Olympic Cellars, home of Working Girl wines, is now under new ownership.
Kathy Charlton, who reinvented the winery — taking it from near bankruptcy to healthy profitability over the past 12 years — publicly announced the winery’s final sale to Tom and Lisa Martin of Sequim at the Olympic Medical Center Foundation’s Winemakers Gala in October.
The Martins purchased the winery together with a small group of investors, primarily family and close friends. The couple also owns Fathom & League Hop Yard Brewery, a small specialty operation producing 10 seasonal beers for select local restaurants.
Future plans for the winery include co-location of the brewery and the opening of an on-site restaurant.
“We’ve been working toward this transfer of ownership for two years during which time Kathy trained me as the winery’s operations manager,” Lisa Martin said.
“Customers can rest assured that Tom and I will continue the Working Girl brand in perpetuity in honor of Kathy, the winery’s original Working Girl,” she said. “We’ll also continue producing Dungeness, Olympic Cellars’ heritage label, which is trademarked by the winery. The summer concert series is here to stay, as is the winery’s strong commitment to community involvement.”
“This winery tradition will be combined with some things new that align with our vision for Olympic Cellars’ future,” Martin added. “Our tagline will evolve from ‘Women Owned and Operated’ to ‘Family Owned – Women Operated.’ Our winemaker, Greg Vogtritter, is making some Spanish varietal wines that we’ve never produced before and we are partially through the permitting process to add an on-site restaurant and brewery.
“The restaurant will be located in the current tasting room and will offer wine and beer-friendly food. We’ll pour our Fathom & League brand and possibly some other beers. This is a dream-come-true for us!”
About Olympic Cellars
One of the founding wineries in Washington, Olympic Cellars is housed in an historical century-old barn between Port Angeles and Sequim.
The boutique winery annually produces about 3,500 cases of handcrafted wines on site, including the premium Olympic Cellars label, the Working Girl series, and the Dungeness Heritage series. According to its owners, Olympic Cellars is strongly committed to supporting the physical and emotional well-being of women and families through its Summer Concert Series and philanthropic partnerships with nonprofit organizations.
Find out more about Olympic Cellars and its upcoming events by visiting the winery’s website at www.olympiccellars.com or by calling 452-0160.
Olympic Cellars
Owners: Tom and Lisa Martin
Location: 255410 Highway 101, Port Angeles
Contact: 452-0160
Hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. daily
