UPPER LAKE — Sitting in the dining room of the Tallman Hotel for lunch, couples Gary and Lodi Panattoni and Neil and Liz Lark swirled, sniffed and tasted Shannon Ridge Sauvignon Blanc; techniques they learned at a sensory evaluation class earlier in the day. The wine is locally made and is one of countless regional wines they tasted during the week.
“(The instructor) told us to spit out what we”re drinking,” Gary said, Liz added with a smile, “but we didn”t.”
They are long-time Road Scholars, and for this trip, they came to Lake County.
Twice a year, once in the spring and fall, Road Scholars come to Lake County for a five-day program introducing them to area wines. They learn about the grapes, vida and culture.
The Road Scholars program, a travel and educational program, mostly for the retired, holds learning vacations all over the world.
Bernie Butcher, owner of the Tallman Hotel, is one of the people responsible for bringing Road Scholars to Lake County.
He said most people are familiar with the Napa and Sonoma wine industries and not as many know about Lake County.
In this group of 24 scholars, people came from Indiana, Michigan and other states across the country.
For day three of the program, they had a sensory evaluation class in the morning, taught by Ray Johnson, director of the wine business institute at Sonoma State University, followed by a three-course lunch with accompanying wines.
Chef Brian Revitske worked to make wine pairings for each course to show off the wine and cuisine of Lake County, Johnson said.
“It”s teaching us how to appreciate wine,” Neil said.
With more than 30 wineries, by the third day, the scholars had visited 11.
“It”s well-organized,” Liz said. “These are people who are experts and really know what they”re talking about. It”s the value in doing something like this, everything is set for you and you don”t have to read a map.”
This is the Lark”s 19th trip as Road Scholars and the Panattoni”s sixth.
Vacations like these are, “a chance for older people to get educated through travel,” Liz said.
The trip gives the group a chance to learn about wine, while getting exposure to the area.
There are, “impressive drinks and the view up the canyon ridge, the lake and valley are all wonderful,” Neil said.
Johnson said they wanted to create a program, “in which people can immerse themselves in the culture.”
For each educational wine activity, scholars get the chance to learn about Lake County as well. It gives them first-hand exposure to the area and its vineyards.
“As we pulled into one of the wineries, a truck was coming out full of grapes and we got to see them make the juice,” Gary said.
It is a great way to build relationships with consumers and have them come back to the region, Johnson said. Programs like these, “give people a sense of place, and they”ll hopefully tell their friends when they go back home,” he said.
“Some of us are doing quite well,” Liz said, “we are going to fill up our truck and say good things about Lake County when we leave.”
Butcher is also working on a Road Scholars program for birding and both the Larks and Panattonis said they would be interested in coming back for that trip.
Berenice Quirino is a staff reporter for Lake County publishing. She can be reached at 263-5636 ext. 14 or bereniceq@gmail.com.
