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CLPA plans petition to restore annual home winemakers festival
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Organizers of Saturday’s Art & Wine in the Park festival are preparing a petition drive to redefine California’s statutes relating to amateur wine and beer making.
The event was formerly known as the Home Wine and Brew Makers Festival, but was forced to change its name and procedures following threats from the California Alcoholic Beverage Control.
Edward Bublitz, president of Clear Lake Performing Arts, the festival’s sponsor, said that the fact that there was a history of at least 75 year of similar events in California, and that the law was open to interpretation, had no effect on the ABC.
"They said if we charged a fee for tastings, it was the same thing as selling the products, and therefore what we were doing was illegal," he said. "Our only recourse at this point is to get the law rewritten or at least redefined, because if we or the many other non-profits who rely on these festivals for fund-raising, can’t charge admission, then what’s the point of holding them?"
Since commercial wineries are exempt from these restrictions Art & Wine in the Park called upon them to provide the "wine" part of the title, and they’ve responded enthusiastically.
"More than a dozen of our wineries have agreed to pour tastes of their premium wines," said Connel Murray, chair of the CLPA wine committee.
Petition forms will be available for voters to sign at the Wine Club booth. They are entitled "Hands Off Our Homemade Wine and Beer." When completed petitions will be forwarded to state Sen. Noreen Evans and Sen. Lois Wolk, who have indicated their interest in helping to solve the ABC problem.
The festival takes place at Library Park in Lakeport from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 22.
Along with wine tasting, there will be features arts and crafts people from throughout Northern California, as well as music from the Konocti Fiddle Club, and keyboard artist David Neft.
Four vendors of foods also will be on hand. The CLPA Auxiliary, the organization’s fundraising arm, will conduct a major silent auction, including numerous gift packages and a week’s stay at a luxury condo on Maui.
The festival is free to the public, but the wine-tasting fee is $25 at the gate and includes a commemorative wine glass.
Advance sale tickets are just $20 and can be obtained at the tasting rooms of Rosa d’ Oro and Wildhurst in Kelseyville, Watershed Books and Bell Hill Winery in Lakeport, Shannon Ridge Wines in Clearlake Oaks, Lower Lake Coffee Co. and Vigilance Wines in Lower Lake and Middletown Florist in Middletown.