Kathy Charlton, Owner                                                                  Media Contact: Deborah Anastasi Black
Olympic Cellars                                                                             deborahblack@wavecable.com

(360) 452-0160   (360) 808-0206 Cell                                               (360)769-5305       (206)799-4233 Cell kathy@olympiccellars.com

Press Release

for immediate release                               

Olympic Cellars’ 2002 Syrah Takes Gold

At Northwest Wine Summit

Port Angeles, Wash., May 31, 2005 – Judges at this year’s prestigious Northwest Wine Summit, an annual competition focusing exclusively on wines produced in the Pacific Northwest, deemed Olympic Cellars’ 2002 La Dolce Vida Syrah of gold medal caliber. The wine was judged against 29 other Syrah variety wines produced in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska and in British Columbia, all within the $20 - $30 price category. A total of 68 Syrah’s were judged in all, ranging in price from less than $10 to more than $30 a bottle. The competition, sponsored by VinoChallenge, LLC of Atlanta, Ga., was held April 24-26 at the Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood, Ore.  

“Our first Syrah was a vintage 2001 release,” said Kathy Charlton, owner, Olympic Cellars. “It won a bronze medal at the Tri-Cities Wine Festival in 2003. At that time, with Syrah seemingly on its way to becoming Washington’s signature grape, we committed ourselves to creating a gold medal winner. And we’re really thrilled to have accomplished our goal with the 2002 vintage.”

The 2002 La Dolce Vida Syrah was blended and bottled by winemaker Benoit Murat, with grapes from Sagemoor Vineyards’ Bacchus slope, one of the Columbia Valley’s oldest and most prestigious sites, located near Pasco, Wash. The wine is rich with black current, dark berry and coffee aromas, balanced with well-managed oak. 

“The Syrah grape is well-suited to Washington terroir,” Murat explained, “it’s very hardy. For this reason, as well as the wine’s popularity with consumers, Syrah now makes up about 10 percent of the total acreage used for wine grape growing in our state. If the movie Sideways had focused on Washington’s wine industry, Syrah just may have played the role of Pinot Noir!”

Olympic Cellars wines received three additional medals at the competition. The 2002 La Dolce Vida Reserve Merlot was awarded a silver medal, and the Working Girl White and Handyman Red labels each received a bronze.

The Northwest Wine Summit was founded by Parks Redwine, a prominent wine writer. The competition features a judging panel composed equally of winemakers from the Northwest region, wine professionals (journalists, distributors, retailers, sommeliers), and knowledgeable consumers from around the United States. Strict quality controls and independent reviews of the wines judged at the 2005 Summit were performed by the editors of Wine Press Northwest.  

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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