UPPER LAKE — Some of them have driven through Lake County before. Others never knew about it. But once they arrived, they agreed, unanimously, they would be back.
“Road Scholar,” Roy Marshall Sr. of Portland, Ore. said he used to come to Lake County when he was 10, to go swimming. Now he”s back for wine and knowledge.
Joe Marcus of South Carolina said the Lake County trip exceeded his expectations. “I will be back and will certainly recommend this beautiful place to friends and family.”
The Road Scholars, formerly Elder Hostel, are part of a huge international organization based in Boston focused on adult education. The organization was focused on people 55 and older, but now it welcomes all ages. Participants are still mostly active seniors.
Owner of the Tallman Hotel, Bernie Butcher, said he was inspired to host the group because his parents used to go on these programs and enjoyed them very much.
“After we established the Tallman, I researched the program and discovered to my surprise that they had never done any courses in Lake County,” Butcher said. “I thought, with our maturing wine industry and natural beauty, we could sponsor such a program. It took me a while to get the proposal through the Boston bureaucracy, but they”re now very excited about doing more here.”
The first program in October was called “North of Napa: Wine Country the Way it Used to Be.”
That program sold out.
Three participants this week are from California, with a large contingent from the Pacific Northwest and quite a few from the southern states. They all have a food and wine interest.
Participants checked in and had a welcome dinner on Sunday. On Monday, Matt Hughes, winemaker at Six Sigma Ranch, and Peter Molnar, of Obsidian Ridge, current chairman of the Lake County Winegrape Commission, lectured the group on viticulture. Afterward they visited Shannon Ridge Ranch and Ceago Vinegarden with hosts Clay Shannon and Jim Fetzer.
On Tuesday they learned about winemaking techniques from Hughes and then took a tour of the Steele Winery with assistant winemaker Joy Marilees. After a picnic lunch there, they visited Wildhurst and Rosa d”Oro in Kelseyville as well as a stop at the Kelseyville Olive Mill and the new Robledo Family Tasting Room on Soda Bay Road.
The final tasting of the day was hosted by Susan Feiler at the Lake County Wine Studio in Upper Lake.
Wednesday was devoted to wine sensory education and food parings in the Tallman Meeting House with Ray Johnson, head of the Wine Business Institute at Sonoma State University. Johnson and Hughes are the driving forces behind the Lake County People”s Choice Wine Awards, now in its third year.
The day was highlighted by a visit from Gregory Graham and a three-course lunch in the hotel dining room prepared by Julie Hoskins of Chic le Chef and paired with Graham wines.
The final day of the program will cover the southern part of the county starting with a visit to Brassfield Estate in High Valley and then to Six Sigma Ranch in Lower Lake. Hughes will lead them through a wine blending competition and host a picnic lunch. The day ends with a visit to the Langtry winery and Lillie Langtry House outside of Middletown.
The next Road Scholar Lake County wine program will be held on Oct. 23 through 28.
Prior to that, the Tallman is organizing a more general introduction to Lake County from Sept. 25 through 30 that will feature one day on the natural history of the lake, one day on Lake County wines, one day on seasonal foods and a final day focused on some of the musicians in the area.
More information on all Road Scholar programs is available at www.RoadScholar.org, and details about the Lake County programs can be obtained by calling 275-2244.
