Kathy Charlton, Owner Media Contact: Deborah Anastasi Black
Olympic Cellars 360/769-5305
(360) 452-0160 206/799-4233 Cell
(360) 808-0206 Cell deborahblack@wavecable.com
kathy@olympiccellars.com
Press Release
for immediate release
Olympic Cellars’ Heritage Dungeness Series Scores Gold, Silver At Washington State Wine Competition
New vintages celebrate Olympic Peninsula’s History and Culture
Port Angeles, Wash., June 28, 2005 – Olympic Cellars’ 2003 Dungeness Red and 2004 Dungeness White wines received respective gold and silver medals at the 2005 Washington State Wine Competition, continuing an award-winning tradition that has lasted more than two decades. Now in its 24th year, “Sunshine and Wine” is the only annual wine competition limited to Washington State vintners. Nearly 80 wineries submitted 307 wines for judging. Winners were announced Saturday at the Washington State Fairgrounds in Yakima.
“The Dungeness series is our winery’s heritage,” said Olympic Cellars owner Kathy Charlton. “It was started by Gene and Maria Neuharth in the late 1970s when Olympic Cellars was known as Neuharth Winery. The wines have always been well-received and have won more than 50 awards over the past 20 years, including our first gold medal as Olympic Cellars. We’ll be producing them for a long time to come!”
A Celebration of Regional History and Culture
The new Dungeness vintages feature labels by two local artists with deep roots in the Olympic Peninsula, Ross Hamilton and the late Harris “Brick” Johnson.
Hamilton is a 30-year explorer of the Olympic Peninsula and a 40-year student of his art. His long standing pursuit of excellence and accuracy has earned him the respect of those who treasure the beauty of the Olympics. Hamilton’s photograph of the New Dungeness Lighthouse in Sequim, one of the oldest in the Northwest, highlights the natural beauty of the region. The photograph can be seen on bottles of 2003 Dungeness Red, a Beaujolais-style Lemberger wine.
The late Harris “Brick” Johnson served as Chairman of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and as Chairman of the S’Klallam General Council in Sequim. In the late 1970s Johnson and his wife built a miniature longhouse on the beach at Jamestown, one of their many efforts to preserve the Clallam Indian Culture. The longhouse was used for an annual community clambake to raise money to bring out-of-town American Indian groups to the Sequim Irrigation Festival. On one end of the longhouse Johnson painted an American Indian design featuring a giant smiling crab. A photograph of the building and the giant crab, reprinted with the permission of Johnson’s surviving nieces, Rosie Zwanziger and Lisa Barrell, is featured on the label of 2004 Dungeness White, Olympic Cellars’ best-selling semi-sweet Riesling.
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, 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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