so we were very excited to be able to visit the tasting room on a recent trip to Oregon. Unfortunately, the visit was a huge disappointment. We went on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend and were served by Meredith. She told us, and everyone else who came in, that the only reason it was open was due to a reservation for a large party in the afternoon. She was also willing to tell us, and everyone else who came in, that she was the only one working and that she had been there since 7am. We explained we were familiar with the wines and she acted like she could have cared less. Not the usual response from seasoned winery personnel. And not only was she rude to us, she was almost hostile to others who came in - resulting in approximately 22-23 people walking out during our tasting without spending a penny. That included the large party with the reservation. They arrived on time, only to be informed by Meredith that nothing was set up because she wasn't sure they'd actually show up. She also told them, and other parties, that there was no splitting the bill using more than one credit card. Only one credit card per party. Needless to say, the entire party left without the tasting and informed her they would take their business to Argyle Winery. And even though my husband and I planned to make purchases, we too left with a bad taste in our mouths. Not from the wine, which is fantastic, but from the angry woman with the nasty attitude.

Took a trip to Oregon from southern California to visit the area and some great Pinot Noir. Our friends had been to Ken Wright on their last trip and raved about the wines. Well apparently that was a better year, because the wines were just not that good on this trip. There were of us who tasted and compared notes later, and we realized that none of us thought the pinot's were good. They did have some Bordeaux varietals that were much better, but in Pinot Country we expected better. The tasting room and staff we friendly and helpful, but the tasting room fee was high and the wines were overpriced.

I have gone to events across the street at the actual winery and was very impressed. But, their tasting room experience was one of the poorest I have ever experienced. I had been raving about the winery to my friend and I made sure it was one of the 8 we chose to visit. We were greeted as we came in and were handed two sheets of paper that some what explained the choices of tasting flights. Our server came to the table set the wine down, showed us on a map where the grapes came from and that was the extent..we never received any info on what was available to purchase, prices, or for that fact, any other interaction. The nuts are good.

We actually began our first exploration of the Yamhill-Carlton AVA at the Ken Wright tasting room based on the number of medals their wines had been awarded. Their tasting room in a renovated train depot is attractive and welcoming, and the young woman who guided us through the tasting was friendly and very knowledgable about wine in general and her vintner's wines in particular. I wanted to like them, I really did. But they simply don't offer very good value. Their tasting fee was outrageous compared to other area wineries ($20 for one flight, $15 for the other) and a discount against that fee only applied if we bought half a case each.The wine was mostly very good, certainly, though all of their wines from their vineyards down near Medford had a vaguely unpleasant sulferous tinge. But it was hideously expensive - over $75 a bottle for the Pinot Noir's in the flight we tasted - and that was after the $20 tasting fee was waived. We paid the fee and bought the wine only because we had not yet tried other area wineries and feared this was the norm for the area. But I bitterly regretted it once we had been to several other tasting rooms nearby and discovered wines every bit as good for 1/5 the price and with reasonable tasting room fees that were waived with a purchase of any wine.I fear that all those medals have gone to their heads and they now fancy themselves a world-class winery. I'm sorry to be the one to disabuse them - they're good, but no better than many of the other wineries nearby. My recommendation is that unless you're looking for something to impress your snobby friends, you skip this one and try Elk Cove, Seven of Hearts, or several of the other local wineries where you can get excellent wine at reasonable prices.

Really lovely pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot blanc. Gracious, welcoming staff. Don't miss Tyrus Evans across the street in the Depot. They are Ken Wright's warm weather wines such as Syrah and Claret. It can offer a nice change while tasting all the Willamette Valley pinots.