UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Lake County Wine Studio is hosting a wine release party and artist show reception with Olof Cellars and local artist, Robert Minuzzo, on Friday, March 2, and Saturday, March 3.

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

The $15 ($12.50/pp for Studio club members) wine sampler and appetizers by the Saw Shop Bistro will showcase Olof's Nebbiolo with a salad of spinach, pomegranate and feta cheese with strawberry vinaigrette, Signature red blend with black trumpet duxelle on crostini, Barbera with choice of Borscht topped with crème fraîche or Cindi Olof's Chocolate Mousse, and the Adelsdam White Nebbiolo with a grilled nectarine stuffed with Mascarpone & applewood smoked bacon.

The Olofs planted their first vines in the Lake County Appellation in 2000 and began making wines under their own Olof Cellars brand in 2009.

With a view looking out over the Big Valley AVA and Mt. Konocti to the East, their St. Olof Vineyard estate is sited on the bench of a coastal mountain foothill that hosts two types of soils, gravelly clay and clay loam, which well suit the Barbera, Nebbiolo, Malbec and Petit Verdot varietals grown there.

Half an acre of the estate is also planted to the rare Lenoir varietal (red fleshed fruit), and is under contract to a Sonoma winery.

Eric Olof is an adventuresome vintner and has dared to craft uncommon and unexpected wines such as their rosé of Barbera, a white Nebbiolo, a stand-alone Petit Verdot and a sparkling “methode champenoise” Nebbiolo.

Artist Robert Minuzzo was born in San Francisco, California on Feb. 28, 1956. As a child he learned to draw from his mother while his father shared his love of the California wilderness with his young son.

Growing up across the street from Golden Gate Park accelerated his awareness of nature and exposed him to the fine art in the museums there. By high school Minuzzo’s artistic talent won him the opportunity to paint a mural on his auditorium entrance at Lowell High and members of its faculty became his first collectors.

Minuzzo began his higher education in pre-med at City College in San Francisco. Using his draftsmanship skills in anatomy class helped him memorize human body structure.

An art professor there recommended he apply to Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. After his acceptance he declared a major in illustration; but by his second year Minuzzo’s natural gift for painting was heavily encouraged by his instructors. He emerged from Art Center in 1980 as an artist, or more precisely a painter.

Minuzzo returned to Northern California and began capturing the spectacular beauty of its landscapes on paper and canvas.

With influences from the work of de Kooning, Pollock and Diebenkorn, he has created his own unique style: often an impressionist, sometimes a more abstract expressionist but always using his command of the spectrum.

His work confirms his internalized sensitivity to nature’s perfect designs and infinite color. Exhibiting his works of art both in group and solo exhibitions since 1979, Minuzzo’s clients include both private and corporate collectors.

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. It is open Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 7 p.m., and Friday from 1 to 8 p.m.

The Minuzzo art show will be on display for the full month of March.

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