If Sonoma is a work in progress, Lake County's Red Hills, southwest of Clear Lake, is still taking baby steps toward becoming a quality Cabernet region. Lake County is where Jess Jackson got his start, planting the vineyard that became Kendall-Jackson. His winemaker, Jed Steele, started his own company, Steele Wines, in Lake County after leaving K-J and has been a fixture since. Napa producers ... (READ MORE, PDF 3.5MB)
How do you get from Napa Valley to Lake County? Just follow the Mayacamas Mountains - and the smart money.
Experienced Napa growers have been flocking to the region north of Napa in search of prime Cabernet Sauvignon-growing conditions at a much cheaper price. Since 1997 the number of wineries in Lake County has increased from four to 32, at least doubling in the past four years. Total vineyard plantings have gone from 5,000 acres to 8,800 acres - up by almost 80 percent. With quality high and cost low, you will be seeing more ... (READ MORE see online article)
SAN FRANCISCO – Lake County wines won nearly 80 awards this year at the prestigious San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, with approximately 50 of the top medals going to Lake County Winery Association members.
The annual San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition is touted as the "largest competition of American wines in the world."
The 2010 event concluded Jan. 8 following five days of tasting and evaluating 4,913 entries, a world record number ... (READ MORE see online article)
Lake County wines will be the exclusive vintages served during a prestigious American Wine Society (AWS) banquet in November. In addition, Lake County representatives will participate in program seminars with three separate presentations on the Lake County winegrape growing region.
This year’s national conference of the American Wine Society is scheduled for Nov. 5-7 and will take place in Destin, Florida. During the event’s awards banquet, the Winegrape Commission will pour Lake County wines to more than 600 attendees. Lake County’s Winegrape Commission is the only sponsor pouring at the banquet.
Lake County Winegrape Commission Chair Peter Molnar and Wildhurst Vineyards winemaker Mark Burch will join Gunier in giving seminar presentations on Lake County and offering tastes of Lake County wine.
The Lake County contingent will be among winery owners, pioneers in the various aspects of the wine industry, and renowned winemakers who are selected to present sessions. The conference also includes a program educating members to become AWS trained wine judges.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for the Commission to showcase Lake County wines at a national event,” said Molnar, who will be giving a presentation on “A Taste of Lake County.” Gunier will be on hand to pour tastes for seminar attendees.
In another session, Burch will be speaking about “Lake County Sauvignon Blanc, the Right Grape in the Right Place,” and guests will be able to “taste for themselves,” states the event brochure.
To prepare for the conference, the Winegrape Commission arranged for over 30 cases of Lake County wine to be shipped to Florida, said Gunier. She said she looks forward to promoting and pouring the area’s fine wines at the AWS conference.
Click here to see the AWS event page and details about Lake County Wines
Since the 1840s, people have ventured into Lake County largely to take something out. Early on, it was cattle fattened on lush valley grasses, then quicksilver and borax, butter and cheese, walnuts and pears, largemouth bass and catfish, and cures from simmering mineral springs. Today, add loot from casinos, energy from geothermal pools, photos from birdwatching and, increasingly, wine.
Draped high on ridges overlooking Clear Lake, sweeping up the slopes of Mount Konocti and spreading across plains from the lake's shores, vineyards now cover 8,304 acres of Lake County, with another 500 acres ...
Wine grapes are the leading crop in Lake County. According to the Lake County Farm Bureau, 2007 was an exceptional year with a reported $43 million gross value for wine grapes, accounting for more than half the total $72 million for all of the county’s agricultural products that year.(READ MORE see PDF article)
We know about body, bouquet and finish as wine characteristics, but an Upper Lake couple is adding a new wine dynamic — horsepower. It's a real stable element.
Husband and wife team Glenn Benjamin and Dana DiRicco grow wine grapes on 30 acres of their 110-acre farm in Lake County with substantial help from their 12 Percheron draft horses. Ironically, the 2,000-pound animals are involved in almost every viticultural phase except crushing ... (READ MORE see PDF article)
| Varietal | Winery | Wine | Award | SRP |
| Cabernet Sauvignon | Shannon Ridge Winery | 2007 Lake County | Best of Class | $19.00 |
| Cabernet Sauvignon | Shed Horn Cellars | 2006 Lake County | Best of Class | $30.00 |
| Merlot | Steele | 2006 Lake County | Best of Class | $18.00 |
| Zinfandel | Brassfield Estate | 2005 High Valley Round Mountain | Double Gold | $21.99 |
| Zinfandel | Jus Soli Winery | 2006 Lake County Madder lake | Gold | $30.00 |
| Zinfandel | Wildhurst Vineyards | 2007 Lake County Home Ranch | Gold | $29.00 |
| Syrah/Shiraz | Ceago Vinegarden | 2006 Clear Lake Del Lago | Gold | $22.00 |
| Syrah/Shiraz | Red Lava Vineyards | 2006 Red Hills Lake County | Gold | $25.00 |
| Petite Sirah | Writers Block | 2006 Lake County | Gold | $24.99 |
| Merlot | Ceago Vinegarden | 2006 Clear Lake Del Lago | Gold | $26.00 |