Port Townsend Rhododendron Festival

Each spring, historic Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula celebrates community and Washington’s beautiful state flower during the Rhododendron Festival. In 2011, the 76th Annual  Rhododendron Festival takes place May 16-21. Rhody Fest means spring has come.

Port Townsend, Washington

Relax in Sweet Laurette's courtyard after the Rhody Festival Pet Parade in Uptown Port Townsend.

Residents of Port Townsend and surrounding communities participate in numerous parades just for the fun of it during Rhody Fest. Everyone gets caught up in the celebratory mood while watching the great Trike Race downtown and the fancy Pet Parade Uptown. The Bed Race is one of the most entertaining and hilarious events in Washington State, while the Grand Parade is reminiscent of a bygone day. No Rhododendron Festival would be complete without the carnival that takes over Memorial Field at the end of the week.

It’s worth traveling to Port Townsend for the Rhododendron Festival. While there, we suggest you visit one or all of the Washington State wineries in and around Port Townsend. Sorenson Cellars and FairWinds Winery are located in Port Townsend proper, while Finnriver Farm & Cidery and Eaglemount Wine & Cellar are tucked into the beautiful land outside of town.

Bring a bottle of your favorite Washington State Wine back home with you, and when you drink it, remember the good fun you had during the Port Townsend Rhododendron Festival.

A schedule of festival events is available at Rhodyfest.

Victorian Heritage Days in Port Townsend, WA

Anyone who has ever visited Port Townsend, WA, knows it to be a beautiful, historic, seaport town. Jaw-dropping views of Mount Baker, Mount Rainier, the Olympics and Cascades greet you at every turn. Closer to home, the coast of Whidbey Island evokes the White Cliffs of Dover.

Mount Baker, as seen from Fort Worden.

One hardly needs an excuse to visit Port Townsend, but there are plenty for those who feel they do. The upcoming Victorian Heritage Days, March 18 – 20, 2011, is sure to appeal to both history and architecture buffs. Special events include tours of Historic Uptown and Downtown Port Townsend (walking and bus tours available), Historic Clothing Fashion Show, and presentations on weatherizing old buildings and maintaining traditional wooden boats.

While in Port Townsend for Victorian Heritage Days, visit the local Washington State Wineries and sample their wines. FairWinds Winery and Sorenson Cellars are located in Port Townsend proper, while Eaglemount Wine and Cider, and Finnriver Farm and Cidery are located in nearby Chimacum. If you can’t make it out to the wineries, enjoy a glass of local wine at one of the many excellent restaurants in town; or stop by The Wine Seller on Water Street or Aldrich’s Market Uptown and pick up a bottle of local Washington Wine or Cider to bring home.

The Gift of Port Townsend Washington Wines

Visit the lighthouse at Fort Worden while in Port Townsend.

Port Townsend, Washington, Wines make delightful gifts. In addition, a trip to Port Townsend wineries makes a delightful getaway. Enjoy a few days in this historic port town over the holidays, and bring back Washington wine for friends and family.

FairWinds Winery Port O’Call recently received a bronze medal at the Tri-City Wine Festival; in attendance were more than 100 wineries and over 400 wines. It was a true honor for FairWinds’ Port O’Call to be singled out among such fine competition.  The Port O’Call is a mellow port and an excellent choice for after dinner. (more…)

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.

A Place in Washington Wine Industry History

The Associated Press ran a story yesterday about the phenomenal growth of Washington’s wine industry. Just 10 years ago, 160 wineries supported the state’s burgeoning industry. Since then the number of wineries has grown nearly 300 percent, with winery #602 receiving its license just last month.

A little known fact, the Olympic Peninsula’s place in our state’s wine industry dates back three decades, to a time when there were a mere 15 wineries in the state!

Port Angeles’ Olympic Cellars, the Peninsula’s first commercial winery, was founded by grower Gene Neuharth in 1979. Formerly known as Neuharth Winery, the name was changed to Olympic Cellars in the mid-80s. Now the woman-owned and operated home of “Working Girl Wines,” Olympic Cellars continues to offer Gene’s popular “Dungeness Red” and “Dungeness White” labels.

Lost Mountain Winery of Sequim was established in 1981 by second-generation Italian winemaker Romeo Conca. Currently owned and operated by Steve and Sue Conca, Romeo’s son and daughter-in-law, Lost Mountain continues to produce premium red wines in old-world style, without added sulfites.

Get away to the beautiful Olympic Peninsula this spring and experience this piece of our state’s wine industry history! Olympic Cellars, Lost Mountain and the five additional wineries that have made the Peninsula their home over the past 30 years — FairWinds, Sorenson Cellars, Black Diamond, Camaraderie Cellars and Harbinger Winery — welcome you!