If you live in the Pacific Northwest, or indeed anywhere on the west coast, you may be feeling a bit down. We live through months of gray skies secure in the knowledge that come summer, our skies will be blue. “Sure it can be rainy”, we tell friends who live elsewhere, “but when the sun comes out, no place on earth can match its beauty.” So where are you sun?

Denuded mountains in Olympic National Park, Port Angeles, and Victoria B.C. way in the distance

View of Victoria from the Olympic National Park, outside of Port Angeles.

Well, those of us who make Washington State Wines can’t make the sun shine in Washington State, but we can help to cheer you. Head to the Sequim area – if it will be sunny anywhere in western Washington, it will be sunny here in the Olympic Rainshadow. Stay awhile, and taste Washington wines and ciders at our seven wineries from Port Angeles to Port Townsend.

A little time on the Olympic Peninsula can make anyone feel better. A walk out to the lighthouse at the tip of Dungeness Spit, in Sequim, is magnificent no matter the weather. A drive up to Hurricane Ridge, outside of Port Angeles, is sure to raise your spirits. Dinner in historic Port Townsend tastes good, rain or shine.

It is imperative to include wine tasting in your Olympic Peninsula holiday. After a drive up to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park, stop by Harbinger Winery, Camaraderie Cellars, and Black Diamond Winery. After a walk on the Dungeness Spit, visit Olympic Cellars. On your way to Port Townsend, enjoy a cider at FinnRiver Farm and Cidery, in Chimacum, and once in Port Townsend, stop by Sorenson Cellars and FairWinds Winery.

To keep your spirits raised, pick up a few bottles of your favorite Olympic Peninsula Washington Wines and take them home. That way, no matter what the weather does, you can find solace in a glass of good wine.