Port Angeles, Washington, Aug. 8, 2008 – This year the “working girls" of Olympic Cellars – majority owner Kathy Charlton, Molly Rivard and Libby Sweetser – are celebrating the fifth anniversary of their signature Working Girl® wine series, a catalyst in the reinvention of the once failing winery. From pouring the wines at a funeral home to settling a nine-month battle with the U.S. Olympic Committee over the right to market the Olympic Cellars name, events of the past five years have left Charlton and her team little older and a lot wiser. Fittingly, the trio is commemorating the Working Girl fifth anniversary with the release of a fifth wine in the series reflectively named Gracefully Aging Red.

A beautiful 2006 Zinfandel, Gracefully Aging Red is a limited release featuring a special anniversary label illustrated by Seattle artist Christopher Kroehler. Winemaker Benoit Murat created the wine with grapes from Alder Ridge Vineyard, one of the most significant and extensive vineyards in Washington State. Located on a slope overlooking the Columbia River, the Horse Heaven Hills vineyard is well known for producing high quality Zinfandel grapes. Gracefully Aging Red is currently available in Olympic Cellars’ tasting room and through the winery’s online store. Price is $22.00.

“Commemorating the Working Girl series’ fifth anniversary with the release of Gracefully Aging Red just seemed appropriate,” says Charlton. “The wines have focused our direction over the past five years and have given the winery its philanthropic soul. Through it all we’ve lived and learned and continue to age  . . . gracefully!”

“We invite the public to join us in a celebration of the first five years during our Working Girl NO LABOR Day Holiday on Saturday, Aug 23,” Charlton continues. “Olympic Cellars’ First Jump Club will be skydiving onto the winery grounds all day, and we’ll be kicking up our heels later that evening with an outdoor concert and dance, featuring country music rising star Nathan Chance.”

The First Five Years
Working Girl® wines (Working Girl White, Go Girl Red, Rosé the Riveter and Our Handyman Red) were released in 2003 as easy drinking “everyday” wines that support women and celebrate the good life.

Soon after, Charlton established two local programs, Charity of Choice and 2X Success, both underwritten by Working Girl Wines, to provide sustainable support for a number of women’s programs. Following a national rollout of Working Girl Wines in 2005, these initial programs evolved into a nationwide network of support for women and families. The Working Girl rollout increased Olympic Cellars’ annual case production from 3,200 to 10,000.

Working with the local community, Olympic Cellars and Working Girl Wines  have helped to grow the North Olympic Peninsula’s celebration of International Women’s Day (March 8), hosting local events that call attention to the extraordinary accomplishments of ordinary women.

The Working Girl Road Trip initiative, launched in 2006, continues to help drive the girlfriend travel trend to the beautiful Olympic Peninsula and stimulate the local economy.  A Working Girl website (www.workinggirlwines.com) was launched, loaded with information and ideas for a girls’ getaway to the Peninsula, as well as special road trip packages at local lodging venues.

In the fall of 2006, Olympic Cellars spearheaded a successful community fundraising initiative to commission a climatic grape study on the Olympic Peninsula. The nine-month study, undertaken by well-known climatologist Dr. Greg Jones, identified numerous varieties of cool-weather grapes that will thrive in the Peninsula’s coastal climate. An effort is currently underway to attract growers to the area, and ultimately produce wines unique to the Peninsula while helping to preserve the region’s agricultural heritage.

Last month, Olympic Cellars reached an agreement with the U.S. Olympic Committee regarding the commercial use of its business name and the framework under which it can continue to operate under the 1998 Ted Stevens Act. The Stevens Act provides the USOC with exclusive commercial control of the word “Olympic.” The winery will keep its name, but must substantially limit marketing of Olympic Cellars wines east of the Cascade Mountain range. Working Girl Wines were exempted from all restrictions.

The Next Five Years
While celebrating the success of the first five years, the Olympic Cellars team is contemplating the next stage in the winery’s lifecycle. Evolving Olympic Cellars’ identity from the “Home of Working Girl Wines” to that of a heritage Washington winery known for premium innovative brands and an ongoing commitment to philanthropic giving and community involvement will be a primary focus.

Working Girl NO LABOR Day Holiday Event
Olympic Cellars’ Working Girl NO LABOR Day Holiday will kick-off at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23. The event will feature skydiving onto the winery grounds throughout the day, afternoon wine and chili pairing by Joy’s Wine Bistro, wine tasting and an outdoor concert and dance featuring country music band Nathan Chance beginning at 8 p.m. Concert tickets are $10.00, and are available online or at the door.  Visit www.olympiccellars.com for further information, or call
360-452-0160.

About Olympic Cellars
Olympic Cellars is a boutique winery housed in an historic century-old barn between Port Angeles and Sequim on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. The winery annually produces approximately 3,200 cases of hand-crafted wines on site, including the premium La Dolce Vida™ label, the Working Girl® series, and the Dungeness artist series. Olympic Cellars is strongly committed to supporting the physical and emotional well-being of women through its Charity of Choice and 2X Success initiatives.

Find out more about Olympic Cellars and its upcoming events by visiting the winery’s website at www.olympiccellars.com, or by calling 360-452-0160. Also visit the new Working Girl website, www.workinggirlwines.com, for information pertaining specifically to the Working Girl series of wines and associated philanthropic programs.

Olympic Cellars
(May - Dec, 11am - 6pm, Daily;
Jan - Apr, 12 - 5pm, Closed Tuesday)
255410 Hwy. 101
Port Angeles, WA 98362
360-452-0160

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