LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Wine Studio is hosting a wine tasting event featuring wines from Six Sigma Ranch & Winery, and artist reception with a collection of photography art by Casey Carney on Friday, Nov. 1, and Saturday, Nov. 2.

The reception will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at the studio, 9505 Main St. in Upper Lake.

The Saturday event will include an optional progressive three-course winemaker dinner at the Tallman Hotel following the appetizer course at the Studio. Owner Kaj Ahlmann and winemaker Matt Hughes will be at the studio and Tallman Hotel for the reception and the special Saturday dinner event.

The $12.50 ($10/per person for studio club members) wine sampler and appetizers presented at the studio will showcase the 2012 Asbill Valley Sauvignon Blanc, 2011 Diamond Mine Cuvée, 2010 Marianne’s Syrah Reserve and a barrel sampling of the 2012 Tempranillo.

The wines and menu prepared by guest chef Mark Linback at the Tallman Hotel on Nov. 2 will showcase 2008 Pinot Noir with spaghetti squash pasta with trumpet mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and pea sprouts in a white wine butter sauce, 2008 Tempranillo with petit New York roast au jus with Kalamata olive relish, braised greens and fingerling potatoes, and the Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc with a dried fig tart dessert served with vanilla ice cream.

Reservations for the Saturday tasting at the studio and dinner at the Tallman are $75 plus tax and may be obtained by calling the Tallman Hotel at 707-275-2244, Extension 0.

Kaj and Else Ahlmann purchased the 4,300-acre Lower Lake ranch in 2000, which would become their Six Sigma Ranch and Winery.

The property has a rich history of ranching and farming settlements dating back to the mid-1800s, and a stage coach route used to cross the property to take passengers to and from the quicksilver mines in Knoxville.

The original stage coach house burned down in the early 1950s and one of the previous land owners built a small house on the same site. Today, that little house is the Six Sigma tasting room.

Six Sigma Ranch abounds with wildlife and natural splendor. The Ahlmanns wished to maintain the natural state so their first step was to donate a conservation easement to the Golden State Land Conservancy.

Their development of vineyards integrates with the natural landscape and wildlife corridors run through or around them to preserve the natural habitat and allow the movement of deer, bobcat, wild turkey, wild pigs and bears.

On their range land, a herd of organically raised Black Angus cattle graze on grass and contribute to the vineyard fertilizing system.

In the vineyards, a herd of sheep eliminate the need for synthetic herbicides and fertilizer as they mow the weeds between the rows. In the oak woodland on the property, the Ahlmanns began their pastured pork project in 2012 and now raise pork in the Iberian style.

The popularity of Six Sigma Ranch beef, lamb and pork has been a great success and there is a customer waiting list for the annual available meats.

The Six Sigma winery was built with a focus on producing small lot, high quality wines from their 40 acres of naturally farmed vineyards sited at high altitudes between 1,400 and 1,700 feet. The varietals grown in four carefully selected locations on the ranch include Sauvignon Blanc, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Syrah.

Working within the framework of mathematically based, data driven Six Sigma principles ( http://www.sixsigmaranch.com/six-sigma ), the grapes are tended gently through the growing and harvesting cycles and then artisan winemaking techniques yield award winning wines that express the personality of the Six Sigma Ranch.

The featured artist for November is Casey Carney.

Carney is a poet, photographer, performance artist and teacher. Originally from Southern California, she has been dedicated to her creative process since childhood.

She holds a master’s degree in dance and an education specialist credential from California State University, Long Beach, and has choreographed and performed in numerous venues throughout the Los Angeles area.

Carney was chosen to represent the dance department at Jacob’s Pillow, where she studied with Bessie Schonberg; and at the American College Dance Festival, where she performed a solo choreographed for her by former Merce Cunningham dancer, Jeff Slayton.

Carney considers poetry to be the common element of all of her artistic endeavors. In her words, “Poetry resists a single definition – it keeps moving, and that motion is what appeals to me.” Although the range of her photographic subjects is diverse, the images are often dream like and transitional, where everyday subjects take on new forms through the interplay of point of view and light.

In Carney’s view, “Photography is a process of seeing and responding that I am completely enamored with. I hope that my photographs convey the sense of poetry that appears equally in the mundane and the magnificent.”

Carney’s goal is to share her work in gallery settings. She is also preparing to publish her writings and photographs. A lifelong lover of cows and horses, she feels fortunate to live in beautiful Lake County. Carney’s photographs have been published in Tasting Panel magazine. She has worked as a freelance photographer for the Lake County Winery Association and does ongoing work for the Lake County Winegrape Commission. Carney specializes in landscapes and portraits of people and animals.

Carney is preparing to publish a collection of her poems entitled, “How to Tell a Party from a Disaster,” and will read excerpts from her poetry at 6 p.m. during the receptions of her show at the Wine Studio. Following the readings, local horse trainer Aydn Stone will sing cowboy ballads.

For more information, Carney can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; her photography can be viewed at www.caseycarneyphotography.weebly.com .

Lake County Wine Studio is a gallery for display and sale of arts and a tasting room, wine bar and retail shop for the fine wines of Lake County.

Artists' shows are held on a monthly basis with art and wine receptions held the first Friday and subsequent Saturday of each month.

The gallery is open Mondays, 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.; and Fridays, 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The Carney art exhibit will be on display for the full month of November.

For more information call Lake County Wine Studio at 707-275-8030 or 707-293-8752.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Kiwanis of Lakeport will host a Halloween party for the community's children on Thursday, Oct. 31.

The event will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Clear Lake High School gym, 350 Lange St.

Admission to the party is free.

Children up to age 13 are invited to come and enjoy a fun evening that includes games, candy, refreshments and prizes.

At 7:15 p.m. a costume contest will take place.

The event is a safe way for children to celebrate Halloween.

Kiwanis International is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world, one child and one community at a time.

The Lakeport Kiwanis club is a small yet committed group of individuals who work diligently to meet the community's unmet needs in many different ways, but with a strong orientation towards serving the needs of young people. They are always looking for new members to join the group and to actively contribute time and energy to the group's long history of successful projects.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Horse Council will hold its annual meeting and board elections on Monday, Oct. 28.

Open to all members and the public, the meeting begins at 6 p.m. at Charley's Clubhouse 872 Lakeport Blvd.

The meeting will feature highlights from 2013 in videos and introductions of new board members.

The Lake County Horse Council is a local nonprofit that seeks to promote and support all aspects of equine recreation and industry in Lake County, and includes members from numerous local horse clubs and businesses.

For more information contact Virginia Vovchuk at 707-245-9091 or visit www.lakecountyhorsecouncil.com .

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Lioness club is having a free Halloween carnival on Thursday, Oct. 31.

The event will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Middletown Lions Club, 15399 Central Park Road.

Children will receive a ticket for a free hotdog; parents are able to purchase one for $1.

There will be popcorn, cotton candy and several activities for the children.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Saturday, Oct. 19, marked Six Sigma Ranch & Winery’s second annual “Flight Night,” which is the ranch’s most formal event of the year.

The event was held in the massive underground cellar that serves as the foundation and first phase of the new visitor center situated in the center of the 4300-acre ranch.

The enormous cellar was converted into an intimate, candle-lit dining paradise where strings of lights softly illuminated the interior.

“Flight Night II” also marked the highly anticipated new release of the 2009 Tempranillo.

This vintage scored an impressive 91 points when reviewed by Wine Enthusiast Magazine this past summer.

Tempranillo, which is the King of Spanish grapes, is considered Six Sigma’s flagship wine ever since Steve Heimoff with Wine Enthusiast named the 2005 vintage as the “Best in California.”

The event sold-out two months prior.

The release of the 2009 Tempranillo was a highlight, but it was only one of the 12 wines poured for the evening.

Seventy-five guests, consisting mainly of Six Sigma wine club members, were treated to four different flights of wine, plus a four-course dinner prepared by “Ranch Chef” Mark Linback.

A flight of wine, also known as a vertical, is a tasting of consecutive years of the same variety, for example: 2010, 2011 and 2012 Pinot Noir.

Winemaker Matt Hughes walked the guests through flights of Sauvignon Blanc, Cuvée (meaning “blend” in French), Pinot Noir and Tempranillo, while listening to the music of local artist Michael Barrish.

“It feels rewarding to not only give our guests a memorable dinner,” stated owner Kaj Ahlmann, “but an educational experience as well.”

Following dinner, guests had the opportunity to purchase and take home the same flights they experienced throughout the event.

The showcase package was a 6-bottle set of 2005-2010 Tempranillo, only available this holiday season.

As the evening concluded guests exited the cellar to a beautifully moon-lit Lake County night.

Visit Six Sigma Ranch to try the new Tempranillo. Six Sigma Ranch & Winery is located at 13372 Spruce Grove Road and is open for tasting every day from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Visit the ranch online at www.sixsigmaranch.com .

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Are you tired of feeling like a stuffed turkey after the holidays?

The Middletown Seventh-day Adventist Church is hosting a vegetarian light holiday fare cooking class.

The class will take place on Sunday, Nov. 3, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Participants will enjoy yummy food samples, vegetarian and vegan recipes, drawings, child care and more.

The class will be held at 2160 Highway 29 South.

The cost is $3 per person with a family discount.

Space is limited Contact Jacque Felber at 707-987-2661 for reservations and more information.