Elizabeth Wilson–Record-Bee staff
Kelseyville ? A home winemakers festival in Kelseyville is set to take place on Main Street June 28, sponsored by the Clear Lake Performing Arts and Kelseyville Business Association. Organizers were surprised this spring when Alcoholic Beverage Control pointed out that existing state law says such home winemaker festivals are illegal.
But a remedy to what Sen. Pat Wiggins (D ? Santa Rosa) called a “badly outdated” law, may be on the way in the form of a bill authored by Wiggins that received the Legislature”s approval Thursday. Wiggins” office says Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will sign it, possibly as early as this weekend.
“For us or anybody else, this came as a bolt of the blue. Nobody anticipated anything like this ? it”s never happened before, and we”re relative newcomers,” Conn Murray said, chair of the Kelseyville festival. “The Napa Classic has been going on for 25 years, and they”d never been told [it”s illegal].”
Current law states up to 200 gallons of wine can be produced at home, but its illegal to take it off the property or serve it to others.
Whatever the outcome of Wiggins” bill, the Kelseyville festival and hundreds of others plan to still hold home winemaking events.
Kelseyville”s festival each year fills out forms for ABC, and has never been told the event was illegal. ABC pointed out the law this spring to an Illinois man who wanted to find out the rules in to hold a festival in Santa Rosa this summer, and once ABC told him “its illegal” festival organizers and Sen. Wiggins leapt to attention to get the law fixed.
“Sheriff Mitchell has been very supportive and through his contact with us and with Sen. Wiggins, once the governor signs it off [the bill], then the sheriff will be standing by to sign his permit, and then we take that to ABC,” Murray said.
He said the Kelseyville festival, in its sixth year, has grown “little by little each year,” and has about 25-30 home winemakers involved.
This year for the first time, festival organizers intend to ask the approximately 500 to 600 attendees where they came from, so they know where to market the festival next year.
All of the money raised at the festival, in a raffle, silent auction and wine glass sales, goes to support Clear Lake Performing Arts” music programs, including its youth orchestra. About $7,800 was raised last year, Murray said.
This year the festival will have noted wine critic and author of “Great American Wine” Craig Renaud as a guest of honor and judge. His book challenges preconceptions about the trendy, wine-sipping set and what he calls the “condescending, misleading wine-rating system.”
At Kelseyville”s Winefest, Renaud will join six other area experts in judging the efforts of amateur wine makers. Although Lake County”s commercial wineries will be represented at the event, only the homemade wines will be eligible for judging.
“Everybody has their marching orders ? they”re sailing along and right now we”re still recruiting amateur wine makers,” Murray said.
The festival takes place from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Contact Elizabeth Wilson at ewilson@record-bee.com.
