KEYSTONE - A crisp chardonnay. A zesty zinfandel. A dry pinot noir.

In California's Mendocino County, such wines spring from the earth like water from a tap. The region, which lies three hours north of Napa Valley, boasts 300 vineyards and a soil rich with the character of the Pacific coast.

For Julien Miclette, a Mendocino wine proprietor and a participant in this weekend's Keystone Wine, Jazz and Art Festival, the bounty of grapes that grow from his soil in particular is no coincidence. Miclette moved to Mendocino in 1989 and now oversees the region's heralded Bonterra Vineyards, literally translated as "Good Earth."

"(We're) based on the belief that the more alive your soil is, the better your wine will be," Miclette said Tuesday from his vineyard, where cell phones receive no reception and vines exponentially outnumber people. "If your (soil) is totally loaded with salts and heavy metals and chemicals, it's pretty hard for the terroir to express itself in a harmonious way."

Indeed, terroir - the philosophy that soil and its surrounding ecosystem flavor a vineyard - is king at Bonterra. Of the vineyard's 350 acres, 200 are reserved for conservation easement. Oak woodlands, wild turkeys, cover crops, chicken coups, sheep and even the occasional vulture surround Miclette's grapes. He uses no herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers on the certified organic farm.

"Every piece of the ecosystem plays a role," Miclette said in a resonant French accent. "Some may think, 'What does the turkey have to do with this bottle of wine?' (But) the more diverse your land is, the more life you have; that life is going to yield better quality."

This weekend at the eighth annual Keystone Wine, Jazz, and Art Festival, Miclette's Bonterra and over 300 other wineries will descend upon Summit County with their vats of vino in tow. Attendees of the event will have a cluster of wine tastings and wine seminars to choose from, as well as live music and art auctions throughout the weekend.

"I'm bringing a piece of California to the attendees," Miclette said of the seminar on organic farming that he will conduct Sunday. "It should be quite a lot of fun."

Colleen Stewart, a fellow wine connoisseur who hails from Fetzer Vineyards (a few miles southeast of Bonterra in Mendocino's Hopland Valley), seconded Miclette's enthusiasm.

A wine educator by training, she will be leading guests at her culinary seminar through gourmet pairings of wines, herbs and sauces. The foods and sauces, like the wine, all come fresh from Fetzer's Valley Oaks Ranch.

"It's really a fun exercise," Stewart said from California. "I usually take people through my garden (here at Valley Oaks). We're grazing while we do it! This will be a little different."

Stewart will present her students Sunday with an hour-glass helping of herbs like lemon verbena, basil and chocolate mint and sauces like pear vinegar cream, salsa verde and shitaki mushroom fermented black bean sauce.

"Everyone's taste is really individual, so it really depends on your own preferences," Stewart said of the pairings. "People will have flexibility to taste (all the dishes) with different wines."

Beyond Stewart's seminar, "flexibility to taste" will be the siren call of the Keystone Wine, Jazz and Art Festival. The event will be hosted by the National Distributing Company, which represents an array of over 300 vineyards around the world. Everything from France's Taittinger label to New Zealand's Matau label will be present in Keystone this weekend.

"I just love this event," said Elizabeth Tobias, special events manager at Keystone, regarding the plethora of wines coming to the venue. "If I had my way, I'd invite 500."



Andrew Tolve can be reached at (970) 668-3998, ext. 223, or at atolve@summitdaily.com

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

FRIDAY, AUGUST 26

Noon to 6 p.m. - Artists preview, River Run Events Plaza, Free Admission

7-9 p.m. - Jill Carr in Concert, The Pavilion at Keystone, $14 or $12



SATURDAY, AUGUST 27

10:30 a.m. - Wine Seminar "Adventurous Whites: Alternative to Chardonnay Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio," The Pavilion at Keystone, $10 or Free with Grand Tasting

10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. - Fine Art Show, River Run Events Plaza, Free Admission

12:30 p.m. - Wine Seminar "Exploring Italy: Wines outside Tuscany," The Pavilion at Keystone, $10 or Free with Grand Tasting

Noon to1:30 p.m. - Lisa Bell Band, Main Stage, Free Admission

Noon to 5:30 p.m. - Gourmet Food Booths, River Run Events Plaza, Priced a la Carte

12:30 p.m. - Grand Tasting Sales, River Run Information Center, 1 Day ($25 or $40); 2-Day ($40 or $70)

1-5 p.m. - Silent Auction, River Run Events Plaza, Free Admission

1Ð5 p.m. - Grand Tasting Begins, River Run Events Plaza, Free Admission

1-5 p.m. - Port, Cigars & Paulaner beer, Buffalo Courtyard, price varies

1-5 p.m. - Energy Alley, SilverMill Courtyard, price varies

3 p.m. - Wine Seminar "South Africa: Wines Last Frontier?" The Pavilion at Keystone, $10 or Free with Grand Tasting

2-3:30 p.m. - Latitude Experience, Main Stage, Free Admission

3:30-4 p.m. - Summit School of Dance co motion, Main Stage, Free Admission

4Ð5:30 p.m. - Dotsero, Main Stage, Free Admission



SUNDAY, AUGUST 28



10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. - Fine Art Show, River Run Events Plaza, Free Admission

12:30 p.m. - Wine Seminar "Organic Wine Growing: Concept and Applications, presenter: Julien Miclette from Bonterra Vineyards," The Pavilion at Keystone, $10 or Free with Grand Tasting

Noon to 1:30 p.m. - Mo Funk, Main Stage, Free Admission

Noon to 5:30 p.m. - Gourmet Food Booths, River Run Events Plaza, Priced a la Carte

12:30 p.m. - Grand Tasting Sales, River Run Information Center, 1 Day ($25 or $40), 2-Day ($40 or $70)

1-5 p.m. - Silent Auction, River Run Events Plaza, Free Admission

1-5 p.m. - Grand Tasting Begins, River Run Events Plaza, Free Admission

1-5 p.m. - Port, Cigars; Paulaner beer, Buffalo Courtyard, price varies

1-5 p.m. - Energy Alley, SilverMill Courtyard, price varies

3 p.m. - Culinary Seminar "Explore the Flavors of Fresh Herbs and Sauces with Colleen Stewart from Fetzer Vinyards," The Pavilion at Keystone, $10 or Free with Grand Tasting

2-3:30 p.m. - Anthony James Baker Band, Main Stage, Free Admission

3:30-4 p.m. - Summit School of Dance co motion, Main Stage, Free Admission

4-5:30 p.m. - Linda Styles Band, Main Stage, Free Admission