Published: Sunday, July 31, 2005

By MONIQUE BALAS
The Oregonian

In less time than it takes to watch a movie, you can leave behind the big-city bustle and find, neatly nestled among the vineyards of Yamhill County, a little piece of wine-country heartland.

Drivers along Oregon 47's S-curves can easily whiz past Carlton, a hamlet about five miles north of McMinnville. While Mayor Kathie Oriet said she doesn't want to see the town of 1,560 grow too much, it wouldn't hurt to have a few more families and businesses see Carlton's charm.

"Now that we have as many wineries as we have, we thought, 'Gosh, if we could bring people to town a little more often and have people see what a neat place this is, maybe we could have businesses come to town,' " Oriet said.

Saturday and Sunday, Carlton gives motorists a reason to slow down: A Walk in the Park. The second year of the event brings together 70 artists from San Francisco to Seattle in Wennerberg Park along the Yamhill River. Glassware, ceramics, oil painting, pottery and metalwork are on this year's palette.

Thirteen of the region's best restaurants will be offering food. And of course, there will be wine: 17 wineries will be pouring.

The first year of the event attracted about 3,000 people, and organizers hope the number will grow to 5,000 this year.

With 15 wineries within its city limits alone, Carlton is a unique fusion of simple Americana and an increasingly sophisticated palate.

Along the town's Main Street, you'll see Late Bloomers Quilt Shop and Dry Goods Company, marked by its quilt-covered pig (pig in a blanket, get it?), and Penguins Cafe 'n Ice Cream Shoppe, a whimsical little cafe reminiscent of a 1950s diner. But across the road is Cuvee, a highly sophisticated French restaurant owned by Portland refugees Gilbert and Susan Henry, former owners of Winterborne restaurant.

"I think people from the wine community and community at large believe that this is to Oregon much as Napa (was) to California, the emerging epicenter of the wine industry," said John Stuart, a presenting sponsor for A Walk in the Park who has served on the event's steering and organizing committees. Stuart owns Abbey Road Farm Bed & Breakfast.

People who attend likely will find the sense of folksy friendliness that keeps residents here. Community is always a focus in this little town, and A Walk in the Park is no exception: About 250 volunteers from Carlton and neighboring Yamhill help organize the event, or nearly 10 percent of the town's combined populations. Proceeds from the nonprofit event benefit local organizations.

"The great thing about Carlton is that it has not been poisoned by 99W," Ken Wright, one of the event's initiators and a steering committee member, said of the highway that runs through better-known wine country destinations such as Dundee.

"It is off the beaten track," said Wright, who owns Ken Wright Cellars winery. "You can feel yourself exhaling when you come to this community."

Monique Balas is a Portland writer.