Port Angeles Underground Tours

Work begins on filling in the Port Angeles waterfront, circa 1914

Many people know that Seattle has an old underground section of the city that you can tour but did you know that you can take Port Angeles Underground Tours as well?

Located on the North Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles, like so many towns at sea level, was initially built up … where it really shouldn’t have been.

Founded in 1862, with real construction beginning in the 1880’s, Port Angeles sprang up primarily near the water so as to facilitate ease of transport for its main export: logs. Unfortunately, this meant suffering the effects of high tides and what that brought in, namely the growing city’s own sewage!

(more…)

The Olympic Peninsula Wine Trail West – Part 1

Okay, I admit it, there is, as of yet, no officially sanctioned Olympic Peninsula Wine Trail – but that doesn’t mean you can’t make up your own!

The upper Olympic Peninsula has 9 great wineries / cideries all grouped within an hour or less of each other – from Port Townsend to Port Angeles – and most of which are open daily or by appointment all year ’round – so taking a tour is a no-brainer!

(more…)

Day Trip from Seattle, Part II

In our last post, we began outlining a driving route for someone visiting the Olympic Peninsula from Seattle. Here is more of a perfect day on the Peninsula:

Fourth Stop: Wind Rose Cellars

Leave Eaglemount Winery outside Port Townsend and drive to Sequim. This adorable town, famous for it’s lavender fields, is home to the Olympic Peninsula’s newest winery, Wind Rose Cellars.

Head West on Hwy 20 for about two miles. Hit Hwy 101 and take a right. About 16 miles down, take the East Washington St exit and take a right on N. Rhodefer Rd. Take another right on W. Sequim Bay Rd and then a final right on Bell Bottom Road. Wind Rose Cellars will be on the left at 233 Bell Bottom Rd.

Fifth Stop: Olympic Cellars

Half way between Sequim and Port Angeles is a huge, historic barn, which houses Olympic Cellars.

Get back on Hwy. 101 N and drive about nine miles. Olympic Cellars will be on your left, so you need to exit the freeway at Agnew Cutoff and get back on in the opposite direction briefly. You can’t miss the big Olympic Cellars barn! 255410 U.S. 101, Port Angeles.

Sixth Stop: Black Diamond Winery

Keep heading West on Hwy 101 for about 6 miles until you arrive in the town of Port Angeles. Follow the signs to Forks and stay on 101 through town. Take a right on South Pine St. This road curves to the left and becomes West 16th. Then, take a full left onto South Pine St. and continue on to Black Diamond Road. About three miles up the road, you reach Black Diamond Winery on the right, at 2976 Black Diamond Rd. Enjoy the scenic vineyard and delicious fruit wines here.

We have two more wineries to guide you toward. Come back later this month for the rest of the driving route!

The Spruce Railroad Trail

Feeling like a weekend of fresh air and exercise? Head to the Olympic Peninsula and hike the Spruce Railroad Trail, then enjoy a glass of Olympic Peninsula, Washington State Wine.

Looking forward to sipping wine and admiring the view at Camaderie Cellars this spring.

During World War I, a railroad was built to transport Sitka Spruce from the forests of the Olympic Peninsula to Seattle. Today, a section of the old railroad bed has been converted into the Spruce Railroad Trail, which hugs Lake Crescent. The trail is just under four miles and offers wonderful views of Lake Crescent and the surrounding Pacific Northwest forests.

A good walk is bound to make you thirsty. After hiking the Spruce Railroad Trail, stop by one of the Washington State Wineries in Port Angeles for a glass of locally crafted wine.

Harbinger Winery is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m (5 p.m. on Sundays). Tucked in the middle of the winery, it is a fun place to sip wine and their newest production – beer.

Olympic Cellars is open daily 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Take time to unwind in this historic old barn on Highway 101 before you head back from whence you came.

Black Diamond Winery reopens in March from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekends. Camaraderie Cellars is open weekends May through October.

Winter Hurricane Ridge

A winter getaway on the Olympic Peninsula should include a trip to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park. Stunning views begin on the drive to the peak, where pull-outs look east to Mt. Baker and the Cascades. Admire intimate views of the Olympic peaks of Mt. Dana, Mt. Carrie, and Mt. Olympus from the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center, and follow the Cirque Rim Trail on a clear day to gaze at Port Angeles, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the San Juan Islands, and Victoria, BC.

In the winter, Hurricane Ridge Ski Area is a haven for skiers, snowboarders, sledders and snowshoers. The ski area at Hurricane Ridge is relatively small, but the powder is deep and it gives way to a limitless backcountry area. Novices will be comfortable on the groomed trails, but expert skiers and snowboarders will find it hard to keep away from nearby bowls, glades, and steeps.

Hurricane Ridge Ski Area

Relax after your day of fresh air and powder with a glass of Washington State Wine from an Olympic Peninsula Winery. Several Port Angeles Washington Wineries at the base of Hurricane Ridge offer wine tastings on the weekend: Camaraderie Cellars, Harbinger Winery, Black Diamond Winery, and Olympic Cellars. Learn about these locally crafted wines at the bar as the winemaker pours you a glass, and take your time selecting a bottle or two to take home or back to your lodging.

The best part of tackling a snowy mountain, after all, is how good you feel when you come down.

The Gift of Port Angeles Washington Wines

The magical fruit.

Give the gift of Port Angeles Washington wines this holiday. Offer them as gifts to friends and family, bring them to dinners, and serve them at your table.

Try Black Diamond Winery‘s Shiro Plum, featuring plums from their own private orchard. Talk about local. This dry fruit wine is produced from start to finish in Port Angeles, on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.

Try the 2002 Grâce from Camaraderie Cellars. It combines grapes from Fred Artz’ vineyard on Red Mountain, Paul Champoux at Mercer Ranch, and Len Parris at Chandler Reach; the Malbec comes from Crawford Vineyard in Prosser. All these bits of Washington State have been blended to create a wine that has won several international awards, including a Double Gold at the San Francisco International Competition. Drink it now or in years to come.

This month’s featured wines at Harbinger Winery are the 2007 Syrah and the 2007 Malbec. The Syrah is big and bold, with hints of leather and licorice and wonderfully deep, fruity aromas. The Malbec has a lovely backbone of tannins and acidity, balanced by ripe berries.

The wines at Olympic Cellars have been made from Eastern Washington’s Sagemore Farms’ and Champoux Vineyards’ grapes for 25 years. There are now three different labels produced at Olympic Cellars: Working Girl, award-winning but affordable; La Dolce Vida, five varietals of premium wine produced in small batches; and Dungeness, a heritage and artist series.

Offer these Washington State wine s as gifts this year. They’ll be much appreciated.

Olympic Peninsula Wine Tour

The Harvest Wine Tour highlights seven Washington State Wineries on the Olympic Peninsula. Our version of a fall harvest festival takes place November 13 and 14, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A self guided tour, the Harvest Wine Tour encourages people to visit all seven participating Washington State Wineries: Harbinger Winery, Camaraderie Cellars and Black Diamond Winery in Port Angeles, Olympic Cellars in Sequim, Sorenson Cellars and FairWinds Winery in Port Townsend, and FinnRiver Farm & Cidery in Chimacum.

Tickets ($25) are available for purchase in advance, or at the door (on a first come basis). They include entrance and tastings at all seven wineries, a special commemorative wine glass, and samples of tasty local cuisine at each winery. Oenophiles who have their passports stamped at all seven participating wineries will be eligible for gift basket drawing.

The Harvest Wine Tour is a great excuse to get out of the city and visit the beautiful Olympic Peninsula. It’s fun to visit small wineries, each of which has its own distinct personality. Meet the wine makers and learn about the wine first hand while tasting it.

Gray Skies? Drink Washington Wine.

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.

Black Diamond Winery

The Black Diamond Winery of Port Angeles is a delightfully homespun Washington State Winery. Most of the fruits and grapes in their wines are grown on their estate, carefully tended by the winemakers themselves. You can taste the freshness of their ingredients in their refreshing fruit and grape wines.

Black Diamond’s Cranberry Wine Featured at Passport Wine Tour

With the holidays just around the corner, now is a good time to start thinking about which wines you will serve with Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. And the Olympic Peninsula Wineries’ Passport Wine Tour is perfectly timed to help with your decision! Visit the wineries on November 14-15 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
and sample new and current release wines superbly paired with fresh Olympic Coastal Cuisine. Some of the wineries will feature special limited bottlings for the holidays.

Black Diamond Winery in Port Angeles will pour Cranberry Wine – a fresh, tart, slighly sweet favorite with turkey and other holiday fare – along with the following estate-grown fruit and grape wines:

Estate Grown Shiro Plum
Plums grown and tree ripened in Black Diamond’s orchard are hand processed to make this slightly sweet white wine.

Strawberry Rhubarb
Made from Red Rhubarb grown in Black Diamond’s garden and strawberries locally grown in Sequim.

Muller-Thurgau
A slightly sweet white wine with aromatic undertones, fruity flavors and a spicy finish.

2007 Syrah
A full bodied dry red wine rich with fruit flavors

Get away for a weekend and enjoy autumn on the Olympic Peninsula!

New Year’s Eve Hors d’oeuvres and Morning-After Brunch

This final post in our holiday recipe series features two delicious hors d’oeuvres and wine pairings perfect for New Years Eve entertaining, and a Monte Cristo Sandwich that’s sure to be a hit on your New Year’s Day brunch menu.

The first recipe was provided by Winemaker Richard Sorensen of Sorensen Cellars.

Apricot-Almond Chevre Spread

This recipe is a collaboration between myself, my wife Rita and Dacia Morrisonbuck of Cuisine Med in Port Townsend.

We introduced my Sorensen 2007 Viognier during Passport Weekend this year, and wanted a bite of something to go with the wine. I feel that there are nuances of apricot, almond and peach in the wine and I wanted to pull these together with a light appetizer. This is what we came up with.

Ingredients

1 Small log, approx. 3-4oz, goat cheese
1 Small, 3oz pkg cream cheese

1/2 cup toasted, skin on, almonds, chopped medium
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped medium

Drizzle of honey to taste

In a food processor blend cheeses until smooth, then drizzle in honey (approx. 1 teaspoon or to taste). Fold in almonds, (reserving 1 Tablespoon for garnish), and apricots. Mold into a mound-press or small attractive bowl. Sliver a few apricots on top along with the Tbs. of almonds. Spread on hearty crackers or firm bread.
The next recipe comes from Edgar Burks, wine specialist at Harbinger Winery.

Shrimp St. Charles

This recipe comes from my friend and cooking mentor, Chef Giuseppe Brucia. It is modified slightly from the original.

Serves 6 as appetizers or 4 as main course. Pair with Harbinger Dynamo White, Chardonnay, or Viognier.

Ingredients
24 jumbo shrimp, peeled, and deveined
12 green onions
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp Butter
4 large mushrooms, sliced in eighths
2 Tbsp. red bell pepper, finely sliced
½ tsp. garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. Cognac
½ cup Harbinger Dynamo White
*½ cup shrimp stock
½ cup heavy cream (36% preferred)
4 drops Worcestershire Sauce
4 drops Tabasco Chipotle Sauce
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. chopped parsley
Salt and black pepper to taste.

*Prepare simple shrimp stock by simmering shrimp shells in ¾ cup of water until reduced to ½ cup. Pour through strainer and discard shells.

1. Prepare the green onions by removing the top 1/3 of the green tops. Discard or save for other use. Cut the remaining onion in half so that there is a white portion and a green portion.

2. Dry the shrimp with paper towels. In a large skillet over high heat, add 1 Tbsp. of butter with olive oil. When hot add the shrimp and brown each side for 40 seconds.

3. Add bell pepper, garlic, both green onion halves and mushrooms. Cook, stirring constantly, for 45 seconds.

4. Add Cognac and flame (use caution).

5. Add Harbinger Dynamo White and shrimp stock. Bring to boil over high heat.

6. Add the heavy cream, stir and let the sauce thicken.

7. Remove shrimp, placing 4 shrimp on each hot plate.

8. Return sauce to heat to further thicken for a few seconds.

9. Add Worcestershire Sauce, Tabasco and lemon juice.

10. Turn off the heat and white stirring add last 1 Tbsp. of butter, salt and pepper to taste.

11. Pour sauce over shrimp. Sprinkle with parsley.

Variations: Make sauce alone and serve over halibut or ling cod.
The last recipe is from Sharon Adams of Black Diamond Winery. Enjoy!

One of my favorite parings is Cranberry Wine and a Monte Cristo Sandwich. It’s great for brunch!

Yield: One Serving. Serve with chilled Black Diamond Cranberry Wine.

1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon cream or half and half.
2 slices day old white bread
Thinly sliced turkey breast (enough to cover on slice of the bread)
1 slice Swiss cheese
Powdered sugar, sifted.

Heat pan over medium hi heat. Oil pan with favorite oil. Dip one side of bread in egg mixture place in pan. Place slice of turkey and cheese on bread, and cover with second piece of bread dipped in egg mixture (only dip one side). Cook as you would French Toast, turning when first side is golden brown. Cook second side until golden brown and cheese is melted. Put on warmed plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Optional – put your favorite jam or cranberry sauce on top.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!