The Wine Knows

I grew up looking at the Olympic Mountains. In school, we played Olympic High. My first newspaper job was on the Olympic Peninsula.

Sue me.

Thus continues the silliness of the U.S. Olympic Committee, which is getting nasty with Kathy Charlton, owner of Olympic Cellars in Port Angeles, a city on the Olympic Peninsula.

I saw this one coming several years ago when Charlton bought the winery and renamed it from Neuharth Winery, its original name when it was launched in 1979.

Charlton has done a terrific job in the past half-decade of marketing her 13,000-case winery. Now, it turns out she won't be able to market her winery beyond the boundaries of Western Washington. That means no Internet and little print advertising (technically speaking, she wouldn't be able to advertise in Wine Press Northwest or the two Seattle newspapers, all of which circulate in Eastern Washington).

Ironically, all of the grapes that go into Olympic Cellars' wines come from Eastern Washington, where the USOC won't allow Olympic Cellars to sell or promote its wines. This might even preclude Charlton from entering her wines in competitions outside of Western Washington.

With the 2010 Winter Olympics northeast of Port Angeles in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C., there's no doubt the Olympic Committee's focus has narrowed on any Olympic Peninsula businesses with the "O" word.

Charlton got a letter in October from the USOC stating she could not sell any wine online to new customers outside of Western Washington after Dec. 31. She was told by the USOC that she would have to turn down business from any new online customers.

If you want to send a little "screw you" message to the bullies at the USOC, call Olympic Cellars at 360-452-0160 and order some of its delicious wines, which have won golds, silvers and bronzes at regional, national and international competitions.