Wine, sculpture art and natural beauty combine to make Camaraderie Cellars a tranquil gathering place.
“Wow, I had no idea this was here!” exclaim would-be wine tasters to Camaraderie Cellars. The utter surprise in their voice brings a smile to the face of Don Corson, winemaker and owner. “How long have you been here?” is the question Corson hears next. “We’ve completed our 25th vintage,” he tells them. “We’ve been here since 1992.”
Camaraderie is surrounded by lush forests in the northwest corner of the Olympic Peninsula about ten minutes outside of downtown Port Angeles, where visitors are greeted by a combination of art and beautiful gardens begging for a picnic, along with the warmth of an outdoor fire pit and spacious tasting room where they can linger…and savor…great wine.
Once inside, visitors to the tasting room pause to take in the high ceilings, soft music and comfy chairs beckoning them to relax and enjoy life’s pleasures. The decor is authentic Northwest with beams milled from trees felled on the property to make room for the winery.
Come for the wine but be prepared to enjoy it in a cottage garden setting with some stone carvings complementing the scene. “I’d have to say gardening and sculpture are my other two passions,” Corson says, pointing to a 1600-pound mountain of jade now sculpted into a fountain.
I first met Don and Vicki, his wife and winery soul mate, in March 2006 when I began the research for the book that would become WineTrails of Washington. It was the first such winery in Washington I visited. Juggling camera and notebook, I scribbled furiously one of Don’s many salient points: Wine is a complement to the good things in life. Not just a condiment mind you, we’re not talking hot dog relish here. Wine takes on added dimensions when shared with friends, great food and music. It’s true. We pair wine with the good things in life, and in the tasting room at Camaraderie Cellars it’s no exception. Visitors swirl, sniff, sip and savor the lineup of Bordeaux-focused wines while surrounded by the natural beauty of the Olympic mountain peaks and forests.
Like a chef at a top-notch restaurant, Don Corson gets his ingredients from a variety of renowned growers in five different Washington State appellations. He buys grapes from Champoux Vineyards in the Horse Heaven AVA, as well as Fred Artz on Red Mountain. Other mainstay growers are Butch Milbrandt on the Wahluke Slope (Clifton Hill Vineyard), and Michael Meek near Benton City in the Yakima Valley appellation. In addition, Don works with Len Parris at Chandler Reach, the Crawford family near Prosser, and the Chiles, owners of Two Coyote Vineyard near Zillah.
Why so many vineyards? Corson says, “Each vineyard is as unique as the owners and managers and, of course, the vineyard’s terroir. Very often, the combination of varietals and vineyard characteristics makes for a more complex wine, and I love complexity.”
All of these vineyards and varieties makes life during harvest all the more hectic, but Corson says it’s worth it. “We have quite a trek to the vineyards, and I make many of the trips myself with ‘Big Red’ (my one-ton diesel truck) and a 25-foot trailer. Our style of winemaking is very hands on and I appreciate the varied characteristics each vineyard brings. I can’t imagine not working with all my friends. Who would I leave out? Leaving someone out would be like making a marinara sauce without garlic or oregano—impossible!”
Corson notes an emergence of two types of visitors—culinary tourists and lifestyle travelers. For both, wine is a complement to their key interests: one involving great cuisine (not hard to find in this seafood lover’s corner of the U.S.) and the other mixing recreational activities like hiking, bike riding, or kayaking with wine tasting. Either way, there is a whole lot of wine touring activity happening year round. To this end, the North Olympic Peninsula wineries host a variety of wine events, including the fall Dungeness Crab Festival & Wine Tour, Taste of Port Angeles, and Passport Wine Tour.
Recently retired from a local forestry and land management company where he was an executive for 19 years, Fortune Magazine featured Corson a couple years ago in an article about retiring to a job you love. “It’s taken me a while to get there,” Don says, “But everyone should have the opportunity to do what they love, regardless of age. I’m very lucky.”
Don Corson, no doubt, will relish the glee in people’s faces for many years to come as they enter the tasting room and say, “Wow.” He loves that surprised look on their face and the satisfaction that comes when sampling his wines and the inevitable question that comes next, “You’re a long way from the Columbia Valley, why Port Angeles?”
Visit Camaraderie Cellars
Ph: 360-417-3564
332 Benson Rd., Port Angeles, WA 98363
www.camaraderiecellars.com
Written by Steve Roberts, photographs by John Vitale