Olympic Cellars’ past and present converge

Olympic Cellars serves up a slice of its historical past alongside locally made wines and cheeses and a spring winemaker dinner.

Olympic Cellars serves up a slice of its historical past alongside locally made wines and cheeses and a spring winemaker dinner.

Pennie Dutro Lujan, owner of Sequim’s certified organic Fairaview Farm, will be on site April 18-19 during the Olympic Peninsula Wineries’ Northwest Wine & Cheese Tour to discuss her special connection to the century-old Chambers dairy barn that houses Olympic Cellars.

Olympic Cellars will be open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. both days.

Lujan will serve her "Farm Hand Feta in a Crock," complemented by olives, capers, roasted red peppers and fresh bread from the new Bell Street Bakery in Sequim.

The bread is made with organic rye from Nash’s Organic Produce. Olympic Cellars will pair the Fairaview Farms cheese with its 2008 Muller-Thurgau wine, made with grapes from Bainbridge Island Vineyards.

Olympic Cellars will release two new vintages during the wine and cheese tour, the 2006 Merlot and the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. The winery’s entire selection will be available for tasting. Olympic Cellars’ French winemaker Benoit Murat will prepare a cheese dish.

Chef Joy Siemion and Murat will present a three-course Northwest Wine & Cheese dinner at 6 p.m. April 18 at Joy’s Wine Bistro in Port Angeles. The cost is $58 per person plus tax. For more information and reservations, call 452-9449.

Tickets to the Northwest Wine & Cheese Tour are optional and can be purchased online at www.olympic

peninsulawineries.org or at the door.

The $25 price includes a commemorative wine glass and complimentary wine and cheese tasting at all seven Olympic Peninsula Wineries. Alternately, visitors can pay a $5 tasting fee per winery.

See www.olympiccellars.com or call 452-0160 for more information.