NOTE: “Today” and “tonight” refer to Friday, Aug. 8.
PORT ANGELES –– Toast the Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra with a new red wine made to capture the spirit of the 82-year-old orchestra.
Camaraderie Cellars of Port Angeles will unveil its Rhapsody in Red, a special vintage made to support the symphony, at A Bach’s Picnic, the fifth annual concert and picnic at 6 p.m. tonight at the winery.
Picnic sold out
Though the $75-per-person picnic is sold out, a $24.50 bottle of wine can be ordered from Camaraderie Cellars at 334 Benson Road or by phone at 360-417-3564.
A 10 percent discount is available for a case (12 bottles for $265).
“Drink up and support the symphony,” said Vicki Corson, co-owner with her husband, winemaker Don Corson, of Camaraderie Cellars.
The new blend is for those who want to help fund the symphony and/or those who just want a good red wine.
The blend was developed by a crew of four people who purchased the opportunity to help Don Corson develop the wine at April’s Applause! auction for the symphony.
“Don had this brainstorm to make a fundraiser, and we thought it sounded like a natural fit,” said Mark Wendeborn, symphony director.
Blending panel
The four were part of a blending panel led by Don Corson who pulled wine that had been barreled but not yet bottled and developed the symphony-specific blend.
“It’s full-bodied but approachable, with a lovely aroma of spice and black fruit,” Don Corson said of his “liquid rhapsody.”
The Port Angeles winery, which has been on the North Olympic Peninsula since 1992, produced 60 cases of the wine as a fundraiser for the symphony.
Last year, Camaraderie produced the Plein Air Special Limited Vintage Wine as a fundraiser for the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center.
The label was designed and donated by master silk painter Karen Sistek, who teaches at Peninsula College and in her studio.
The silk art will be sold by auction at tonight’s picnic.
All proceeds from the picnic and from each bottle of wine go to the symphony.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Joe Smillie can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or at jsmillie@peninsuladailynews.com.
