100% Chardonnay

Food pairings: Broiled scallops in a butter sauce and other buttery seafood dishes, herb-roasted chicken, lemon-herb pasta, grilled seasonal vegetables, and creamy Brie or triple-cream cheeses.

Winemaking: The 2024 matured in a combination of stainless steel and neutral French oak, which keeps the fruit pure and the acidity bright while giving the wine a round, mouth-filling texture.

Vineyards and terroir: The fruit comes from certified organic vineyards in the sub-appellations of the northern Willamette Valley, farmed with Ken Wright's nutrition-based approach. Their Willakenzie and Wellsdale soils formed on ancient marine sediments.

Family and history: Ken Wright fell for wine while waiting tables in Lexington, Kentucky, studied enology and viticulture at UC Davis, and spent eight years making wine in Monterey County at Ventana, Chalone and Talbott. A trip to the Dundee Hills in 1976 convinced him that North America's finest Pinot Noir was grown in Oregon, and in 1986 he moved to McMinnville with his family and ten barrels to start Panther Creek Cellars. He founded Ken Wright Cellars in historic downtown Carlton in 1994, focused on single-vineyard wines from the northern Willamette Valley. He helped organize the valley's six newer AVAs, wrote the petition for the Yamhill-Carlton AVA and served as its first president. He runs the winery with his wife Karen, and the Chardonnay still carries the original signature label from 1994.

In the pictures: The Ken Wright Cellars winery in Carlton, Oregon, framed by its wisteria-covered pergola (photo: © Ken Wright Cellars, media kit). Ken and Karen Wright in the vineyard in autumn (photo: © Ken Wright Cellars, media kit).