KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Lake County winegrape growers recently entertained award-winning wine columnist and author Lettie Teague.

As a guest of the Lake County Winegrape Commission, Teague visited several Lake County vineyards and wineries and met several of the area’s winemakers.

“We were thrilled to give Lettie a VIP tour of our premier wine-making region,” said Commission President Shannon Gunier. “We tried to entice her on previous occasions without success. Andy Beckstoffer, owner of Beckstoffer Vineyards, was able to convince her to spend some time in Lake County. We are so grateful for Andy’s efforts to bring such a renown wine industry writer to see our beautiful vineyards and taste our high quality wines.”

While in Lake County in mid-September, Teague spent a day touring vineyards with Beckstoffer. The tour included stops at Beckstoffer’s Amber Knolls vineyard, Peter Molnar’s vineyards at Obsidian Ridge, Vigilance Winery and Gregory Graham’s vineyards.

Winemakers Nils Venge of Cougar’s Leap, Dave Guffy of Hess, Clay Shannon of Vigilance, Ron Bartolucci of Bartolucci Vineyards, Jed Steele of Steele Wines and Pedro Rubio, general manager at Beckstoffer Vineyards, joined Gunier, Beckstoffer, Commission chair Molnar and Graham in welcoming Teague to Lake County, according to Gunier.

The winemakers were able to speak with Teague while enjoying a “fantastic” lunch provided by Chic Le Chef, said Gunier. Teague was treated to dinner the night before at the Tallman Hotel’s Blue Wing Saloon and Restaurant.

“We had a wonderful time with Lettie, and we hope she enjoyed meeting our winemakers and discussing Lake County’s prominent wine industry,” said Gunier. “Bringing wine writers to Lake County is in line with the Commission’s marketing efforts. We welcome the attention from such high-caliber journalists.”

Teague is a staff writer and wine columnist for The Wall Street Journal. Prior to her employment at the Journal, Teague spent 10 years as wine columnist of Food & Wine magazine and was its wine editor for 12 years.

Her writing has garnered several honors including the James Beard Award (three times) and the MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award.

In addition, Teague is the author of “Educating Peter: How Anybody Can Become an (Almost) Instant Wine Expert.” She illustrated and co-authored “Fear of Wine: An Introductory Guide to the Grape.”

For information about the Lake County Winegrape Commission, the area’s vineyards, and the Commission’s various programs, visit the Commission’s website at www.lakecountywinegrape.org .