UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Lake County Wine Studio is hosting a wine tasting event featuring wines from Rosa D’Oro with winemaker Pietro Buttitta and an artist reception with a collection of oil paintings by Jane Tyler Friday, July 5, and Saturday, July 6.

The reception will be held 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.

Musical guest during the evening receptions will be solo guitarist, Paul Farley.

The $12.50 ($10/per person for studio club members) wine sampler and appetizers presented at the Studio will showcase the 2011 Muscat with Diablo sauteéd prawns, 2010 Sangiovese with polenta rounds topped with roasted cherry tomatoes, Yerba Santa Dairy Shepherds cheese and basil, the 2010 Primitivo with bison meatballs and a creamy roasted tomato sauce, and the 2011 Aglianico with a savory fennel, dried plum and walnut biscotti. A dessert tasting of the Port style Carmen wine will follow.  

Appetizer pairings for each of these wines have been designed by Cache Creek Catering with the exception of the bison meatball, created by Mendocino College Culinary Department student Jennifer Malinowski.   

The meatball was a People’s Choice winning recipe at the recent chef’s challenge at Thorn Hill Vineyards, and Malinowski will be recreating it for the Rosa D’Oro pairing.

Rosa D’Oro is a family owned and operated vineyard and winery located on the Kelsey Bench in Kelseyville. The area is noted for its high elevation vineyards, volcanic soils, sustainable practices and clean air.  

With farming experience spanning from 1953 to date, the Buttitta family founded Rosa D’Oro Vineyards in 2001 as an Italian varietal focused vineyard and boutique winery. All lots of production number fewer than 300 cases and the family hand bottles the yearly 2,000 case production.   

The winemaker since 2009, Pietro Buttitta has embraced and broadened his role at Rosa D’Oro with his additional skills as a certified sommelier and member of the Court of Master Sommeliers and as a chef with professional experience dating back to 2001.  

The four-course meals prepared by Buttitta at the Rosa D’Oro tasting room earlier this year swelled to capacity with demand for more.

The artist for July is Jane Tyler of Lakeport.  

Born in Marseilles, France, daughter of the late Arthur Plant O.B.E. Hon. Consul General for the Netherlands in Beirut, Lebanon, she studied at the American Community School in Beirut. At the outbreak of World War II, she returned to Lebanon and then worked for the British Army in Haifa in what was then Palestine.

She married John Tyler in Beirut where he was then assistant press attache to the British Legation.  There they had the first of their five children.

The Tylers came to California where John spent most of his career with Crown Zellerbach Corp., retiring as corporate advertising director. Jane was very busy bringing up their five children in San Geronimo in Marin County, but would find precious moments to enjoy her love of birds, animals and above all, painting.  

When their children flew the coop, the Tylers moved to the beauty and tranquility of Lakeport, reminiscent to them of both John’s native Scotland and Jane’s childhood land of Lebanon.

Now she has returned to the satisfying task of devoting most of her time to painting, drawing on the experiences of so full a life spent on three continents.

Lake County Wine Studio is a gallery for display 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 located at 9505 Main St. in Upper Lake and is open Monday 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., and Friday from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. The Tyler art show will be on display for the full month of July. 

For more information call Susan Feiler at 707-293-8752.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Office of Education's AmeriCorps program is now hiring.

As part of the LCOE AmeriCorps program, members serve in a school setting (preschool, elementary, after school or high school) as tutors, mentors, health advocates, role models and leaders.

Participants in the AmeriCorps program will receive 50-plus hours of training to support members in creating a positive learning environment focused on strengthening students both academically and socially. Leadership opportunities are available for applicants with previous service experience.

Members serve a total of either 450 or 900 hours of service over a 10-month term (over the school year). The positions pays a living allowance twice a month, and upon successful completion of your term of service, an education award of either $1,468 for 450 hours or $2,775 for a 900-hour term of service.

For more information visit www.americorpsdata.org or apply online at http://www.edjoin.org/viewposting.aspx?postingID=473231&;countyID=17&onlineApp=1 .

Call the program at 707-263-8796, Extension 241.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – On July 1, 1863, two giant armies collided near the little town of Gettysburg, Penn.

After three days of fighting, and over 50,000 casualties, the biggest battle ever in the Western Hemisphere ended with the Confederate army of Robert E. Lee retreating after being defeated by the Northern Federal army of Gen. George Meade.

Commonly known as the Confederate “High Water Mark,” it began a slow decline of Southern fortunes that led to their final defeat two years later.

This epic battle will be the headline topic at the next Redwood Empire Civil War Roundtable on Tuesday, July 2, 6:15 p.m., at the Tallman Hotel in historic Upper Lake.

Local historian Zane Jensen will review the three-day battle and lead a discussion on various “what-ifs” that could have changed the outcome of the battle, and by extension, the future of the country.

Jensen has visited the battlefield numerous times and has done exhaustive research on the battle and it's participants. He combines personal photos with archived pictures, animated maps, and video to give a full multimedia presentation.

The Redwood Empire Civil War Roundtable was formed to honor the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War and meets on the first Monday of each month to review the events that month 150 years ago.

Admission is free, all are welcome. For more information, contact Zane Jensen 707-349-6390 or Phil Smoley at 707-264-4905.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – On Friday, July 19, and Saturday, July 20, Legal Services of Northern California will provide two free legal clinics to residents of Mendocino and Lake Counties wanting help with their U.S. citizenship applications.  

Lawful permanent residents (green card holders) can meet with trained community volunteers and immigration attorneys for assistance with their naturalization applications and for information about the naturalization process.

This is LSNC’s third annual Path to Citizenship Day, and the first year a clinic will be offered in Lake County.  

The clinics will be held on Friday, July 19, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the offices of LSNC, located at 421 N. Oak St., Ukiah, and on Saturday, July 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the United Methodist Church, located at 3810 Main St., Kelseyville.

Appointments are strongly encouraged but are not necessary to attend either event. For an appointment or any questions regarding what documents participants should bring, call 707-513-1026.

The Path to Citizenship Day Legal Clinics are hosted in cooperation with Congressman Jared Huffman, Congressman Mike Thompson, State Senator Noreen Evans, Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro, Assemblymember Mariko Yamada, MendoLake Credit Union, Savings Bank of Mendocino County, and North Coast Opportunities Inc.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Lake County Rockhounds will meet on Wednesday, July 3.

The group's meeting begins at 6 p.m. at Redbud Library, 14785 Burns Valley Road in Clearlake.

The July program will include sharing members' most unusual, interesting or favorite rocks.

Interested members of the public are welcome to attend. For those wishing to join the Rockhounds, annual club dues are $15.

For more information contact J. Anderson at 707-995-1189.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Green Knights will be gathering on Thursday, June 27.

The group will meet from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Round Table Pizza, 821 11th St. in Lakeport,

There will be no host food and drinks available for purchase.

The Green Knights are dedicated to doing good in their community to make it a better place to live.

No membership fees are required, everyone is welcome.

For more information, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 707-263-3391.