Local Winemakers to Pour Their Wines First Thursday of Each Month

The Blue Wing Saloon and Café will be launching a new series of monthly “Meet the Winemaker” evenings. These events extend the Blue Wing’s focus on offering its patrons the best wines produced in Lake County.

The Winemaker Evenings will be held on the first Thursday of each month from 5:30-9 pm. The evenings will allow restaurant patrons to taste a wide variety of wines and meet some of the most notable winemakers in the area. The Saloon kitchen staff will work closely with the winemakers each evening to produce special dishes that properly compliment the wines being featured.

Th., Feb. 7 – Winemaker Matt Hughes of Zoom Wines will kick off the series. Zoom is a Lake County zinfandel specialist whose wines have been big sellers at the Saloon since its opening in June, 2005. Matt is also winemaker for the Blue Wing Sauvignon Blanc (Bennett Vineyards) and Blue Wing Syrah (Obsidian Ridge Vineyards) as well as the popular Blue Wing house Chardonnay and Cabernet. He is currently chairman of the Lake County Winery Association.

Th., March 6 – Ceago Vinegarden: Winemaker Javier Tapia and owner Jim Fetzer will pour their bio-dynamically grown Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The beautiful lakeside Ceago facility and tasting room is located on Highway 20 between the towns of Nice and Lucerne.

Th., April 3 – Eden Crest Vineyards: Owners and winemakers T. J. and Tammy Mickel will pour their hand-crafted Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. With production facilities in Kelseyville, this family winery produces less than 1000 cases a year, but their attention to detail is rewarded with a truly wonderful product marketed at a reasonable price.

Th., May 1 – Shannon Ridge Wines: Winemakers Marco DiGuilio and Mike Wood together with owner Clay Shannon will present a selection of wines, most made from grapes grown on the high elevation Shannon Ridge property above Clear Lake. The quaint Shannon Ridge tasting room managed by Joey Luiz is located in a converted one-room schoolhouse in Clearlake Oaks. Mike
Wood will also pour his own Shed Horn wines.

Th. June 5 – Naughty Boy Vineyards: Winemaker Greg Graziano and owners Jim and MJ Scott will pour the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines made from grapes grown on the Scotts’ six acre vineyard in Potter Valley. The 2004 Naughty Boy Pinot Noir was recently ranked by the San Francisco Chronicle as one of the 100 best wines on the West Coast.