Lake County Home Wine Makers Festival-Lakeport, Ca
Event Date: June 23, 2012 : 1:00 PM-5:00 PM
The annual festival is sponsored by the Clear Lake Performing Arts (CLPA). Proceeds go to support CLPA's fine music activities, including in-school music programs for elementary students, scholarships, concerts and sole underwriting of the outstanding Lake County Symphony.
A large panel of professionals will judge the wide variety of beers and wines submitted by skilled home winemakers and homebrewers. This year the event will be a santioned BJCP event.
Along with the many Lake County home winemakers, amateurs are coming from most of the nearby counties including Mendocino, Napa, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Alameda, Sonoma and Marin. Many of them are award winners from past festivals.
They will be joined by a dozen of Lake County's premium commercial wineries, pouring samples of their wines, with many offering winery discounts for attendees.
Lakeport restaurants and other food purveyors will offer food. Once again popular local keyboardist David Neft, supported by drummer Steve DuBois will provide musical entertainment as The David Neft Duo, with intermission assistance from groups from the Lake County Symphony. Erik Patrick will once again serve as master of ceremonies.
A major silent auction featuring dozens of valuable prizes supplied by Lake County businesses and individuals – including use of a Maui condo and numerous gifts of fine wine, among them samples from the vineyards of Congressman Mike Thompson – also will be offered, along with raffle drawings.
The festival will be open to the public from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., but participants – including not only home wine and beer makers, but also arts and crafts people and commercial wineries – should have their booth setups completed by 11 am. Space assignments are made by event coordinator Jim Perry and will be available at the main CLPA booth by 9 a.m.
Along with the judge's ribbons, home wine and beer makers also will be eligible for the "Peoples Choice" awards, determined by ballots submitted by attendees. Awards are also given for best decorated booths and best wine labels.
Amateur Wine and Beer Makers are encouraged to enter the Wine and Beer Competitions prior to the Festival. The competition is open to everyone regardless of location. We’d love to see your entry this year. Enter for the chance to win great ribbons, get valuable feedback, and of course, bragging rights.
Our 10th Annual Lake County Home Wine Maker's Festival homebrew competition will be using all rules and procedures established by the Beer Judge Certification Program.
The homebrew competition will be open to all styles and sub-styles of beer in BJCP categories 1 through 23 (see the BJCP website for more information on these categories). Mead and Cider entries will not be included this year.
Entry window for Beer entries opens June 1st. Entry deadline is June 15th, 2012. See entry instruction sheet for drop-off and mail-in locations.
Wine Submissions will need to be delivered the day of the event. A 750-milliliter bottle of each varietal to be judged must be delivered to the drop-off location at the tasting room of Bell Hill Vineyards at 125 Park Street, across from Library Park and next to Biggs 155 restaurant. Please deliver your entries between 8:30 AM and 9:30 AM the day of the event. Download an entry form and bring with your submission
To apply to have a booth at the event, fill out and send a Booth Application to:
Home Winemakers Festival@CLPA, PO Box 974, Lakeport, CA 95453
Contact Ed Bublitz for more information at edandcharb1@att.net