Gussalli Beretta family invests in Ken Wright Cellars and takes control of vineyard assets
Through Upifra Agricole, the Italian family will acquire a minority interest in the Oregon winery and majority stakes in key vineyard properties, while founder Ken Wright remains winemaker and company head.
Ken Wright Cellars has reached an agreement with Italy’s Gussalli Beretta family, giving the Oregon producer its first business partner since Ken Wright began making wine in the Willamette Valley four decades ago. The investment will be made through the family’s wine holding company, Upifra Agricole. Financial terms were not disclosed.1
Ownership and property terms
The Gussalli Beretta family will hold a minority stake in Ken Wright Cellars but a majority interest in properties that Wright owns outright, including Carter Vineyard, Canary Hill Vineyard and Savoya Vineyard. It will also assume the long-term agreements covering 11 other vineyard sites.1
The family will acquire several buildings in Carlton, including the winemaking facilities and the tasting room housed in the town’s historic railroad station. Wright will lease those properties back. Altogether, the transaction includes 91 acres of land, of which 61.5 acres are planted with vines; with leased land included, Wright will continue farming more than 170 acres of vines.1
Wright will retain majority ownership of the winery’s wine inventory. Ken Wright Cellars specializes in single-vineyard Pinot Noir and produced 14 such bottlings in 2026, alongside several regional wines. Total production was 65,000 cases, slightly below the 70,000 cases made in 2025.1
Continuity and plans for growth
Ken Wright will remain the winemaker and head of the company, with no change planned for the vineyard or winemaking workforce. The parties intend the arrangement to be a multigenerational partnership, and there is no explicit clause setting a date for Wright’s departure.1
The agreement followed about 14 months of discussions. Wright had not been seeking a buyer or partner when the Gussalli Beretta family approached him through Erik McLaughlin, chief executive of wine and hospitality mergers-and-acquisitions adviser Metis. Wright said the sale of sufficient vineyard and real-estate interests would provide financial stability and allow a meaningful investment in a winery that had been stable but was not growing.1
Pietro Gussalli Beretta, who runs the family company with his brother Franco, said the investor recognized in Wright’s wines the family’s emphasis on patience, precision and tradition. He described its role as supporting the existing team with the family’s entrepreneurial experience so the winery can prosper in a more complex market.1
Ken Wright and the Italian investor
Wright studied viticulture and enology at the University of California, Davis, and worked at Chalone and other California wineries before moving to the Willamette Valley in 1985. He founded Panther Creek Cellars in Oregon in 1986, later selling it and establishing his namesake winery in 1994. At 72, he said he had no intention of retiring or reducing his involvement.1
The Gussalli Beretta family is celebrating its 500th year in the firearms business, now managed by its 15th generation. Its wine division, Upifra Agricole, operates seven wineries, including Castello di Radda in Chianti Classico and Fabio Motta in Bolgheri, and farms about 420 acres of vines in total. The Ken Wright Cellars agreement marks the family’s first wine investment outside Italy.1
Sources
- 1Wine Spectator — Oregon Pinot Noir Pioneer Ken Wright Teams Up With Italy’s Gussalli Beretta Family
Written by the Dionysus editors from the sources above.
