Chris James Cellars

Chris and Beth Barnes met in Indianapolis in 2009, both working on graduate degrees. On their first date Chris announced he intended to develop a vineyard and make wine. He spent the next two years researching viticulture, taking classes, and scouting sites. They married in summer 2011 and bought 62 acres that September, on the western edge of the Yamhill-Carlton AVA in the Coast Range foothills, chosen for aspect, elevation, and deep volcanic soils.

In 2012 they cleared the land — tree stumps, roots, overgrowth — and planted starting in early 2013, adding blocks every season since. Old Wagon Road Vineyard now runs 25 acres with sixteen varieties, planted across eastern, western, and southern aspects. Alongside Pinot Noir in Pommard, 777, 828, and Wädenswil clones, there’s Sauvignon Blanc, Dolcetto, Lagrein, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, Gamay Noir, Barbera, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Albariño, and genuinely unusual ones: Scheurebe, Huxelrebe, Schioppettino, Nebbiolo, and Teroldego.

The first harvest came in 2015 — half a ton of Sauvignon Blanc and about two tons of Pinot Noir, concentrated by the hottest year on record. Chris designed and built the winery himself in spring and summer 2016, finishing in August in time to process over twenty tons. The tasting room opened in spring 2018.

Production now runs close to 3,000 cases. Great Northwest Wine named them Oregon Winery of the Year in 2022. Chris is blunt about his ambitions with Sauvignon Blanc, calling it his hardest wine and saying he wants the best in Oregon. The 2018 Dolcetto has been chasing awards since. He also makes big reds from eastern Oregon and Washington fruit.

The estate tasting room sits fifteen minutes west of Carlton, high enough that the drive is part of it, looking out toward the Coast Range. Flights come with small bites, and the room is tended by cellar staff who make the wine and can give you a vineyard tour tailored to whatever you’re curious about. There’s a children’s play area, a patio, and enough seclusion that they run star gazing events in the vineyard. A second tasting room operates year-round on Third Street in McMinnville.