Cheers to Carlton

Our last day in the Willamette Valley, we had two wineries left to visit: Ken Wright Cellars and Soléna Estate. Both are labels I represent in my store, and of the two I had chosen to visit Ken Wright Cellars for a very special reason.

Going back a few months, I remember seeing a reservation for a distributor party at my restaurant. Not an unusual thing, but an enticing one. Usually a hosting a distributor party meant there was a specific label they were bringing in to taste with a representative from the winery. Later on that evening, one of my regulars, Leo, who had been there for my first day on the job, came in. It's always fun to see him as he's been aware of my ongoing wine education and I feel very privileged that he'll usually let me taste whatever bottle he brings in. That night, Leo bellied up to the bar, and I greeted him with a smile. He eagerly started telling me about a friend of his who he hadn't seen in a long time, who's now a winemaker. The way my regular told the story, Leo had just gotten a new cell phone and mixed up two contacts in his phone preparing for a trip. He texted his friend, Ken, and asked if he could pick him up from the airport. He got a confirmation text and thought nothing more until after his trip when he pulled up outside the airport to find his friend, and esteemed winemaker, Ken Wright waiting in his car at pick up. Leo was pleasantly surprised, thinking another one of his friends was going to be there instead. But, it gave them a chance to reconnect, and that's what he was there for that night. Apparently, Ken Wright was somewhere in my restaurant, and my regular was waiting to greet him. I politely excused myself and went to snoop.

Surrounded by distributors, the din of the restaurant far off in the distance, Ken stood holding court, talking about soil samples and the impact on wine it had. I snuck back over to the bar and waited. It's not often winemakers come to my corner of the world, so the opportunity to talk with one is always cherished. Sure enough, not long after, the party breaks up and distributors start to wander away. An older, tall, country-looking gentleman walks up to the bar, flanked by my wine manager who was wearing a grin from ear to ear. They stop behind my regular, clap Leo on the shoulders and all share in the joy of being together again. I stand, bouncing on my toes, waiting my turn to greet the winemaker when my regular turns and introduces me. "This is Lesley. She's studying to be a sommelier. I was here the first night she started working." It's a common brag of his, and one I always appreciate.

I wiped my palms on my jeans, and eagerly shook Ken's hand, my mind blank. "So...I'm planning a trip to the Willamette Valley this fall for my anniversary. Know any nice places to stay?" Stupid question.

"Well actually yes, I have a few AirBnB's. Back in the 2008 crash, I bought up a lot of empty property in my town and refurbished them. Some of them I made into rental properties so guests have a place to stay. Send me your dates and I'll set one aside for you."

It was an incredulous offer, and I couldn't believe it. I pulled out my phone and opened up a new contact profile, handing it to him, my fingers numb. Ken typed his number in, and promptly returned it. He smiled and said how nice it was to meet me. As soon as I was off shift, I sent him a text so he also had my contact info.

Surely it wasn't a real offer. I dismissed the thought. Perhaps he was just being polite? The next morning I woke up to a text from him, requesting the dates I'd be traveling so he could set aside the room we discussed. I did as he asked, but still I doubted. It wasn't until a few weeks later when I got a confirmation email from his property manager that I realized he'd actually done it. That kind of kindness toward a total stranger was all but completely foreign to me. Not by nature of my personal life, but certainly of living in a major city in modern day America where people tend to do things only unless it benefits them. It's a tragic thought really: that we offer so little kindness in the menial day-to-day life among the members of our own community that we doubt genuine honest to goodness kindness when we encounter it for ourselves.

All week we'd been staying in the lofts above the street shops in downtown Carlton, across the avenue from the Ken Wright Cellars tasting room. Built in the old defunct train station, the tasting room preserved all the charm of the original architecture with modern features like outdoor gas fire pits and an herb garden in the back where the tracks used to run. It's a beautiful old place, inviting and warm; the sort of place you would gladly spend all day if you could. It was finally time to pay back the kindness my partner and I had been shown and visit Ken Wright Cellars. We walked in and were welcomed by the property manager who helped set up our stay in the first place. She smiled warmly and said, "We were wondering when we'd see you." My heart skipped a beat. Were we that welcome in this town? She informed me that Ken was hoping to see us himself and asked if we had any plans that evening. Originally we had hoped to go seashell hunting at the beach, but if we had been requested, who were we to deny that? And plans set, we sat and finally enjoyed tasting through Ken's wines. Among the wines of the Willamette Valley, he's in good company: intervention free, terroir driven wines, inspired by the land and the community they came from. Alongside our tasting, my partner and I enjoyed a trio of some dips and chips. It was the kind of tasting you could get at any wine bar, but being in the heart of downtown Carlton, being served by the good-hearted people of the community, it was wholly unique and well worth the stop.

After Ken Wright Cellars, we stopped for lunch at the Carlton Bakery, the likes of which rival anything we've found traveling in search of the best pastries on the West Coast. Bright, clean, well lit bakery boxes filled with cookies and pastries, the smell beckoned you in the cliché way any good patisserie should. Following our afternoon snack, we drove out to our last reservation of the week: Soléna Estate.

On a warm autumn afternoon, the sun shining down in full force, casting the valley in a golden glow, my partner and I drove down the road and up the holler to Soléna Estates. I'd heard of them through my distributor as they are the producer for my restaurant's proprietary house label.

As a side note—if you don't casually have a bunch of money lying around and you want to start your own wine label—you don't need to buy a vineyard and a winery. A vineyard is a farm which requires equipment and laborers and a winery is a lab that requires even more equipment, scientists, and a winemaker, as well as fermentation vessels and bottles and a space to store the wine in before it's released to market. But, for the average restauranteur, you can by ‘shiners’ or unlabeled wine at a huge discount. Wine that has already been produced but was maybe made from grapes that weren't totally up to the quality standards to be included in regular production. Shiners aren't always the best when it comes to buying a bottle to bring home, but through some retail magic, ours actually is delicious! We have six different wines produced by Soléna Estate in the Willamette Valley and a further four wines produced separately by a different winery in the Sierra Foothills AVA in California. Those are respectable table wines, but nothing like the black label I hold so dear. We have a pinot noir based rosé with flavors of ripe watermelon, sweet pink cherry, a little bit of limestone, and some floral notes. Our pinot noir is much along the same lines, but darker: ripe black cherry, fresh strawberry, a touch of vanilla, some granite perhaps? We also produce a cabernet sauvignon, a French-style Chardonnay, and a mouth watering Pinot Gris that regularly sells out. Knowing that all of these amazing wines came from the same winery, I made it a priority to visit.

The view from the Soléna Tasting Room overlooking the vineyards

A combination of the French and Spanish words "soleil" and "solana," and named for their daughter, Soléna Estate was started in the year 2000 when the owners gifted each other land for a vineyard for their wedding. Like many other wineries in Oregon, they create terroir driven wines and are well known for their consistent style of wines.

My partner and I had a bag of mixed feelings about this last tasting, happy to have reached the end of our long checklist of vineyards to visit, sad that it meant our vacation was over, and curious still to discover what they had in store for us. We pulled up at the French lodge, sat on the edge of a hill, overlooking the surrounding vineyards like Pride Rock in the Lion King. Bushes of lavender carrying their heady aroma trembled in the faintest hint of a breeze on an otherwise flawless afternoon, clouds lolling by overhead. We waltzed up to the front door and I noted something fascinating: the door handles were old gnarled grapevines polished to a gleam, the wood now soft to the touch.

Inside, a grand fireplace sat at one end, an oil painting of a vineyard at sunset sat on the mantle. Light shone through the panels of windows lining the room, inviting guests to gaze upon the vineyards on the veranda. Our host was lively and inviting and shared the usual history of the house with us, reciting facts about each vineyard site and vintage upon request. My partner and I sat, enjoying our second to last tasting with resigned peace. To sit bathing in the late afternoon sunset, drinking excellent wine with the love of your life is one of the best parts of my job, something I try very hard not to take for granted.

Dinner with the Wrights

I came to the Willamette Valley to understand why some of my guests loved it, and some of them absolutely hated it. On a journey of exploration, trying to gain my bearing in a new uncharted wine region, I fell in love. While the wines are very good, and certainly for the more discerning connoisseur who wants to taste the land the grapes came from in their glass, I can see how not everybody would enjoy this. However, if you have the patience to look, the Willamette Valley has such a command of styles and tastes that it'd be hard not to find something that you'd enjoy. The thing that got me was how inviting everybody was. Even in the hospitality industry, there are businesses that design themselves as not for everybody. And yet, despite how hard I looked, nobody here felt that way, or at least presented so. Wineries weren't closed doors you had to pay to open, they were houses where everybody was welcome, even hosts and winemakers from other properties. After all, all the producers had the same goal: make an exceptional product they could be proud of year after year. If they could help their neighbor in the process, they would, because it didn't take anything to be kind.

Later at our dinner with Ken Wright, he shared the story of Brooks Wines. Back in the 1980's, this man, Jimi Brooks, set himself up in the Willamette Valley and started making wine. Unfortunately, he passed away before harvest in 2004 leaving behind a son who was still a child, and a sister who didn't know much of anything about winemaking. The other neighboring winemakers came together and brought his vintage in to harvest and made the wine for their fallen brother in vines. His sister was a bit hesitant to take up the mantle and continue her brother's work. But with the persistent insistence of the other winemakers convincing her Brooks was a special place that needed to continue with her help, she thankfully did! It's that same spirit of generosity and kindness that now, sitting here almost four months later reflecting on it all, leaves me feeling homesick for the Willamette Valley. It's not just another award winning wine region, or a place to stop to check it off your bucket list. It's a world of its own populated by the passionate wine industry that keeps the gears turning from one season to the next. It's a place I long to return to, and hopefully one day call home.

Resources

Ken Wright Cellars
Located 120 North Pine Street Carlton, OR 97111
Open Daily Sun-Thurs 11 AM - 5 PM, Fri-Sat 11 AM - 6 PM
Starts at $30 per person for 1-6 people
Reservations recommended, walk-ins subject to availability
No outside food, food available for purchase, no pets allowed (service animals welcome)

Carlton Winery Lofts
$190 a night, most sleep 2 guests
King sized beds
Kitchenette with microwave, refrigerator, and coffee machine
Parking and Wifi Included

Soléna Estate
Located 17096 NE Woodland Loop Road, Yamhill, OR 97148
Open Daily 11 AM - 4 PM
Starts at $30 per person for 1-8 people
Reservations recommended, walk-ins subject to availability
No outside food, food available for purchase, dogs welcome on patio