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Message TThe he WWine ine PPressressVolume 49, Issue 6 OCWS.org June 2025CALENDARpage 18FROM CAROLYNpage 2Had it not been for a small band of like-minded, wine-loving people, the Orange County Wine Society would not be hosting the 49th annual OC Fair competitions today. In 1976, 16 people, out of their love of wine and interest in winemaking, began meeting the rst Friday of each month in the back room of Brant’s Wine Rack, a wine and beer supply shop in Orange, where the store’s own-er advised the group on winemaking. Soon, with friends wanting to sample the wines, the wine drinkers began to outnumber the winemakers. From there, the Orange County Wine Society was born and the dream of wine competi-tions became a reality.Jerry Mead, who went on to be-come a renowned wine writer, and See COMPETITION, page 17By Fran Gitsham • Photos by Jim BurkLEGACY Born from the Love of WineTHE COURTYARDpage 4VARIETAL HOURS page 10A
My introduction to OCWS was perhaps not the most typical path. At 16 years old, I worked my rst summer job at the OC Fair selling programs in the parking lot. I had never heard of the OCWS and had no idea that Orange County was such a large wine consumer market. When I attended Cal State Fresno, I had my rst formal introduction to enology, and unbeknownst to me, my friends in the enology program received scholarships from OCWS. It was 1984 and the fourth year of the OCWS Scholarship Program. When I returned to Orange County, I visited the OC Fair and was thrilled to learn of the existence of OCWS and the opportunity to continue my wine education. At only 21 years old, I was the youngest member at that time.Early BeginningsOver the years, I have seen so many changes in the wine industry – from the exponential increase of small family-owned and boutique wineries, to the development of large corporate wine portfolios. And today, micro-wineries and limited production wineries appear to be all the rage. OCWS has grown too; when I rst joined, the organization had a few hundred members. Since the 1990s, we have remained steady at several times that amount. For more details on the growth of OCWS, I refer you to Linda Flemins' history of the OCWS membership in this issue. Commercial CompetitionOCWS has expanded not only with its membership, but with its activities as well. Our agship event, the OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition, has grown from a few varietals in the 1970s to over 100 varietal categories today, with each year bringing us new and unusual varietals. Fran Gitsham currently leads the competition committee, which relies on hundreds of volunteers over nine months annually. It appears that this year will see an increase in wine entries. You can learn more about the trajectory of the Commercial Competition in Fran’s article in this issue.Winemakers’ GroupA look at OCWS would not be complete without mention of the Winemakers’ Group, which started the organization back in 1976. Today there are over 240 enthusiastic home winemakers in the group, with more being mentored each year. As hosts of the OC Fair Home Wine Competition, the Winemakers’ Group is also poised to beat last year’s entry numbers.What we do as an organization would not be possible without our incredible partnership with the OC Fair. We are truly honored to be entrusted with the organizing of both competitions on behalf of the fair. And we are grateful to call the OC Fair and Event Center our home.Fun in the CourtyardIf you have not already worked at The Courtyard during the OC Fair, I hope you signed up this year. Working at the fair is a great experience that shouldn’t be missed! It is a great way to share your wine knowledge with the public and taste one of the new varietals entered into the competition.2 OCWS.org June 20252024-25 Board of Directors Carolyn ChristianPresidentCarolyn@OCWS.orgFran GitshamVice PresidentFran@OCWS.orgRich SkoczylasSecretaryRich@OCWS.orgFred HeineckeTreasurerFred@OCWS.orgSue EnglandDirectorSue@OCWS.orgLinda FleminsDirectorLinda@OCWS.orgDaniel VlahovicDirectorDaniel@OCWS.orgCL KeedyDirectorCLKeedy@ocws.orgPresident’s Message By Carolyn ChristianJohn LaneDirectorJohn@OCWS.orgsee PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, page 9One of the greatest parts of leading this organization is working with so many individuals who are passionate about wine and our organization. Like me, they have a long tradition of being fascinated by wine and choosing to donate their time.
June 2025 OCWS.org 3New Members CORNERThe Orange County Wine Society extends a warm welcome to its newest members! Member-ships for the following members were approved by the Board of Directors at the May meeting: Janelle Amperse and Melody Batchelor, Deirdre Booth, Christo-pher Carman, Justin Castillo, Rick Cummings and Carol Roberts, Chrysten Davis, Jed Douglas and Kate Fitzpatrick, Michelle Fisher, Juanita Gaglio, Doug and Debra Maniaci, Troy Mckay, Chris Mor-ris, Kristen Nicholson and Darren Levens, Sarah Pearson, Nicole Pe-terson, Teri Radosevich and Dana Clegg, Traci and Chuck St. Pierre, Jeff and Kim Tancre. As of May 1, the OCWS has 1,048 members. For new members accessing their account for the rst time, log on to our website, OCWS.org. Your default login is the primary member’s email address. The default password is the primary member’s zip code. Both may be changed under the ‘My Account’ tab, once you log on. If you joined us online, then you will have created your password. There may only be one login/pass-word per membership.—Rochelle Randel, OCWS Business AdministratorThe Wine PressStaff BoxThe Wine Press is the ofcial newsletter of the Orange County Wine Society, Inc. The newsletter is published monthly. The Wine Press welcomes input from the OCWS membership. Please forward comments, questions and suggestions to Editor@ocws.orgExecutive EditorsCathy RislingGreg RislingContributing WritersOCWS Board of DirectorsJim BurkDamian ChristianAlice PolserRochelle RandelEd ReyesWebsite AdministratorWendy TaylorOCWS PhotographerJim BurkCopyright (c)2025 Orange County Wine Society, Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved.The Orange County Wine Society is a non-prot 501(c)(3) educational organization incorporated under the laws of the State of California with its principal place of business in Costa Mesa, California.Orange County Wine SocietyP.O. Box 11059Costa Mesa, CA 92627Phone: (714) 708-1636Fax: (714) 546-5002Website: OCWS.orgOCWS Email: Ofce@OCWS.org 2024 Wine Competition Results:WineCompetition.comWe had a terric time at the Vines in Bloom Spring Social on May 10. The Silent Auction brought in $1,200 and the Wine Wall brought in $1,100 for the Scholarship Fund. We are so excited to be able to contribute to the scholarships through our socials.The crowd ate fabulous food pre-pared by the Cook’s Caucus including barbecued salmon, pork roast with cherry chutney, garlic toast, delicious potatoes and an awesome salad. We started the afternoon eating Boursin cheese topped with pistachios and drizzled with honey, accompanied by fresh vegetable sticks in ranch dip. The nal course had two luscious des-serts: root beer oats and lemon cake.To work off the great food, we had games, auctions and dancing. The themed costumes were incredible.The committee members who made this all possible are co-chairs Betty Jo Newell and Alice Polser, members Jo Beth Skaggs, Tricia Shelton, Ellen Fly-nn, Adrienne Amico, Stephanie D’Jang, Rochelle Randall and Board of Director Liaison Linda Flemins. In addition, we are thankful for all the members who volunteered to cook, serve wine, set up, welcome guests at the sign-in table and help clean up. Keep an eye out for information coming soon about the Fall Social on Oct. 11. We will once again host a Chili Cookoff! —Alice Polser, Spring Event Co-ChairEvent UPDATESpring Social a bloomin’ success
4 OCWS.org June 2025The CourtyardSpring has arrived and sign-ups have begun for The Courtyard at the OC Fair. Volunteering is an exciting and fun opportunity to meet members, learn about different wines and enjoy the OC Fair. The fair runs Wednes-days through Sundays, July 18 and ending Aug. 17.Sign-ups for The Courtyard are opened in phases. All volunteers are required to sign up for a minimum of four shifts. We will do our best to ensure you are assigned the shifts that you select. Should one or more of your selected shifts be lled, we will ask you to select another to have the minimum four. The 23 days of the fair have ve daily shifts, Wednesdays through Sunday. Note that The Courtyard closes each night one hour before the fair closes. The times of the shifts are: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; 1 to 4 p.m.; 4 to 8 p.m.; 8 to 10:30 p.m. (Wednes-day, Thursday, Sunday) or 8 to 11:30 p.m. (Friday, Saturday). Express Bar: 5 to 9 p.m. —Rich Skoczylas, The Courtyard SchedulerVolunteer sign-ups for e Courtyard have begunIt is once again fair time. The Orange County Fair is set to run July 18 through Aug. 17 and is our organiza-tion’s largest fundraiser of the year. This year’s theme is “Find Your Happy.”Not only does The Courtyard provide operating revenue for OCWS, it is the face of our organization to the fairgoers (1.13 million in 2024)! The fair also is the place where many new OCWS mem-bers join each year. When The Courtyard visitors see how much fun the OCWS is, they often join on the spot.Rich Skoczylas is again coordinating the volunteer sign-ups. Invitations for managers, stewards and cashiers were sent via email in April. Server sign-ups are now available on the OCWS website. Volunteers must sign up for a minimum of four shifts.Leslie Hodowanec is the set-up/tear-down crew chair and will announce the dates as the fair opening approaches. This summer, the fair is requiring everyone who works at The Courtyard to complete the Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) training that the Califor-nia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) requires for alcoholic beverage service. This is an online training class fol-lowed by a test and certication is good for three years (see page 5). Sue England (Sue@OCWS.org) and Linda Flemins are coordinating the RBS training and certication.It looks like The Courtyard will have a summer run much like last year. We are planning on serving varietal wines by the glass, tastes of the award-winning wines and having the Express Bar. The fun and very popular Featured Winery Program hosted by Liz and Lloyd Corbett (that brought in more than $24,000 in schol-arship donations in 2024) will be back. What to know about Courtyard volunteeringsee THE COURTYARD, page 8Ensure that your address (OCWS website, My Prole) we have on le is correct to receive courtyard infor-mation and fair credentials.A Responsible Beverage Server (RBS) Certication is required to sign up and work at The Courtyard.Sign-ups will be on the OCWS website.Manager sign-ups opened April 1.Cashier and steward sign-ups opened April 15.Server sign-ups open May 1.ALL sign-ups open at 8 a.m. on these dates.The Courtyard sign-ups close May 30.Conrmation of assigned shifts will be sent in late June or early July.8 Things to know about SIGN-UPS42318567
June 2025 OCWS.org 5The CourtyardThe OC Fair is just around the corner. The largest OCWS fundraising effort of the year will be taking place for a total of 23 days, Wednesdays through Sundays, July 18 through Aug. 17. Volunteering at The Courtyard is a unique and fun experience. All courtyard volunteers handling wine in any capacity are required to be RBS (Responsible Beverage Server) certied through the ABC (Alcohol Beverage Commission) pursuant to fair requirements. It is highly recommended that new members obtain certication sooner than later to be ready when sign-ups open. All OCWS volunteers who are managers, stewards and servers need to be certied. Cashiers do not need to be certied; however, getting RBS certied offers more opportunities to volunteer for different positions. Thank you for your volunteer efforts. You are what makes OCWS the great success it is. If you obtained your RBS certication in 2022, you will have to renew your certicate this year. ABC will send you a renewal certication 60 days from your expiration date. Please email Sue@OCWS.org for more information once you receive your notication from ABC.How do I get started? Check out our tips below! —Linda Flemins and Sue England, OCWS DirectorsOC FAIRRBS Certication required to volunteerOnce you have sent your request for certication to Sue England, she will sign you up for the course through Premiere. You will receive an email with your username and password and a link to the online course. The course is self-paced and you can complete one lesson at a time or all at once. The online course is followed by an online exam with ABC. Once you are RBS certied you are ready to serve at the OC Fair.ONLINE CLASSPlease send an email to RBS team members Sue England and Linda Flemins at RBS@OCWS.org letting them know you need to be RBS certied this year.EMAIL USInstructions will be sent to you when you register. 1. Create an RBS account with Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC). 2. Take a course with the RBS course provider that OCWS has selected.3. Take a nal quiz with ABC online and obtain the RBS certicate, which is valid for three years.3-STEP PROCESSEach OCWS member will need a valid individual email address that will be used to set up an account. Your own individual email address will be your username for the online system. PLEASE NOTEOC FAIR 2025: Featured Wineries July 18 Macchia Winery July 19 Graveyard Vineyards July 20 Eberle Winery July 25 San Simeon Vineyards July 26 Bella Grace Vineyards July 27 Dark Star Cellars Aug. 1 California Street Winery Aug. 2 Sculpterra Winery Aug. 3 Fallbrook Winery Aug. 8 Pear Valley Vineyard Aug. 9 Morel Vin Winery Aug. 10 Wilson Creek Winery Aug. 15 Wine Guy & Wine Gal Aug. 16 Seis Soles Wine Co. Aug. 17 Wiens Cellars
It is amazing to experience the entire OC Fair setting up around us the week before it starts and you can be a big part of it all. The Courtyard has always been a special place for the OCWS. If you enjoy using power drills and stepladders and wearing clothes you don’t mind getting grubby, this crew is for you. When you walk in and look around, you can say you helped transform The Courtyard into one of the best venues at the OC Fair!It will take our dedicated volunteers several days to set up The Courtyard before the fair starts, the only place that not only serves award-win-ning wines that we all enjoy but is the largest TWO sources of OCWS scholarship funds generated during the fair. This is not the same as server shifts and RBS server training is not required to volunteer.Dates for set up are each day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, July 8, Wednesday July 9, and Thursday, July 10, the week before the fair starts. There may be another day added the week of the fair for last-minute adjust-ments. We will be moving and setting up express bars and hanging signs and decorations.What gets set up must come down after the fair ends. The date to tear down The Courtyard is 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday, Aug. 18, and Tuesday, Aug. 19.Members can sign up for any or all ve dates with me directly at Les@OCWS.org, and lunches and parking will be provided. Please contact me with any questions. Thank you again crew, for making The Courtyard the best place to “Find Your Happy” at the 2025 OC Fair! —Leslie “Les” Hodowanec, 2025 OC Fair Courtyard Set Up/Tear Down CoordinatorThe Courtyard6 OCWS.org June 2025‘Find Your Happy’ setting up e Courtyard
June 2025 OCWS.org 7EventsIf you’ve ever wanted to learn winemaking, here’s your chance. The Winemakers Group will be conducting a Kit Winemaking Class on Saturday, June 28 at the Laguna Hills home of one of our winemakers. This is a great beginner’s class. All members are welcome. You don’t have to be a winemaker to attend.A wine kit contains most every-thing you need to make a batch of wine: grape concentrate, additives, oak, basic equipment and instruc-tions. It’s like following a recipe and having all the ingredients, only you’ll make wine instead of a meal. A kit can produce two to three cases of wine, ready to enjoy in about three months. It’s a fun and easy way to get started. You only need an area about the size of a large coat closet to make it happen.For aspiring winemakers, this class will teach you the basic skills you’ll need to make wine. Kits are a great springboard to making wine from grapes. Not sure if winemaking is for you? This class will give you an understanding of the winemaking process to better appreciate what it takes to produce a glass of wine.Over 200 OCWS members have taken these classes over the past decade. Many of our new winemak-ers started from these introductory classes. Using kits, many members have produced medal=winning wines at the OC Fair Home Wine Competi-tion. John Lane from our Winemak-ers Group will take you through the process using two separate kits. In this “hands-on” class, you’ll start an Italian Verdicchio white wine in the rst half of the class. In the second half, you’ll nish and bottle an Italian Valpola, a deep-colored red wine, which you’ll get to take home. Cost to attend is $32 and atten-dance is extremely limited. The class will last roughly four hours. Coffee and breakfast mufns will be served before the class. We will have a lunch break around the halfway point. Lunch will be accompanied by wines from our Winemakers Group.Don’t miss this educational oppor-tunity! Sign up now on the OCWS website to attend. The exact class location will be announced about one week before the class. Who knows, maybe next year you’ll be entering your wines into the 50th annual OC Fair Home Wine Competition.Basics of making kit wines exploredThe 49th annual OC Fair Home Wine Competition will be held on Saturday, June 7, 2025 at the OC Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa. This is one of the largest home wine competitions in California.Organized and sponsored by the OCWS Winemakers Group, it is run entirely by volunteers from the OCWS. We need your help to make it a success.The competition is a one-day event and runs from 7:30 a.m. to about 2 p.m. All volunteers will be treated to a hot breakfast and lunch, courtesy of the OCWS Cook's Caucus. You will also get the opportunity to taste many of the award-winning wines after the judging is complete. If you’ve never tasted homemade wines, you may be surprised at the quality and craftmanship of the award winners.Volunteer positions include registration, stewards, data entry/scoring, food service, glass washing, and cleanup. There will be a brief orientation before the competition begins to familiarize everyone with their positions. No experience is needed and new volunteers will be paired with competition veterans. It’s a fun day and a great way to meet and mingle with your fellow OCWS members. Sign up today using the volunteer form on the OCWS website.For questions about volunteering, contact volunteer coordinator Cheryl Knapp at cknapp@jps.net.For questions about the event, contact event chairman Kevin Donnelly, kevindonnelly@OCWS.org.Volunteers needed for annual Home Wine CompetitionWinemakers GROUP—Ed Reyes, ed@OCWS.org
8 OCWS.org June 2025EventsThe next Winemakers Group quar-terly meeting and potluck will be Saturday, July 5. Signups are now open on the OCWS website. The South County beach location will be announced one week prior to the event. Cost is $10 per person to cover supplies. All OCWS members are welcome, you don’t have to be a winemaker to attend.Each attendee, or couple, is asked to bring a potluck dish (appetizer, sal-ad, side dish or dessert) ready to serve a small portion to eight people. Please bring any serving utensils necessary for your dish and a bottle of wine per person (homemade or commercial) to share. Plates, napkins and tableware will be furnished. We’re hoping to taste many of the award-winning wines from the recent OC Fair Home Wine Competition. Many of our talented winemakers earned Double Gold and other awards. For new and aspiring winemakers, this is your chance to meet, mingle and learn from our experienced winemak-ers. We will also have a short meeting to review the Home Wine Competition and announce upcoming events. There will be no SO2 testing at the event.Winemakers, did you make wines from grapes purchased through the Winemakers Group? Bring those wines to the event. It’s always interest-ing to taste how differently they turn out. We all start with grapes from the same vineyard which were harvested at the same time. Most of us even used the same yeast and yeast additives supplied with the grapes. The differ-ence in the nished wines is how we processed those grapes after taking them home. What is your unique winemaking style? Bring your wines and let’s com-pare notes.Attendance at this event is extreme-ly limited so sign up now. Volunteers are needed to help set up prior and help clean up after the event. You can sign up to help when you register to attend the event. If you have questions, contact Ed Reyes at ed@OCWS.org.Quarterly Meeting, Potluck Slated July 5Winemakers GROUPSIGN UP TODAYNoon to 4 p.m.Saturday July 5South Orange CountyCOST: $10The ever popular, often-sold-out wine seminars also will return.Don’t forget the added benets of working shifts over the four-week run. Your credentials will give you access to the fair any day it is open (even sold-out days; last year there were nine) and your parking pass also is valid any day. The big plus is that the wine tickets equate to two glasses of varietal wine or eight tastes of award winners per shift worked. You can pour the two glasses into a Govino glass and head to a show. The fair website lists the concert events at both The Hangar and the Pacic Amphitheatre. If you haven’t volunteered for The Courtyard in a while, consider returning for some of that summer fun and happy time. If you are new to The Courtyard, come on down.—Fred Heinecke, The Courtyard Committee ChairTHE COURTYARD, from page 4Mark your calendar for an intriguing Mini-Tasting that will delve into the distinct terroir and character of California wines. We'll be pouring a selection of premium wines from coastal wineries, known for their bright acidity and minerality, alongside comparable priced wines from inland producers, celebrated for their bold fruit avors and full-bodied proles.This comparative tasting will offer a fantastic opportunity to explore how location inuences taste and discover new favorites.The evening promises an enjoyable experience for both seasoned wine enthusiasts and curious newcomers. By exploring the unique characteristics of each region and the subtle nuances that differentiate these exceptional wines you'll experience how coastal inuences versus inland warmth impacts wine.Whether you're a fan of crisp, refreshing whites or gravitate toward robust, complex reds, this tasting is sure to tantalize your taste buds and deepen your appreciation for California's diverse wine offerings.Don't miss this chance to see how your personal preferences align with the other guests at the dinner you attend as well as across the network of host sights. The Mini-Tasting event will be held at 6 p.m. June 28 at various host sites. Remember that space is Mini-TASTINGExplore premium California winessee TASTING, page 17
EventsJune 2025 OCWS.org 9As wine afcionados, we have all experienced this. We have careful-ly chosen and ordered a bottle of wine at a restaurant. The waiter returns, opens it and pours us that rst taste. Some-thing about it doesn’t seem quite right but we indicate our approval anyway. Then as soon as the waiter walks away, we begin to second guess our decision. Is this really how this wine is supposed to taste? Is that zzy attribute supposed to be there? Is that musty odor a problem or not?If you’ve ever been in that situation, you know that uncomfortable feeling and the self-doubt about speaking up. Should we call the waiter over and send it back? Is the wine really all that bad? So you suffer through the evening with something you don’t enjoy. To educate and train our members, the OCWS is once again offering a workshop to help you identify wine defects. It will be held at the home of OCWS member Don Mayer 2 to 5 p.m., Sunday, June 8 in Yorba Linda.This class will give you the knowl-edge to determine the quality of a wine you are served. With that knowledge, you also will gain the condence to question a wine that doesn’t meet that quality standard.Industry experts acknowledge that with corked bottles up to 5% of wine has attributes dened as a defect. How-ever, restaurant returns do not match those numbers. The reason is that many wine consumers are not condent or adequately trained in recognizing a wine defect. In 2024, the expert judges at the OCWS Commercial Competitionrejected 45 bottles. In 2023, 55 bottles were rejected. These numbers are lower than the industry averages, however, they also shipped direct from the winery to our cellar, and did not sit in distribu-tor or store warehouses or on shelves for an extended period of time. This OCWS workshop is designed to take advantage of our competition judg-es’ expertise. You will get the opportuni-ty to sample the faulty wine rejected by judges and compare it to the fault-free version actually judged. The workshop will be structured to provide a comparison between a “good” and “bad” bottle of the same wine. From this, you will learn to identify the same attributes that prompts competition judges to reject a bottle of wine. Multiple examples of the same fault will be used so you can condently identify them.The workshop will be organized into groups so participants can identify the differences between the “good” and “bad” wines and describe the attri-butes of the defect. If possible, a vari-ety of wines with different faults will be used, giving you more examples of faulty wines. With the knowledge gained from this workshop, you’ll be able to identify a defective wine and be more condent in calling over that waiter to get a fresh bottle. Signups for this workshop are now open on the OCWS website. Light snacks will be served. Specic address information and other details will be sent to attendees approximately one week prior to the event.—Don Mayer,Event CoordinatorLearn to identify wine defects June 8OCWS WORKSHOP50th AnniversaryAs we approach our golden anniversary in 2026, I would like to announce the 50th Anniversary Logo design contest for OCWS. Every ve years, we celebrate a milestone, and this one is no exception. The winner will receive two tickets to a Winery Program of their choice in 2026. Please submit your print-ready design to history@OCWS.org by Aug. 18. Both a color and black and white version are appreciated. The winner will be announced at the Annual Business Meeting in September.In preparation for our big anniversary in 2026, I also invite you to share your memories of the organization and your ideas on events and souvenirs to help us commemorate this major milestone. Use this link to share your ideas: ocws.ws/50th.If you had told my 16-year-old self that I would be back working at the OC Fair over four decades later as the president of this amazing organization of volunteers who come together in the name of wine and education, I would have thought you were crazy. But here we are in one of the largest wine markets in the nation, promoting wine enthusiasm and supporting the educational institutions that will produce the next generation of winemakers. What an incredibly lucky path I have traveled to get here, and I thank all of you for this remarkable opportunity.Cheers to you all!PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE, from page 2
If you haven’t heard of our Varietal Hours by now, here is your chance!First of all, they are free. Sure, you say, nothing is free, and if it is then it’s not worth my time. What started as a way of gathering during the COVID quarantines has blos-somed into quality time with friends, both old and new. And the things we have learned and been taught by this group are priceless.So here is our challenge to all of you: If you haven’t already attended one of these Varietal Hours, please attend one. Yes, just one. We promise you three things: 1) You will have fun. 2) You might just learn something, OR you might teach us something. 3) You won’t regret spending that hour of your life. And you won’t even have to drive home.So picture this…Your own comfortable furniture. A glass of wine in your hand. Chatting with fun friends, some you know, some you may not. Right there in your own house with friends, old and new. And here’s the best part: You don’t even have to clean up everyone’s mess! We’re always happy to have new members join the fun and meet some people who enjoy wine.Each event has a theme, but we never “kick anyone off the island,” so it never matters if you follow the theme. The setting is very casual, with stories told about each of the wines we’re drinking, what we do (or don’t) like about them, where we got them, and more.Regardless of your knowledge of wine, the Varietal Hours have something for everyone. Varietal Hours are held every other Tuesday from 7 to 8 p.m.All you need is a computer (or phone) and internet con-nection. If you are new to the Varietal Hours or to Zoom, please feel free to contact Don Phillips at don@OCWS.org for help and information, even if it means contacting Tuesday nights, when the fun never stopshim days before the event, and he will walk you through the process and even do a short Zoom meeting, just for you, to get you comfortable with the process.The event is open to all OCWS members, but sign-ups are required. Please log on to the OCWS website to register for the event no later than 7 p.m., the Monday night before the event. Couples only need to sign up for one person since this event is via Zoom. A link for the Zoom meeting will be emailed to you on the day of the event.We are also looking for hosts for upcoming Varietal Hours. It’s fun and easy to do. Please contact Don at the above email if you wish to host, or with any questions or suggestions.We look forward to Zooming with you soon at one of the future Varietal Hours. Bottoms up!—Don Phillips,OCWS Varietal Hours ChairMAY 27TIME:7 p.m.THEME:Cooking with WineHO ST:Janet RiordanJUNE 10TIME:7 p.m.THEME:Wine Varietal You've Never HadHO ST:Elee PhillipsJUNE 24TIME:7 p.m.THEME:Chilean WineHO ST:CL Keedy10 OCWS.org June 2025EventsVarietal HOURSJULY 8TIME:7 p.m.THEME:Wines under $12HO ST:Ken Knapp
June 2025 OCWS.org 11NewsThis year, the Orange County Wine Society donated $49,507 in scholarships to the eight academic institutions listed below. This year’s donations raised the total amount of OCWS scholarships awarded since 1981 to over $946,000. The scholarship funds come from a variety of sources, including tips at The Courtyard, Wine Auction, featured winery program, judges’ stipends and member donations. The judges’ stipend donations from the 2024 OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition totaled $3,000, which was given to UC Davis in addition to the standard donation. In 2026, the judges’ stipend donations will go to Napa Valley College. We thank the judges and our members for their support and hard work that made this year’s scholarship funding possi-ble.We will be attending the scholarship award presentations for Orange Coast College, Napa Valley College and Allan Hancock College. Look for more photos of the awards ceremonies and our scholarship recipients in a future issue.—Damian Christian, Scholarship ChairUPDATE: 2025 OCWS Scholarship ProgramAllan Hancock College Viticulture/EnologyCal Poly Institute, Pomona Agricultural ScienceCal Poly Institute, San Luis Obispo Wine/ViticultureCalifornia State University, Fresno Viticulture/EnologyOrange Coast College Culinary ArtsUniversity of California, Davis Viticulture/EnologyNapa Valley College Viticulture/Winery TechCalifornia State University, Sonoma Wine Business (Chris Cunningham Memorial ScholarshipTOTAL: $5,777 $5,725 $6,225 $5,725 $5,825 $8,750 $5,725 $5,755 $49,507 University/College School TotalProgramNOTE: Just a friendly reminder that you can make a donation to the OCWS Scholarship Fund anytime. There are two ways to donate:1. Mail a check – Complete your check using the same instructions as above, and mail it to the OCWS oce at OCWS P.O. Box 11059, Cos ta Mes a, C A 926 27 An: S cholarship Fund. A donation leer will be sent to you.2. Donate Online - Logon to your account at OCWS.org and go to the scholarship donation page: OCWS.org/product/scholarship-donations/. You can make your donation online and print a receipt for tax purposes at the same time.OCWS member Alicia Lopez (right) presented an OCWS scholar-ship to enology student Tanya Horan at Napa Valley College.OCWS member Damian Christian (right) presented an OCWS scholarship to culinary arts student Jasmine Dagley at Orange Coast College.OCWS SCHOLARSHIPS
News12 OCWS.org June 2025After more than two decades of dedicated service as the ofcial OCWS photographer, Jim Burk has de-cided to retire from his role behind the lens. Jim has done an outstanding job documenting our events and members over the years, leaving us with a rich visual legacy. We are incredibly grate-ful for his commitment and are pleased to share that he has graciously offered to mentor his successor once identied.Now, we’re looking for our next OCWS photographer. If you have pho-tography experience and are interested in capturing the vibrant spirit of our events, we’d love to speak with you. This volunteer position plays a key role in preserving the memories and mile-stones of the OCWS.If the primary photographer is un-available for a comped event, a Photog-raphy Committee member may attend and shoot in their place. We recognize that this role may be too much for one person alone, so we welcome those interested in covering specic events or sharing responsibilities.Interested? Please reach out to Car-olyn Christian at carolyn@OCWS.org by June 30 to express your interest.Let’s raise a glass to Jim and nd the next great visual storyteller for the OCWS!In search of new OCWS photographerPhotograph OCWS events throughout the yearServe as Chair of the Photography CommitteeHelp select the monthly Photo Contest winnerEdit and deliver 20–30 top images per event to the Marketing Committee for Facebook and promotional useMaintain organized electronic archives of all event photosTake the annual panoramic photograph of the judges at the Commercial Wine CompetitionRESPONSIBILITIESComplimentary Admission for Photographer Plus 1 at:Spring and Fall Membership EventsWinery ProgramsWine AuctionJudges’ Dinner (Commercial Wine Competition)ATTENDANCE & BENEFITSTicket Purchase Required:Champagne BrunchDine with Wine Installation DinnerHoliday Dinner DanceMini-TastingsWinemakers’ Group EventsOther events not listed aboveOPTIONAL ATTENDANCEVolunteer OPPORTUNITYCommittee looking for past newslettersThe 50th Anniversary Committee is busy preparing for the big event next year. Currently we have copies of 30 years of our monthly newsletter The Wine Press, and we are hoping to get copies of all 49 years. If you have any of the dates, we would like to scan your copies to add to our archives.If you have any of the issues listed below of The Wine Press, or any of the Free Run newsletter that OCWS used to produce for the OC Fair, please contact Carolyn Christian at carolyn@OCWS.org to arrange a time to scan your newsletters. Thank you!—OCWS 50th Anniversary Committee50th ANNIVERSARY
June 2025 OCWS.org 13NewsThe history of the Orange County Wine Society membership began in July 1976 when, through the efforts of Brant Horton and 18 other founding members, the OCWS was formed. In May 1976 Brant decided that the OC Fair would be an ideal candidate for hosting a professional competition of California wines. He knew an organi-zation of members was necessary to provide the time and talents necessary to accomplish this feat. Members were recruited to volunteer their time and efforts to successfully run the competition. The April 1986 Free Run publication stated, “The success of the rst Commercial Wine Competition served as a catalyst for the growth of the OCWS.” MEMBERSHIP IN THE 1980sFrom 1981 to 1985, OCWS mem-bership grew to a few hundred mem-bers. John Goodnight, Treasurer and Membership Chairperson in 1987 and 1988, estimates that there were about 350 members at that time. Membership information was stored on an Excel spreadsheet and the OCWS would use mail merge to do a mass mailing to col-lect dues in November and December. When the Board of Directors felt that year-end collection of dues was not fair to members who joined late in the calendar year, they changed the process so that membership renewal would occur on the anniversary of when the member joined. It has always been true that most new members signed up during the fair. In the ’80s, typically 40 to 50 new members signed up. In the early days people could sign up for membership and members could sign up to partic-ipate in an event by lling out a cou-pon-like application that was part of The Wine Press newsletter and mail it in with a check to the OCWS ofce. Since the cost of postage kept going up, membership dues had to increase to cover the cost of the newsletter mailings. The 1987 December Wine Press reported that the Board of Directors elected to increase the mem-bership renewal fee from $20 a year to $30 a year with the additional $10 to go immediately into the Scholarship Fund. The Board stated, “Our goal is to be able to increase the amounts given to deserving students and to further promote the education and appreciation of California wines.” The rst annual “Membership” Barbecue was held in August of 1987 at a cost of $10 for members and $11 for non-members. It was held at Ki-wanisLand, a three-acre private park in Garden Grove. It became a popular site for the Annual Membership Barbecue. The Wine Press stated, “This will give everyone an opportunity to meet the members (old and new), sip some wine, enjoy the food, and listen and dance to the band ‘Sweet Magnolia.’”MEMBERSHIP IN THE 1990sIn the 1990s, OCWS membership grew to over 1,100 members. Dues were raised to $25 per single member and $35 for dual membership in 1991. OCWS identication cards were printed for the membership. In the January 1999 Wine Press, a “Membership Update” written by Board Member Tim Morgon stated, “The power of ‘friendships’ is evident with about 20 or so of you members that ‘drafted’ or ‘volunteered’ 35 of your friends into joining the OCWS. I tip my wine glass to each one of you!” The article went on to report 582 memberships equating to 940 members.In the March 1999 Wine Press the “Membership Update” reported, “During December and January, we attracted 38 new people to join our little wine club…The most popular reason people join is still word of mouth.” In June 1999 OCWS membership grew to 990 members.MEMBERSHIP IN THE 2000sFrom 2001 to 2005 OCWS celebrat-ed its 25th anniversary and membership stabilized at about 1,100 members.In October 2006, after reviewing the rising costs of doing business, the single membership cost was increased to $35, and dual membership was increased to $50. In February 2011 the OCWS held a Spring Membership Drive with the goal to sign up 100 new members between Feb. 1 and June 30, and the member who signed up the most new members would win two tickets to the Membership Barbecue and two tickets to the 2012 Wine Extraordinaire. Jim Graver won the contest and the two runners up, Kathy Krieger and Kris Julin, each won two bottles of wine.Founding members start recruiting July 1976OCWS HISTORY & FUN FACTSsee MEMBERSHIP, page 17
14 OCWS.org June 2025Wine Wisdom1Swirling or aerating the wine in your glass:A. Helps you smell wine betterB. Helps you taste wine betterC. Helps to get an idea of the alcohol content by showing thick “legs”D. All of the aboveAnswer: D. All of the above.2Why do you continue to smell wine once it is in your mouth? A. As the wine is mixed with your saliva and warmed, volatile compounds are released and waft back through your mouth and up the nasal cavity behind the bridge of your nose B. When wine is in your mouth, compounds are released and absorbed by the olfactory receptor cellsC. When wine is in your mouth, ve million of your olfactory receptor cells ash information to the olfactory bulb of the brainD. All of the aboveAnswer: D. All of the above.3If you only do a brief sniff/whiff, a little information goes to the brain making it easy to decide what the wine tastes like.A. TrueB. FalseAnswer: False4Wines can develop foul orders and tastes for what reason:A. The presence of bacteriaB. Overexposure to oxygenC. Unclean barrelsD. All of the aboveAnswer: D. All of the above.5How do you smell wine correctly?A. Swirl the wine in your glassB. Ensure you take a bath to eliminate outside odor interferenceC. Rest the glass on a table, hold by the stem, rotate the glass in small circlesD. All of the aboveAnswer: D. All of the above. Options A and C will aerate wine by adding oxygen and changing the chemical components in wine and therefore release the aroma of wine so you can smell your wine better. It is uncertain as to how effective B would be.6In Britain, smelling a wine is referred to as:A. Nosing it (getting your nose deep into the glass near the liquid) B. Snifng it (getting your nose deep into the glass)C. Taking a series of short quick sniffsD. All of the aboveAnswer: D. All of the above.7What do you do if you stick your nose into a glass of wine and you smell nothing? A. Cover the glass with your hand and shake it up and downB. Warm it up with a candle lighterC. Pour yourself a second glassAnswer: A. Vigorous shaking will release the aroma and allow for a perfect aroma explosion, just make sure you are not wearing white.8The smell of a wine is called: A. NoseB. AromaC. BouquetD. All of the aboveThe origins of various wine aromasYou are watching Jeopardy and thinking about how easy it would be for you to win any wine category because not only do you love wine, but you drink a lot of it! Well, have you ever thought about wine aroma and where it comes from? We are going to get you ready to win the wine aroma category.Aromas in wine come from the grape, winemaking and aging. There are three categories of aroma: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary. Primary aromas are derived from the grape and fermentation process and include fruit and oral aromas. Sometimes spices, herbs and other natural elements existing near the vineyard may have an impact on the aroma of the wine. Secondary aromas are derived from winemaking techniques. Examples include malolactic conversion and lees stirring or aging. Also having an impact is maturation and the vessel used such as stainless steel, cement tank, neutral oak and new oak.Tertiary aromas develop over time as the wine ages in the bottle. Tertiary aromas are indicative of more complex wines with notes of earthy, oral, and nutty notes. Examples of tertiary aromas include leather, dried fruits, petrol, honey and mushroom. TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGEsee QUIZ, page 15
Wine WisdomAnswer: D. All of the above. Technically, aroma is used to describe smells associated with the grape. Bouquet is part of the wine’s smell derived from winemaking and wine development while in the bottle. Bouquet inuences include yeast and oak barrels.9The aroma of Sauvignon Blanc may sometimes be described as: A. Tangy green herbB. Assertive oliveC. Cat peeD. Green straw Answer: When used in the context of Sauvignon Blanc, the term usually refers to a tangy smell.10Wine aromas come from: A. The grapeB. WinemakingC. AgingD. All of the aboveAnswer: D. All of the above.11During the fermentation process, what item below does not create a chemical reaction resulting in wine aromas:: A. Specic varietalB. Container used for fermentationC. Type of yeast usedD. EnvironmentAnswer: B. The type of container used would result in secondary aromas.12In general, aromas in this category develop over time and as the wine ages in the bottle: A. Primary AromasB. Tertiary AromasC. Secondary AromasAnswer: B. 13Wines that express aromas derived only from the grape and fermentation process are: A. Primary AromasB. Tertiary AromasC. Secondary AromasAnswer: A.14Vanillin is: A. Contained in American oak B. A key component of the oak avor prole in winesC. A chemical compound responsible for vanilla aromaD. All of the above.Answer: D. All of the above. American white oak is known for its high vanillin content15What does it mean when you hear a wine is “hot”? A. It is high in alcoholB. It was stolen from a wine cellarC. It is something you would want to share with your new dateAnswer: A. A hot wine means it’s smell and taste of alcohol dominates. This usually means the balance of components such as fruit and acid are off.Enough of wine aroma. Time to grab a bottle of wine, take a whiff and enjoy Jeopardy. Cheers!—Linda Flemins,Wine Education CommitteeWhen you are attending OCWS functions, look for the white ribbons on the name tags. The white ribbon will be on the mem-ber’s name tags if they joined OCWS within the last few months. We are using the white ribbon to make it easier for all members to know who is newer. For each event, we will match the attendees to the membership roster and identify new members. During check in, these members will be given the white ribbon to adhere to their name tag. The ribbons are easily re-moved and will not damage the name tag,When you identify a new member by the white ribbon, please take the opportu-nity to say hi! So often we want to reach out and welcome new members, but we don’t know who they are. This gives us an easy way to identify and welcome them.It is always fun to nd out why people are interested in our organization. Are they home winemakers? Have they traveled many places and tasted wines? Do they have a favorite California wine-maker? Does that winemaker enter our Wine Competition? Did they join during the OC Fair because we all looked like we enjoyed serving? Or, do they just like to drink wine? Our new members are so varied and interesting. What a wonderful time to learn about them.Are you a new member looking for other new members? The white ribbons make it easier for us to identify them and form new friendships.So look for the white ribbons and introduce yourself! —Alice Polser, Membership Member LiaisonKeep an eye out for the White RibbonQUIZ, from page 14June 2025 OCWS.org 15
Photo of the Month16 OCWS.org June 2025TASTING ON THE DANUBEThis award-winning photo goes to OCWS member Nicole Vearrier for her shot of tasting Gamza wine at Dos Alamos Winery near the Danube Plain in Bulgaria 2025.The OCWS sponsors a photography contest and you are invited to partici-pate! As you might have guessed, the subject is “wine,” but this can mean many things to many people.Do you have a great shot of the sun ltering through the vines just before picking? Or an action shot of wine being poured with some great swirls in the glass? Perhaps a romantic shot of a couple toasting each other?These are a few ideas and I’m sure you have many more of that great shot involving wine in some way.Each month the photography com-mittee will select a Photo of the Month for publication in the upcoming news-letter as well as on the OCWS website. The winner also will receive a bottle of wine from the OCWS wine cellar. If you have any questions, email Photo@OCWS.org. Calling all OCWS photographersTHE RULESEntrants must be OCWS members in good standing and the submitted photo must have been photographed by the OCWS member when he/she was an active member.The photo must be some-how wine oriented. It may be of a winery, vineyard, the winemaking process, the nished product or simply the consumption. But don’t limit yourself just to these ideas!The photo or photos may be submitted to the OCWS photography committee any-time but will be considered only for the month it was sub-mitted. There is a limit of ve (5) submissions per month. Upon submission, rights to the photo are given to the OCWS for marketing pur-poses, so before you submit it make sure it is your property. Please get permission from any people in the photo.The photo must be sub-mitted in one of the follow-ing formats: JPEG, RAW, TIFF or Photoshop. Any size is ac-ceptable, but it is preferred to be at least 3000x2400 pixels, which is an 8”x10” shot at 300 dpi for printing. In the event that insu-cient entries are entered in a month, the committee reserves the right to move any contributed photos to the next month.To submit a picture, attach it in an email to Photo@OCWS.org. Be sure to include your name, phone number, picture location and picture title. Pho-tos are due by the last day of the month to be considered for that month’s winner. 124536
Brant Horton helped establish the rst Commercial Wine Competition. The OC Fair wholeheartedly embraced the idea and provided the OCWS with a 10’ table during the then-one-week run of the fair. The Commercial Wine Competition had a whopping 83 individual wines entered comprised of three varietals, which, to the best of our knowledge, were mostly Chenin Blanc and Gamay Beaujolais, with the third varietal still a long-forgotten mystery to this day.No one could have imagined that the creation of a small wine competition would evolve into the largest Califor-nia-only wine competition in the world today, with over 90 winery principals and professional winemakers blind judging over 2,600 wines a year. The competition has been comprised of more than 176 varietals, the number of which continues to increase year after year, with 14 new ones added already this year alone.One can only imagine what the founding members of the OCWS would think of the evolution of the organi-zation and competitions to this day and think of what their amazement and pride in the reality of their visions almost 50 years ago would now be all for the love of wine!FeatureJune 2025 OCWS.org 17COMPETITION, from page 1More than 90 winery employees and professional winemakers judge over 2,600 wines during the Commercial Wine Competition. Many of these wines are poured during the OC Fair.MEMBERSHIP, from page 13limited, so be sure to register early to ensure your location request is honored, which is assigned based upon when you sign up. For newer members, this is a Bring-a-Dish aspect and a great way to meet other OCWS members in a more intimate and friendly setting. As a bonus to those with a culinary passion, each of the attendees votes on their site’s favorite dish and the winner goes home with a bottle of wine as a prize. We look forward to raising a glass with you and exploring the remarkable terroir of California.—Don Mayer, OCWS Mini-Tasting ChairTASTING, from page 8On April 1, 2020, the Board of Direc-tors was faced with the great challenge of operating in the COVID era. The Board of Directors chose to suspend member-ship renewal fees starting April 1, 2020, and as a result, the OCWS retained all its members. The Board continued to have social events virtually since we were under pandemic restrictions. After 12 months passed, membership renewals resumed and the herculean feat of our non-prot OCWS’s survival was realized! March, April and May 2021 membership remained steady at an average of 1,135 members.Fast forward to our most recent OC Fair years 2022, 2023 and 2024, our new member recruitment results averaged out to 291 new members each OC Fair year. That’s a lot of “new member bell ringing” going on at the fair. Not too bad for a tax-exempt organization that has been around almost 50 years. Perhaps it’s because we’ve done a fantastic job of following our basic philosophy of not just promoting OCWS’s understanding and appreciation of wine, winemaking and viticulture, but of having fun doing it!—Linda Flemins,50th Anniversary Committee member
2025UPCOMINGEVENTS18 OCWS.org June 2025June 10VARIETAL HOURS / WINE VARIETAL YOU’VE NEVER HAD / Via ZoomJune 7HOME WINE COMPETITIONOC Fair & Event Center / Costa MesaJune 8WINE DEFECT IDENTIFICATION WORKSHOPHome of Don Mayer / Yorba LindaMay 31-June 1COMMERCIAL WINE COMPETITIONHilton Hotel / Costa MesaJune 24VARIETAL HOURS / CHILEAN WINEVia ZoomJuly 5WINEMAKERS GROUP QUARTERLY MEETING & POTLUCK / South Orange County July 8VARIETAL HOURS / WINES UNDER $12 Via ZoomJuly 18-Aug. 17OC FAIR OC Fairgrounds / Costa MesaOct. 11FALL SOCIAL / CHILI COOKOFFOC Fairgrounds / Costa MesaJune 28MINI-TASTING / CALIFORNIA WINESVarious LocationsJune 28KIT WINEMAKING CLASS Home of Ed Reyes / Laguna Hills