Feeling cooped up? If you are, an opportunity still exists to enjoy some of the beauty of Lake County and support a local business at the same time. Six Sigma Ranch has opened its trails to the public.
“We have 10 miles of race-ready mountain bike trail (built for the annual high school championships) here at the ranch, plus another 25 miles of beautiful road and trail,” Christian Ahlmann, president of Six Sigma, stated. “We usually offer access to both exclusively as part of wine club membership. But, for the following three weeks, we have opened the trails to the public so guests can exercise at a safe 6 ft. distance,” he added. “We especially recommend bringing kids that are not in school so they can burn off some energy!”
Getting to Six Sigma isn’t difficult, but it does take time and commitment; when you’ve got time to kill, it’s a wonderful way to feel like you’re getting away from it all. After you turn off Spruce Grove Road, you’ll bump over the cattle grate and past the sheep grazing in the vineyards around you. There, zigzagging across Asbill Creek, you’ll see the trails winding up between the oaks and off into the distance. But it’s still a two-mile drive from Spruce Grove to get to the tasting room/office, where you’ll need to park. The trails branch off from there.
“We ask that everyone check-in at the office briefly, so we know who’s on the property,” Christian explained. There’s a parking lot to the side, where you’ll find plenty of room for your car. While the tasting room is closed, it’s still possible to pick up a bottle or two of wine and some picnic food before you head out on your hike. “We worked to make the process safer than a grocery store, although the transaction is similar to a grocery store, Christian said. “In short, we let one guest into the tasting room at a time. The door is unlatched so it can be tapped open. With only one guest at a time, the customer can simply tell our team member at the counter an order and credit card number so she can enter it at a safe distance. Then she applies abundant hand sanitizer and packs the order, which she leaves on the front deck outside for the guest to retrieve.” And the wine you buy won’t disappoint, either. Six Sigma wines all hold a unique, complex flavor that comes from a combination of the rich, volcanic soil on the property and quality winemaking.
The trails are open from 9 am to 4:30 pm daily.
“I have fielded hundreds of enthusiastic responses to our trail offer on Facebook, and a small handful of concerned ones,” Christian said. “To those, I have assured that we do everything to follow regulations by the state and local government.” But the truth is that Lake County has a slightly different situation than what’s happening in the Bay Area. “We host only a few dozen guests at a time on our 4,300 acres, which is four times larger Golden Gate Park, the largest in San Francisco,” he stated. “So, social distancing at the ranch is not a problem!”
If you have questions about visiting or would like to have a little more information before you visit, contact Six Sigma’s office at (707)-994-4068.
