Have you had enough of our signature northwest liquid sunshine? Head to the north Olympic Peninsula to dry out while tasting your way through nine artisan wineries situated within the Olympic Rain Shadow, our regional “banana belt!” The self-guided Olympic Peninsula Wine, Cider & Cheese Tour takes place Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30 from 11am – 5pm. Travel at your own pace from Chimacum and Marrowstone Island to Port Townsend, Sequim and Port Angeles, sampling spring wine and cider releases paired with a variety of handcrafted, local cheeses and cheese-inspired nibbles. Live music, art, beautiful scenery and (fingers crossed!) sunshine will round out your celebration of spring!

Advance tour tickets are available online for $35.00, or $40.00 at the door of participating wineries. Tour tickets include wine and cheese tasting at all nine wineries and cideries plus a commemorative wine glass. Independently, each venue charges a $10.00 tasting fee. Visit www.olympicpeninsulawineries.org.

Tour Highlights:

• Join us at the Finnriver Farm Orchard & Cider Garden in Chimacum to taste life on the land! We will “pear up” with Mt. Townsend Creamery to showcase our newly released 2016 Harvest ‘Perry’ featuring homegrown organic Perry pears, perfect with a piece of Mt. Townsend’s hand washed Alpine-style Red Alder cheese. Other Mt. Townsend pairings will feature a fromage blanc and several soft-ripened cheeses, and we will continue our annual tradition with Pane d’Amore’s delectable cheesy breadsticks.

• Come and enjoy some island time! Taste the absolute best of what Marrowstone Island has to offer. Marrowstone Vineyards’ flavorful dry white wines and smooth, full-bodied reds will be paired with an assortment of fine chevre from Mystery Bay Chevre, a creamery a mile down the road from the winery. Take in the breathtaking views of the Puget Sound and the Cascade mountains, and enjoy the art in the gallery from all local artists.

• In Port Townsend, FairWinds Winery staff will be putting on baseball caps and pouring medal winning, homerun wines! Visitors will taste all seven of our wines and then enter the winery production area for food and games. We will be offering Mt. Townsend’s cheese fondue prepared with our Gewurztraminer wine and smoked cheese dip prepared with our Fireweed Mead, all served with apples and crackers. Tours of the winery and the winemaking process will be available with the possibility of a barrel tasting with the winemaker.

• Alpenfire Organic Cider and Vinegar, a little off the path but way out of the ordinary! Drivers and non drinkers can enjoy a cranberry shrub cocktail, curious? This year we will pair our bone dry traditional cider with the unbeatable West Valley Wheel, delicately seasoned with Herbs D’ Provence. Our newest release of Spark! 2015 will be paired with fresh popped, organic, “mushroom” cheddar popcorn, delicious and fun! Mystery Bay Farms Caheta, a rich, sweet caramel-like cheese will be drizzled over fresh apple slices and thin ginger wafers. See the incredibly beautiful repousse artwork of Port Angeles artist Clark Mundy, including a demonstration of the technique on Sunday afternoon. Kristin Meyers will perform live music at various times throughout the weekend.

• To get the season rolling, Eaglemount Wine & Cider is celebrating the release of our Sangria, a Malbec blended with cranberry, raspberry, and orange! Partnering with two regional favorites, Chimacum Valley Dairy and Crimson Cove Smoked Specialties, we will pair our artisan wines, ciders and fruit meads with creamy, aged Jersey milk cheeses and locally smoked gouda, pepper jack, and cheddar cheeses. Think Sangria and orange peel-coriander cheese or Cabernet Franc and smoked gouda! An array of our spring ciders will also be available for tasting.

• In Sequim, Wind Rose Cellars will team-up with Black Sheep Creamery from Chehalis, pairing their award-winning artisanal sheep cheeses with our award-winning locally produced wines. New wine releases will include our 2016 Pinot Grigio, 2016 Rosato and 2015 Hunters Red. We’ll also be pouring our 2014 Dolcetto and 2012 Barbera. We will have live music both Friday and Saturday nights (7-9pm). On Friday, local duo “Hannah and Christian” will perform several rock classics along with some Motown hits. Saturday night we’ll host “Chris and Colleen,” a jazz duo from Port Angeles playing vibes and cello. NO COVER either night.

• Olympic Cellars, Port Angeles, will feature small batch cheeses from Pacific Northwest creameries. The cellar will be open for visitors to immerse themselves in Winemaker Greg’s world. Meanwhile, Lisa will prepare toasted cheese nibbles paired with our favorite heritage wines, Dungeness White Riesling and Dungeness Red Lemberger. Add a little Tomato Tapas Jam or Quince Honey Rosemary Spread and take your tasting to the next level. Local hot sauce producers, Lazy Soul, will be on hand on Saturday to sample their Mango Mustard hot sauce. Then on Sunday, the Peninsula College Vocal Jazz Ensemble lead by local musicians will entertain tasters with solo versions of their favorite Jazz standards.

• Also in Port Angeles, Camaraderie Cellars celebrates spring and our 25th year making great wine. We are pleased to pair once again with our friends from Willapa Hills Farmstead Cheese of Doty, Wash., home of Big Boy Blue, Pluvius, and Ewe Old Cow cheeses made from both sheep and cow’s milk. Wines poured will pair with their selected cheeses, but will include our newly released 2014 Dolcetto. There will also be savory scones from Rolling Bay Baking Company and small bites of cheese tortellini. When you come to Camaraderie, bring your camera and be ready to “say cheese” in one of our picturesque spots: the roaring fire pit or the spring gardens.

• Harbinger Winery, Port Angeles, is proud to pair our award-winning wines with the raw, handmade, artisan cheeses of Chimacum Valley Dairy. A variety of flavor- infused cheeses will be available to sample, like the “Herbs de Provence”, Cumin Seed, West Valley Wheel, and Cinnamon Cocoa. These aromatic beauties will bring out unique flavors in the wine, thus creating a full-tilt dance party in your mouth! Along with these remarkable locally- produced cheeses, we will be sharing some in-house favorites with a twist; how about a White Stilton with Mango and Ginger Bread Pudding paired with a glass of Viognier? Or Drunken Goat Flatbread and the Double-Gold 2012 Bolero? Whatever flavor pairings you may come up with, we know the end result will be the same: AMAZING!