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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Overcast skies, rain, and even hail didn’t put a damper on the enthusiasm of visitors and locals participating in this year’s Lake County Wine Adventure.

Twenty wineries throughout the county, from Upper Lake to Middletown, hosted tastings for the annual passport event organized by the Lake County Winery Association.

Some wineries offered food, as well, often thoughtfully paired with their wines.

While day-of ticket sales are still being tallied, Helena Walsh, executive director of the Lake County Winery Association, estimated that close to 1,000 participated in this year’s Wine Adventure.

My husband and I toured the county and enjoyed many of the wineries over the weekend. We began our adventure on Saturday at Langtry Estate and Vineyards in Middletown, one of the check-in points for the event.

It was quiet when we entered, but I was glad to learn that the pelting rain hadn’t kept people away. According to Buffy Thomas, who was pouring at the wine bar, we had just missed a lively time when dozens of people arrived promptly at 11 a.m. to check in.

Three of Langtry’s wines were offered, two made with their Petit Syrah grapes, and bouquets of lavender graced the tables.

When we arrived at Six Sigma Ranch, Vineyards & Winery, proprietor Kaj Ahlmann was on hand to greet each visitor as they arrived.

Six Sigma is a true working ranch, and on the 2-mile jaunt from the road to their historic tasting room, a former stagecoach depot, we were treated to views of pastured cattle and sheep.

We also caught glimpses of the bike trails built on the ranch for competitive high school events. One such event was held the weekend prior to the Wine Adventure, and we were told by Ahlmann that nearly 5,000 people visited the grounds over that two-day period.

Four of their wines were poured in a tent which protected visitors from the inclement weather, each matched with a tasty bite of food. Visitors were handed a plate with all four hors d’oeuvres upon arrival, which made for convenient pairing.

Ahlmann shared that despite the rain, there were no complaints from visitors; in fact, some saw it as an opportunity to purchase wine since excessive heat wouldn’t spoil it when stored in their vehicle.

I chatted with Wendy and Daniel Kodur, residents of Newark, Calif., in the tasting tent and learned that they traveled to Lake County to join Kelseyville friends on the Wine Adventure, their first. Both were impressed with the welcoming spirit they encountered at the wineries.

The sun shone beautifully on the Brassfield Estate when we visited on Sunday morning. The impressive Tuscan-style villa was buzzing with visitors there to taste the wine.

Hand-crafted California olive oils and imported balsamic vinegars were on display just outside the tasting room on a covered patio. A wide variety of flavors were available for tasting which made it a popular spot.

Young parents Mike and Jeannette from Oakland invited their children’s grandparents along as extra hands so they could experience the event.

With a cumulative total of nine Wine Adventures under their belt, they’re true veterans and consider the event to be Lake County’s “open house.”

They said that the quality of Lake County wines, as well as their great value, keeps them coming back year after year. They especially appreciate the wide-open spaces at Brassfield which their children enjoy.

As we left the Brassfield Estate, the sun retreated and rain followed us to our next destination. We learned later that hail fell in Lower Lake just before we passed through.

It was a family affair at the Gregory Graham Estate Vineyards & Winery, with Marianne Graham’s brother, Patrick, at the entrance and her mother (whose name tag said “MOM”), pouring chardonnay at the first tasting station. Gregory and Marianne Graham were also on hand to chat with visitors.

Of the wineries we visited, this one had the most generous food offerings. Pulled pork sliders (along with coconut slaw and mac and cheese) were paired with their 2012 Estate Syrah, and for dessert, fried waffle balls were paired deliciously with Zinfandel and Moscato wines.

As we were leaving I stopped to chat with a trio of friends, all locals, Denise Combs, Lisa Baker and Laura Sammel, who were on their second winery stop of the day.

All three were enthusiastic about their winery visits thus far. Baker, a two-year resident and two-time participant, has found the Wine Adventure a good way to be introduced to both the county and its wines.

Combs and Sammel are Certified Tourism Ambassadors, and said that in addition to personal enjoyment, they appreciate that the Wine Adventure draws people into the county and provides them with a positive experience.

Just up the road from the Gregory Graham Estate is Vigilance Winery & Vineyards, where wines from the Shannon family were served overlooking sweeping views of vineyards. Clear Lake shone like a blue jewel just beyond them.

This winery had a nosh on offer with each wine they served. According to my husband, the triangles of pastry with raspberry and chocolate paired nicely with their bourbon barrel-aged Buck Shack Cabernet.

Our next destination was Thorn Hill Vineyards. I had passed by this winery often while traversing Highway 29 over the years, and was glad to have the opportunity to stop in.

Winemaker and co-owner Amy Thorn greeted visitors and poured wines at a station near the door.

Four wines, each creatively paired with a flavorsome tidbit, were available in the cozy tasting room, complete with a fire hearthside to dispel the day’s gloom.

It was interesting to learn that Thorn and her husband purchased the land after tasting a Cabernet from the same region, the Red Hills AVA. She said that with one sip she knew that this was the place she wanted to develop their winery.

After leaving Thorn Hill, we headed to Boatique Winery, which is nestled in the hills leading up to Cobb Mountain.

True to its name, this winery boasts an impressive collection of museum-quality wooden boats, all polished to a luminous shine, along with a few vintage automobiles.

Their first pour was a bubbly chardonnay, and guests were welcome to make their own snack mix at a popcorn bar.

While at Boatique, I met best friends and Lake County residents Katelyn Andersen and Shannon Billeci, who were dressed in 1950s-style ensembles. They enjoy wine-tasting and make the Wine Adventure an annual outing.

They tipped me off to an ice sculpture at nearby Laujor Estate, and since it was nearing the end of the day, my husband and I decided to head over there for a quick visit.

As we walked down the hill from our car to the Laujor tasting room, we noticed that those leaving were sporting colored daisies in their hair or behind their ears.

When we entered the tasting room, we saw why: Laujor Estate had a well-orchestrated 1960s “Summer of Love” theme going on.

Nearly everyone representing Laujor, from the owner/winemaker to volunteer pourers, were outfitted in apparel from the era, and flowers were dispensed to visitors upon tasting wine.

Fire pits were aflame on the patio, where one could taste Cabernet paired with meatballs accompanied by a wine sauce.

My favorite part of our visit there was the “wine luge” ice sculpture in the shape of a VW love bus. Two volunteers, Lu and Marti, poured wine through tubing in the luge so it was dispensed cold.

The wine used is dubbed Mystique, and I was told it was half Cabernet, half Sauvignon Blanc, with a spritz of Syrah.

Afterwards, I was given a peace sign sticker to celebrate the rite of passage.

We had just enough time to visit one more winery, so we drove north to Olof Cellars, which sits in the beautiful valley between Kelseyville and Lakeport with views of Mt. Konocti.

Though it was near the conclusion of the Wine Adventure, owners Eric and Cindi Olof warmly welcomed us and others who had opted to end the day at this venue.

Since I was the designated driver for the weekend, very little wine passed my lips. I was about to make an exception, however, for a wine I had heard about from another adventurer.

Without much detail, I was told that Olof Cellars had a “white wine for red wine drinkers” and I was intrigued enough to try it.

It turns out this wine is made from Nebbiolo, a red Italian varietal. For the Olof Cellars White Nebbiolo I tasted, the skins were removed, giving the wine a rich golden color.

The delightful flavor was worth every sip, and it was perfectly paired with a mango flatbread and sweet slaw with salmon.

I had a chance to converse with Eric Olof, a self-taught winemaker, and learned that he planted Italian and French varietals that thrive in our Mediterranean-like climate. As far as he knows, he’s the only U.S. winemaker that presses Nebbiolo grapes.

As much as I wished I could have visited all 20 participating wineries, time constraints prevented it. Even so, the weekend was immensely rich, and as I looked through the many photos I took over the weekend, I was impressed, as always, by the diversity of our wineries and the sheer beauty of our county.

Esther Oertel is a writer and passionate home cook from a family of chefs. She grew up in a restaurant, where she began creating recipes from a young age. She’s taught culinary classes in a variety of venues in Lake County and previously wrote “The Veggie Girl” column for Lake County News. Most recently she’s taught culinary classes at Sur La Table in Santa Rosa, Calif. She lives in Middletown, Calif.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control is full this Memorial Day weekend with dogs ready to go to new homes for the summer.

Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of Catahoula Leopard Dog, Chihuahua, Dalmatian, German Shepherd, hound, Labrador Retriever, pit bull, poodle, shepherd, terrier, treeing walker coonhound and wirehaired terrier.

Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.

If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.

The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).

‘Blaze’

“Blaze” is a male Labrador Retriever with a short black coat and white markings.

He already has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 2, ID No. 12304.

‘Luna’

“Luna” if a young female German Shepherd with a medium-length black and tan coat.

She’s in kennel No. 4, ID No. 12282.

Female terrier

This female terrier has a medium-length fawn-colored coat.

She is in kennel No. 6, ID No. 12233.

Female terrier

This female terrier has a medium-length fawn coat.

She has been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 7, ID No. 12234.

‘Duke’

“Duke” is a male Labrador Retriever with a short black coat with white markings.

He already has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 8, ID No. 11022.

Labrador Retriever-Dalmatian

This male Labrador Retriever-Dalmatian has a short black and white coat.

He’s in kennel No. 10, ID No. 12238.

‘Scooby’

“Scooby” is a male poodle mix with a medium-length white and tan coat.

Shelter staff said he previously was an outside-only dog in a family with 5- and 12-year-old children. His owner described him as very friendly and smart.

He is in kennel No. 11, ID No. 12312.

Catahoula Leopard Dog

This male Catahoula Leopard Dog has a short tricolor coat.

He’s in kennel No. 13, ID No. 12230.

Male poodle mix

This male poodle mix has a curly white and tan coat.

He’s in kennel No. 16a, ID No. 12291.

Male wirehaired terrier

This male wirehaired terrier has a coarse brown coat.

He’s in kennel No. 16b, ID No. 12292.

Male wirehaired terrier

This male wirehaired terrier has a coarse black and white coat.

He’s in kennel No. 16c, ID No. 12301.

‘Luke’

“Luke” is a male treeing walker coonhound with a short tricolor coat.

Shelter staff said he is dominant with other dogs and would prefer not to play but just soak up human affection. He can live with others but prefers to not have them in his space. Luke is good with children ages 6 and above.

He has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 18, ID No. 11771.

Male Labrador Retriever

This male Labrador Retriever has a medium-length black and white coat.

He’s in kennel No. 22, ID No. 12201.

Male Labrador Retriever

This male Labrador Retriever has a short black coat with white markings.

He’s in kennel No. 24, ID No. 12194.

Female pit bull terrier

This female pit bull terrier has a short tan coat.

She’s in kennel No. 26, ID No. 12185.

‘Bear’

“Bear” is a male Labrador Retriever with a short black coat with white markings.

He’s in kennel No. 27, ID No. 12205.

Hound-Labrador Retriever

This female hound-Labrador Retriever has a short red coat.

She’s in kennel No. 28, ID No. 12279.

Chihuahua-terrier mix

This male Chihuahua-terrier mix has a short black coat.

He’s in kennel No. 29a, ID No. 12112.

Female Labrador Retriever

This young female Labrador Retriever has a short black and white coat.

She has been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 33a, ID No. 12189.

Female Labrador Retriever

This young female Labrador Retriever has a short black and white coat.

She has been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 33b, ID No. 12190.

Female Labrador Retriever

This young female Labrador Retriever has a short black and white coat.

She’s in kennel No. 34a, ID No. 12191.

Female Labrador Retriever

This young female Labrador Retriever has a short black and white coat.

She’s in kennel No. 34b, ID No. 12192.

Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .

For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Memorial Day Weekend marks the unofficial start of the busy summer travel season, and the Office of Traffic Safety is reminding drivers hitting the road for a weekend getaway to plan ahead and “go safely.”

According to projections from the American Automobile Association, AAA, more than 37 million Americans will be on the road for the Memorial Day holiday, a 3.5-percent increase from last year. In California, about 4.5 million people will travel by car.

“With so many Californians getting away this weekend, the roads will be packed,” OTS Director Rhonda Craft said. “Bring the patience with you and be safe out there. We are all going places and want to get there safely.”

In order to arrive safely this Memorial Day Weekend, the OTS has a few tips for drivers preparing for a long road trip:

• Make sure your car is in good, working order. Check your brakes, battery, transmission, tires, oil, windshield wipers, air conditioning and lights.

• Allow extra time for travel and anticipate delays.

• Pack an emergency kit with a phone charger, flashlight, first aid kit, spare tire, tire pressure gauge, tire iron and jumper cables.

• Bring extra snacks, blankets and plenty of water.

• Never drive distracted, tired or under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

• Monitor traffic conditions, including any crashes, delays and road work using Caltrans’ QuickMap, which is available online or on a free app for iPhones and Androids. QuickMap also shows rest stop locations.

“We are all excited to see family and friends for the extended weekend,” Director Craft said. “Don’t spoil it by being unprepared and not planning ahead.”

The OTS launched a new education and awareness campaign called “Go Safely, California,” which acts as a resource for all Californians to stay safe on the go. To learn more about the campaign, visit www.gosafelyca.org .

The OTS administers funding for traffic safety programs statewide with the goal of reducing deaths, injuries, and economic losses. The OTS is a department under the California State Transportation Agency.

The mystery of why Earth has so much water, allowing our “blue marble” to support an astounding array of life, is clearer with new research into comets.

Comets are like snowballs of rock, dust, ice, and other frozen chemicals that vaporize as they get closer to the sun, producing the tails seen in images.

A new study reveals that the water in many comets may share a common origin with Earth’s oceans, reinforcing the idea that comets played a key role in bringing water to our planet billions of years ago.

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, SOFIA, the world’s largest airborne observatory, observed Comet Wirtanen as it made its closest approach to Earth in December 2018.

Data collected from the high-flying observatory found that this comet contains “ocean-like” water. Comparing this with information about other comets, scientists suggest in a new study that many more comets than previously thought could have delivered water to Earth. The findings were published in Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters.

“We have identified a vast reservoir of Earth-like water in the outer reaches of the solar system,” said Darek Lis, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena, California, and lead author of the study. “Water was crucial for the development of life as we know it. We not only want to understand how Earth’s water was delivered, but also if this process could work in other planetary systems.”

Dirty snowballs

Planets form from debris orbiting in a disk shape around a star; small pieces of debris can stick together and grow larger over time.

Leftover debris remains in regions of our own solar system like the Kuiper Belt, beyond Neptune, or the Oort Cloud, far past Pluto. Comets come from these areas, but we can only see them when their orbits bring them closer to the Sun. The heat from the Sun causes some of the dirty snow to vaporize, creating the fuzzy halo or “coma” of water vapor, dust and ice grains seen in comet images.

Scientists predict that the water in Earth’s oceans came from water-carrying bodies in the early solar system that collided with our planet, similar to today’s ice-rich asteroids or comets. But scientists do not know where in the formative disk these objects originated.

Water types

Water is also known by its chemical name H2O because it’s made of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. But using special instruments, scientists can detect two types: regular water, H2O, and heavy water, HDO, which has an extra neutrally-charged particle called a neutron inside one of the hydrogen atoms.

Scientists compare the amount of heavy to regular water in comets. If comets have the same ratio of these water types as Earth’s oceans, it indicates that the water in both may share a common origin.

But measuring this ratio is difficult. Ground and space telescopes can study this level of detail in comets only when they pass near Earth, and missions to visit comets, like Rosetta, are rare. Scientists have only been able to study this ratio in about a dozen comets since the 1980s.

Additionally, it is difficult to study a comet’s water from the ground because water in Earth’s atmosphere blocks its signatures.

New observations

Observing at high altitudes above much of the Earth’s atmospheric water allowed SOFIA to accurately measure the ratio of regular to heavy water in Comet Wirtanen. The data showed that Comet Wirtanen’s water ratio is the same as the Earth’s oceans.

When the team compared the new SOFIA data with previous studies of comets, they found a surprising commonality. The ratio of regular to heavy water was not linked to the origin of the comets – whether they were from the Oort Cloud or the Kuiper Belt.

Instead, it was related to how much water was released from ice grains in the comet’s coma compared to directly from the snowy surface. This could imply that all comets could have a heavy-to-regular water ratio similar to Earth’s oceans, and that they could have delivered a large fraction of water to Earth.

“This is the first time we could relate the heavy-to-regular water ratio of all comets to a single factor,” noted Dominique Bockelée-Morvan, scientist at the Paris Observatory and the French National Center for Scientific Research and second author of the paper. “We may need to rethink how we study comets because water released from the ice grains appears to be a better indicator of the overall water ratio than the water released from surface ice.”

More studies are needed to see if these findings hold true for other comets. The next time a comet is forecast to fly close enough for this type of study will be in November 2021.

SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, is a Boeing 747SP jetliner modified to carry a 106-inch diameter telescope. It is a joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Center, DLR. NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley manages the SOFIA program, science and mission operations in cooperation with the Universities Space Research Association headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, and the German SOFIA Institute (DSI) at the University of Stuttgart. The aircraft is maintained and operated from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Building 703, in Palmdale, California.

Kassandra Bell and Arielle Moullet work for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

LUCERNE, Calif. – New Paradigm College announced that an open house will be held at the Lucerne Castle main lobby, 3700 Country Club Drive, on Saturday, June 8.

The event will take place from 2 to 4 p.m.

“Our founding team is excited to celebrate the reopening of the Lucerne Castle as New Paradigm College,” said Daniel Sheehan, president of New Paradigm College. “Opening our doors to local events is a big step.”

The Lake County landmark was originally constructed and opened as a hotel in the 1920s and is now owned by Earthways Foundation and operated by New Paradigm College, a local nonprofit corporation formed to work with the community to bring higher education and uplifting cultural projects, conferences and special events to Lake County.

“We look forward to sharing our progress and drawing on the wisdom and support of the community as we prepare the facility for classes and programs,” said Denise Rushing, a New Paradigm College co-founder.

Sheehan, Rushing and William Stranger established New Paradigm College as a nonprofit to both operate the facility and implement the plan originally presented to Lake County in 2018,

“We have begun the joy of regenerating this very special place, together with the community. It’s exciting to be a part of this renewal,” said Rushing.

For more information visit www.newparadigmcollege.org .

NORTH COAST, Calif. – An Upper Lake man and two California Highway Patrol officers were injured in a vehicle crash on Highway 101 near Hopland on Thursday.

George Guardino, 39, suffered minor injuries while the two officers, Zachary McKnight and DJ Haddad, had moderate injuries, according to the CHP’s Ukiah Area office.

The CHP said the wreck occurred at 4 p.m. Thursday on northbound Highway 101, half a mile south of Henry Station Road north of Hopland.

The CHP said Officer Zachary McKnight was driving a 2016 Dodge Charger patrol car with Officer Haddad riding as his passenger on northbound Highway 101 north of Big Largo at 55 miles per hour.

Guardino was driving a 2000 GMC 2500 pickup, also northbound, a distance behind the patrol car at between 55 to 60 miles per hour, the CHP said.

The CHP said Officer McKnight observed a vehicle traveling southbound on Highway 101 at a high rate of speed, activated the patrol car’s rear emergency lights and slowed to make a U-turn while still within the northbound lane.

According to the report, Guardino saw the CHP car’s emergency lights and braking but due to the speed and distance he was traveling behind the patrol car he was unable to safely slow down and avoid a collision.

The collision remains under investigation. The CHP said neither alcohol nor drugs are believed to be factors in the wreck.

Guardino and the two officers were all wearing their seat belts, according to the report.

The Ukiah Area CHP office said Friday that both officers are doing well and had not suffered serious injury.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.