Palmer Wright of Kana Winery
March 2022
During his very successful career as an ear, nose, and throat doctor in Yakima, Palmer Wright’s winemaking hobby “got out of control.” It started in the late 1980s, with his first commercial vintage appearing in 2002 under the Kana label. Located in the bottom level of downtown Yakima’s 1931 Larson building, Kana Winery takes its name from events surrounding Jesus’ first miracle and a Native American term for volcanic activity. The tasting room is open seven days a week, and has 20 ft ceilings, 18 ft windows, and an outdoor courtyard. On Friday and Saturday nights, closing time is 10:00 p.m. and patrons can listen to live music from local and national bands as they sip on Kana wines or local craft beer. It’s no surprise that Kana has been voted best place for music nightlife in the Yakima Valley.
With its tasting fee of $5 and bottle prices ranging from $16 to $22, Kana is one of the most affordable places in Washington to enjoy great wine. It’s known for Rhone style red blends, but also offers white wines and single varietal reds. Kana is one of the few wineries still producing a Lemberger wine and does so from old vines. Many of the wines display a music theme revolving around the Grateful Dead, a nod to Palmer’s musical interests and talents. The popular Workingman’s Red wine, for example, is a play on words taken from the Grateful Dead album, Workingman’s Dead. The best selling Kana wine is Dark Star, an excellent Syrah dominated blend of grape varieties, vineyards and AVAs.
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