October 28, 2015 — During the two-day Olympic Peninsula Harvest Wine Tour on November 7th and 8th,, ten artisan wineries and cideries located on the Olympic Peninsula will pair new and current releases with foods that celebrate the autumn season, from hearty soups and pumpkin chili to root vegetables with a new twist to seasonal sweets. Visitors will be greeted by signature scarecrows at each winery, enjoy live music and even create their own festive “pumpkin rock.”
Online tour tickets are $25 (plus a service fee) or $30 at the door of each winery. A commemorative wine glass, wine tasting and food pairings are included in the ticket price. Visitors without tour tickets will be charged a $5 tasting fee at each winery. Children are permitted in the tasting rooms, however visitors must be 21 years old to purchase a ticket and participate in wine tasting.
Participants who have their ticket stamped at all ten of our wineries will be entered into a drawing for a wine themed gift basket including two tickets to the Red Wine & Chocolate Tour (February 2016). Second and third place winners will receive two tickets to the Red Wine & Chocolate Tour.
Highlights of the Wine Tour:
Finnriver Farm & Cidery, in Chimacum, produces farm-crafted hard ciders and fruit wines. Enjoy a taste of the winter seasonal Cranberry Rosehip Cider, featuring locally wild-harvest rosehips and organic cranberries from the Washington coast, along with sips of sumptuous brandy-fortified wines. Freshly baked soft pretzels will be served with Bob’s famous cider mustard and spiced hot toddies to keep folks warm.
Marrowstone Vineyards, in Nordland (on Marrowstone Island), will feature Mama’s Harvest Tamales (chicken, veggie and cheese, and vegan) and pumpkin pie toffee. Paired with the tamales and the toffee will be Pinot Noir, dry Riesling, dry Gewürztraminer, and Chardonnay.
Making its Harvest Tour debut, visitors to Lullaby Winery in Port Townsend will be greeted by Tazl the Scarecrow. The winery will feature the two newest additions to the Lullaby family of wines: Morning Light, a unique white wine inspired by Spanish dry sherry and Carbon, a sweet fortified red wine made with Grenache and Lullaby’s own wine brandy. Winemaker Virginie Bourgue will prepare and serve an organic pumpkin bisque to pair with the wines. In anticipation of the upcoming holidays, there will be a curated selection of stocking stuffers for all.
Also in Port Townsend, FairWinds Winery will feature a locally prepared squash bisque paired with harvest vegetable appetizers. To help reduce inventory, all wine and tasting room gifts will be offered at a 20% discount, with a 30% discount on all cases of wine purchased during the Harvest Tour weekend. There will be a special wine surprise in the cellar.
Alpenfire Cider, in Port Townsend, will be celebrating with their dried apple scarecrow, fresh mulled cider, fresh doughnuts and other savory treats. They will be sampling Spark! Ember and Pirate’s plank ciders and a new release for the holidays, Cinders. This flavorful, crisp pink champagne-style cider (hand riddled and aged over 15 months) gets its beautiful color from the Hidden Rose apple, nothing else is added. Take a stroll through the orchard.
Eaglemount Wine & Cider will welcome visitors to its new tasting room at the historic Palindrome right outside the city limits of Port Townsend, to enjoy new releases of red wines and ciders paired with harvest inspired snacks.
Wind Rose Cellars will be pouring six of its Italian-style wines and offering discounts on select wines. Additional red wines will be available for tasting in the VIP Bar. Wine samples will be paired with local harvest goodies from Alderwood Bistro. On Saturday night the “Jenny Davis Quartet,” a vocal jazz band, will perform from 6pm-8pm.
In Port Angeles, Olympic Cellars is all about celebrating this year’s harvest of grapes. Four new releases will be featured, including the 2012 Syrah, 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2013 Mount Olympus and 2014 Lemberger. A selection of white wines will also be available for tasting. Chef Michael from Kokopelli Grill will create a harvest stew to pair with the Double Gold Medal winning 2012 Syrah. For dessert, warm, spiced Dungeness Red will be paired with Working Girl Randi’s yummy cranberry, shortbread bites. On Sunday from 2pm -4pm, local musicians Al Harris (keyboard) and Elaine Gardner-Morales (bass guitar) perform with jazz vocalists in the cellar. Spend time in the patio decoration station creating your own pumpkin rock to take home.
At Camaraderie Cellars, in Port Angeles, treat your senses to the beautiful fall foliage in the gardens, delicious smells coming from the wood-fired oven, and the taste of full-bodied red wines. The Harvest Tour will feature a new release of 2013 Sangiovese and a turkey pumpkin chili, along with some other favorite reds and tasty bites. Special discounts will be available on select wines for the upcoming holidays.
Head over to Harbinger Winery in Port Angeles, for some eclectic wine and food pairings offerings that will make you look at wine and staples of the fall harvest through fresh, new eyes. Think potatoes. And take apples, for example, which Harbinger is going to do prepare in a manner that will make you rethink an American classic dish. And a harvest celebration wouldn’t be complete without the underground crimson gem called beets. Come and experience these unique and memorable wine and food pairings.