LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – More than 1,100 adventurers descended on Lake County and traveled between participating wineries on Saturday, July 26, and Sunday, July 27, for the 2014 Lake County Wine Adventure.
The event promised wine, food and fun and delivered. From the Baconfest at Gregory Graham’s to the Sliders at Twin Pines, revelers enjoyed a smörgåsbord of wonderful food pairings to accompany the award winning wines poured for the day.
“I heard over and over that this was the best Wine Adventure yet,” said Lake County Winery Association Executive Director Terry Dereniuk. “Adventurers enjoyed one delicious experience after the other in spite of triple digit temperatures. Our members really rolled out the welcome mat to showcase our wines and welcome people to enjoy the Lake County wine region experience.”
Twenty-nine wineries opened their doors and offered wines, food, music, and fun for the 10th anniversary of this annual event.
New features were added this year including the option of picking up the passport adventure kit on Friday to avoid the Saturday rush, a best winery contest, diamond wine charms to celebrate Lake County’s famous diamonds, displays by local artists at many locations, and a raffle benefiting the Lake County Chapter of Relay for Life.
The best winery contest invited participants to vote for their favorite wineries in three categories: best food and wine; best hospitality; best overall experience.
Ballots are still being counted, but Dereniuk said, “The wineries’ staffs and volunteers work so hard to plan and execute this annual weekend. I know that they are all waiting to find out the winner in each category.”
The Relay for Life raffle included more than 50 bottles of Lake County wines donated by members of the Lake County Winery Association and a wine refrigerator donated by Savings Bank of Mendocino.
Relay volunteers sold tickets at 14 participating winery locations, raising more than $5,000 for the fight against cancer. The lucky winner of the raffle was local resident Donna Rose.
“We were thrilled to sponsor the Relay for Life. Cancer touches so many of us that we wanted to help raise money to help the American Cancer Society in the race for a cure,” Dereniuk said.