Kathy Charlton, Owner Media Contact: Deborah Anastasi Black
Olympic Cellars 360/895-4320
(360) 452-0160 206/799-4233 Cell
(360) 808-0206 Cell deborahblack@wavecable.com
Press Release
for immediate release
Olympic Cellars Wins Prestigious Jefferson Cup Award
Winemaker’s Achievement Raises Profile of Washington’s Lemberger Grape
Port Angeles, Wash., Jan. 12, 2006 – Olympic Cellars has taken a giant step forward in its quest to bring recognition to one of the Northwest’s best kept secrets – the Lemberger grape.
Winemaker Benoit Murat’s 2004 Dungeness Red Lemberger wine received the esteemed Jefferson Cup Award at the 2005 Jefferson Cup Invitational, which took place December 1 and 2, 2005 in Kansas City, Mo. Described as the Olympics of wine competitions, the Jefferson Cup honors the best of the best among U.S. wineries from all of America’s wine regions. The award is Murat’s first since becoming head winemaker at Olympic Cellars in 2004, and pays tribute to his debut Lemberger wine.
“We’re extremely proud of this honor,” said Olympic Cellars Owner Kathy Charlton. “Olympic Cellars has been producing a Lemberger varietal wine for more than 25 years, and we believe that this lighter-style red wine with bright cherry notes and a bit of spice has the potential to become to Washington what Pinot Noir is to Oregon. We’ve made it our mission to help put Lemberger on the map, and winning the Jefferson Cup moves us toward that goal.”
“We’re also extremely proud of our winemaker,” adds Charlton. “Benoit came to us from France, a region of the world that doesn’t grow Lemberger grapes. Producing a Lemberger varietal wine was uncharted territory for him, but Benoit is a master of his craft. Barrel samples of his wines are indicative of the outstanding quality he is producing at our winery. We look to the future with much anticipation!”
Olympic Cellars’ Dungeness Red Lemberger wine was originally produced by Gene Neuharth, who founded the winery in 1979. Kathy Charlton purchased the winery in 1999 and has continued making Dungeness Red with Lemberger grapes from Washington’s renowned Champoux Vineyards. She considers it Olympic Cellars’ heritage brand. The winery also makes a legacy Lemberger Rosé for its Working Girl® series of wines, which received a certificate designating it an “American Example of Greatness” at the Jefferson Cup competition.
Both 100 percent Lemberger varietals have continued an award-winning tradition that began with their initial release in the early 1980s. Most recently, the 2003 Dungeness Red received a Double Gold designation at the 2005 Wine Press Northwest Best of the Best Platinum Judging.
“Dungeness Red is part of Olympic Cellars’ heritage, so I wanted to respect what the winery had been producing in the past while adding my own personal touch,” says Murat. “I’m really proud of this wine, and happy for the winery. We believe in the Lemberger grape and want to prove that this varietal can hold its own against the classic Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah varietals that are better-known throughout the United States. The other six wines that took home a 2005 Jefferson Cup Award in the Vinifera red wine category are from highly acclaimed wineries and have won many awards – including Joseph Phelps Insignia 2002, which received 96 points and was named Best Wine of the Year by the Wine Spectator. I think this effectively elevates our case.”
About the Jefferson Cup Invitational
The annual Jefferson Cup Invitational, now in its sixth year, is a unique competition that focuses on approximately 500 pre-selected wines deemed exemplary of American viticulture and winemaking. The wines must have proven their excellence in competitions and tastings throughout the prior year, and be extremely deserving of the nation’s attention.
The 2005 competition featured 540 invited wines. From that total, judges chose just over 245 wines to receive the “Certificate of American Merit,” which pays respect to wines that exemplify their regions and varieties. In a separate judging, 122 wines were honored with the designation “American Example of Greatness.”
Seventeen wines were selected to receive the highest honor – the coveted Jefferson Cup award – in the categories of Vinifera White Wine, Non-Vinifera White Wine, Vinifera Red Wine, Non-Vinifera Red Wine, Sparkling Wine and Dessert Wine. The Jefferson Cup Competition invites both Vinifera and non-Vinifera wines to participate in the competition each year in an effort to respect the diversity of American viticulture and Thomas Jefferson's own acceptance of native varieties and hybrids.
This year’s judges included the following industry luminaries: Glen Bardgett, (a St. Louis restaurateur and a founder of the Missour State Fair judging), Bob Bath MS (Napa, California), Laura dePasquale MS (one of the world’s few female Master Sommeliers), Bob Foster (writer, The California Grapevine), Doug Frost MS, MW (author and consultant), Keith Goldston MS (a California restaurateur and creator of Charlie Palmer’s American wine only wine list), Mark Huebner (a Kansas City retailer and German wine specialist), Robert Noecker (a Midwestern wholesaler and thirty year veteran of the wine industry), Guy Stout MS (Texas’ second Master Sommelier and a vineyard owner) and Joyce Walsh (a Kansas City wholesaler and industry veteran of 20 years).
The Jefferson Cup is partially supported by the Missouri Grape and Wine Program, an extension of the Department of Agriculture, State of Missouri.
Olympic Cellars’ award-winning 2004 Dungeness Red Lemberger wine will be available in late Spring 2006.
About Olympic Cellars
Olympic Cellars is a boutique winery housed in an historic century-old barn between Port Angeles and Sequim on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. The winery annually produces approximately 3,200 cases of hand-crafted wines on site, including the premium La Dolce Vida label, the Working Girl™ series, and the Dungeness artist series. Olympic Cellars is strongly committed to supporting the physical and emotional well-being of women through its Charity of Choice and 2X Success initiatives.
Find out more about Olympic Cellars and its upcoming events by visiting the winery’s website at www.olympiccellars.com, or by calling 360-452-0160. Also visit the new Working Girl™ website, www.workinggirlwines.com, for information pertaining specifically to the Working Girl series of wines and associated philanthropic programs.
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