OCWS Newsletter - MAY2024 : simplebooklet.com

2 ocws.org May 20242024 Board of Directors Carolyn ChristianPresidentCarolyn@ocws.orgFran GitshamVice PresidentFran@ocws.orgRich SkoczylasSecretaryRich@ocws.orgMel JayTreasurerMel@ocws.orgGeorge CravensDirectorGeorge@ocws.orgSue EnglandDirectorSue@ocws.orgLinda FleminsDirectorLindaF@ocws.orgFred HeineckeDirectorFred@ocws.orgJohn LaneDirectorJohn@ocws.orgPresident’s Message By Carolyn ChristianThis month I am reminded how much we have to celebrate as an organization. With over 1,000 mem-bers, we are one of the largest groups of wine enthusiasts in the nation. And with 48 years of history, we have seen so much change and growth in the wine industry, especial-ly in California. In 1976, the same year the Orange County Wine Society was founded, the Judgement of Paris catapulted California into the vino stratosphere with a majority of the winners com-ing from familiar California wineries rather than their French counterparts. You might recognize some of the wineries: Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Ridge Vineyards, Heitz Wine Cel-lars, Clos Du Val Winery, Maycamas Vineyards, Freemark Abbey Winery, Chateau Montelena, Chalone Vine-yard, Spring Mountain Vineyard, Veedercrest Vineyards and David Bruce Winery. May 24 is the anniver-sary of that famous showdown.California has a long tradition of exceptional winemaking that is reected in the winners at the OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition, which our organization has hosted for 48 years. The founding of our organi-zation coincides with an explosion of wineries throughout the state. Start-ing with only a few categories in the 1970s, the competition has grown to dozens of new wine categories for both varietals and blends and thou-sands of entries. Wine is a universal language and is almost always associated with cele-bration. Here are a few dates you can use this month to celebrate:May 3 – International Sauvignon Blanc DayMay 9 – World Moscato DayMay 23 – International Chardonnay DayMay 25 – National Wine DayBut honestly, do we really need a designated day to celebrate? We, as an organization, celebrate throughout the year with dozens of events and activi-ties that pair wine education and fun!I personally would like to toast many of you who put in hours of volunteering to make these events and this organization such a huge success. From the board of directors to com-mittee members and event volunteers, we literally have hundreds of people helping make this organization what it is today. In April alone, we had over 11 events and hundreds of attendees and volunteers, and we are just moving into our busy season.If you are new to the OCWS and haven’t volunteered at one of our events yet, I highly recommend it. Each of our events provides a number of volunteer opportunities that include a wide range of activities, from more sedentary jobs on the computer or with paperwork to active jobs lifting wine, setting up tables and more. I cannot think of any other organi-zation that provides so many inter-esting opportunities for everyone to participate at some level. And we do it all while increasing our knowledge of wine and having a ball. Don’t miss your opportunity to work directly with winemakers at the Commercial and Home Wine competitions (in June) or with the general public at The Courtyard at the OC Fair (in July and August).If you are interested in helping organize our amazing events, commit-see MESSAGE, page 3

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May 2024 ocws.org 3The Wine PressStaff BoxThe Wine Press is the ofcial 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 ChristianScott HarralAlice PolserRochelle RandelEd ReyesWebsite AdministratorWendy TaylorOCWS PhotographerJim BurkCopyright (c)2024 Orange County Wine Society, Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved.The Orange County Wine Society is a non-prot 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: Ofce@ocws.org 2023 Wine Competition Results:WineCompetition.comThe Orange County Wine Soci-ety extends a warm welcome to its newest members! Membership for the following members was approved by the Board of Directors at the April 2024 meeting: Clifford and Toni New-by, Leslie Brazeau, Ivan and Whitney Moad, Harry Messersmith, Coleen McNally, Karen Wilson and Mike Palombo, Matt and Letty Love and Ed and Kim Ivora.As of April 1, the OCWS has 1,028 total members with 616 member-ships.New Members: For new mem-bers trying to log on to our website and who have not already created their own password, go to OCWS.org. Your default login is the primary member’s email address. The default password is the primary member’s zip code. Both of these may be changed under the tab “My Account” once you log on. However, there may be only one login / password per membership.—Rochelle Randel, OCWS Business AdministratorNew Members CORNERtees are often looking for new mem-bers to train. So whatever day you wish to celebrate this May, raise a glass to the remarkable wines of California and the accomplishments of this incredible organization. We are living proof that you can pair knowledge and fun any day. Cheers to you all!MESSAGE, from page 2New members are invited to a New Member Mixer event. At this free Orange County Wine Society event, new members can meet other new members and the Board of Directors as well as learn more about the many events the OCWS has to offer. This event is restricted to new members who joined on or after Aug. 15, 2023, and who have not previously attended a new member mixer. To sign-up, go to OCWS.org, log on to your OCWS account, and look for the New Member Mix-er under Events. The deadline for reservations is Wednesday May 15.If you have never logged on to your OCWS account, your user-name is the email of the primary member on your account and your password is your zip code. You will be prompted to change your password the rst time you login. If you have issues accessing your account, please contact the OCWS ofce staff at (714) 708-1636.Hope to see you there!—Linda Flemins, OCWS Director & New Member Mixer Co-ChairCelebrating new OCWS membersNew Member MIXERSAVE the DATE1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 18Yorba Linda area (exact location will be emailed 3-5 days prior to the event)Attire: Casual (event will be outdoors, weather permitting)Wine, water and light appetizers will be served. This is an invitation-only event.

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4 ocws.org May 2024Chef of the EveningBoeuf BourguignonIngredients 3 lbs. boneless beef chuck1 stick butter or margarine3 Tbsp. brandy1 medium onion (yellow or red) chopped to 1/2” pieces2 lbs. fresh crimini mushrooms chopped in quarters2 1/2 Tbsp. potato starch1/8 tsp. pepper3 cubes beef boullion2 Tbsp. tomato paste2 cups Burgundy1 cup dry sherry1 cup ruby port1 10 1/2 oz. can condensed beef broth, undiluted3 bay leavesParsleyInstructions WIPE beef with paper towels. With sharp knife, cut into 1” cubes. SLOWLY heat 5-quart dutch oven with light tting lid. ADD in 2 Tbsp. of hot butter. Over high heat, brown beef well all over—do about 1/4 at a time, enough to cover bottom of dutch oven so all cubes cook evenly. TURN beef with tongs. Lift out as it browns. Continue until all of the beef is browned, adding more butter as needed (takes about 1/2 hour). Once done, return all cubes to the dutch oven.HEAT 2 Tbsp. brandy in small saucepan just until vapor rises. IGNITE and pour over beef (this part is optional and I usually skip after nearly burning my house down ... twice). As the ame dies (if you’re brave enough to have ignited it), remove beef cubes to another pan and set aside.ADD 2 Tbsp. butter to dutch oven at medium heat. ADD onions and cook over medium heat, covered, until onions brown slightly, stirring occasionally. ADD mushrooms and cook, again stirring occasionally, roughly 5 min-utes or enough time to fully sweat the onion/mushroom combo. REMOVE onions and mushrooms with slotted spoon to a separate bowl, leaving the “juice” behind.REMOVE dutch oven from heat. STIR in tomato paste, red wine, sherry, port, boullion cubesand beef broth using a wooden spoon or whisk.PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees.BRING wine mixture in dutch oven just to boiling then lower heat to low. While stirring, add beef, pepper, bay leaf, onions, mushrooms and remaining brandy; mix well.PLACE a large sheet of waxed pa-per over top of dutch oven; place lid on top of paper. BAKE covered, stirring occasion-ally.COOK 2 hours or until beef is ten-der when pierced with a fork. SPRINKLE with parsley and let cool a while (usually an hour for me) then put in the refrigerator overnight.Based on his last name, you can tell Chris Ouellette is French. This recipe comes from a long line of Ouellettes back in New Hampshire and even Quebec (yes, the French part). It was a favorite of Chris’ dad. Feel free to use your favorite Burgundy, though Chris prefers a Petite Sirah. “My dad says, ‘This is better made a day before, refrigerated and reheated gently,’” Chris says. “I feel it’s mandatory.”If necessary, add more wine to thin the sauce while reheating or, if you prefer it thicker, that is what the potato starch is for. Finally, this is cooking (not baking). All measurements are merely guid-lines. Chris advises: try it, tweak it and make it your own.

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May 2024 ocws.org 5News & NotesBefore Thomas Jefferson planted 24 European varietals at Monticello in 1807; before the rst American commercial winery was founded by John Dufour in Kentucky in 1799; and before the American Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, the Franciscan Friars in 1769 planted California’s rst vitis vinifera grapes at Mission San Diego de Alcala. And in 1771 they planted the same varietal that was to become known as the Mission grape at Mission San Gabriel Arcangel. Centuries later the Mission grape, through DNA testing, would be identied as Listan Prieto, a red grape from the Spanish region of Castilla-La Mancha. But that’s a topic for another time.By the mid 1860s, as the Civil War ended, German, Italian and French immigrants moved from the East Coast to San Diego, bringing vines and viticulture with them. The San Diego area wine industry grew for the next 50-plus years. However, a combination of events, which included the great ood of January 1916 caused by two weeks of rain from an El Nino storm, prohibition and World War II, overwhelmed San Diego’s wine industry. The recovery of San Diego’s wine production was marked by the creation of the San Pasqual Valley AVA in September 1981 as the fourth AVA established after Augusta, Missouri (June 1980), Napa Valley (January 1981) and Santa Maria Valley (August 1981). The San Pasqual Valley AVA has a total area of 9,000 acres along the banks of the San Dieguito River near Escondido with a Mediterranean climate conducive to growing Grenache, Merlot, Sangiovese, Tempranillo and Viognier. In December 2005, San Diego was approved for a second AVA in Ramona Valley. Surrounding the town of Ramona, this AVA added 89,000 acres to San Diego County’s viticulture lands. And there are now more than 115 wineries in the county. So whenever or wherever it began, if you have the wine, enjoy it! —Wine Education Committee and CL KeedyWine WISDOMWhen and where did it all begin?The Orange County Wine Society funds scholarships for eight California colleges and universities including Napa Valley College. Napa Valley College has two locations, one in Napa and a second upper campus in St. Helena. As a community college, they offer the standard two-year associates degree and a one-year wine production certicate. Their Viticulture and Winery Technology (VWT) program is one of the largest in the country with an annual enrollment of 800 to 1,000 students, a ve-acre vineyard and a commercial winery. The certicates in viticulture and winery technology consist of production-oriented courses in viticulture and winemaking. Many of the students at Napa Valley actively work in the wine industry while taking classes. This month students in the wine program are getting ready to bottle their 2023 Sauvignon Blanc. All the wine produced is made from grapes grown on their ve-acre vineyard located on the Napa Valley College campus. They produce between 500 and 700 cases annually. You can even join their wine club featuring student-made wines.Next month we will be highlighting another one of the colleges/universities supported by the OCWS scholarship fund. You can make your donation online and print a receipt for tax purposes at the same time.OCWS Scholarship PROGRAMSpotlight: Napa Valley CollegeJust a friendly reminder there is always time to donate to the OCWS Scholarship Fund for 2024. There are two ways to donate:Donate Online — Log on to your account at OCWS.org and go to the scholarship donation page: OCWS.org/product/scholarship-donations/.Mail a check — Make your check out to OCWS and mail it to our oce at OCWS, P.O. Box 11059 Costa Mesa, CA 92627. Attn: Scholarship Fund. A donation letter will be sent to you.—Damian Christian, Scholarship Chair DONATE TODAY1.2.

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Home Winemakers6 ocws.org May 2024Home Wine COMPETITIONHome Wine Competition Entry TipsDon’t skimp on packaging if you’re shipping your wine to the competition. You want your wine to get here safely after all your effort. Competition wines are stored in a temperature-controlled environment after they’re received so you don’t have to worry about expo-sure to extreme temperatures.PACKAGINGWhen it comes to bottling, make sure that’s the only thing you’re doing on bottling day. Make any chemical ad-ditions or adjustments at least a week prior to bottling. This will allow enough time for those changes to inte-grate into the wine. If you’re making a blend, your blending components and their percentages should already be determined. You don’t want to be g-uring out your blend at the last minute.BOTTLINGTaste your wine before bottling to make sure nothing is wrong with it. You don’t want to bottle a bad wine. Notice I said taste your wine, not drink. As tempting as it is, don’t drink during bottling. It’s too easy to make a mistake or forget a critical step with a foggy mind. I cele-brate with a cold beer after bottling.TASTINGIf you’re entering the label competition, send an original label. It shows much better than a photocopy. Make sure the label is entered into its correct category. Sometimes labels have characteristics that might make it a worthy contender in several categories. For instance, it might be both humorous and viticultur-al. In this case I recommend entering it into the category where it makes a great impression.LABELINGFinally, make sure you complete the en-try form clearly and thoughtfully. Enter your wines into their correct categories. If you’re entering a specic varietal wine, say Zinfandel, make sure there is at least 75% of that varietal in the wine. Rose wines should be entered as such so they’re not judged against their red counterparts. ENTERINGWinemakers, the entry deadline for the OC Fair Home Wine Competition is coming up—June 8. If you plan to submit wines, here are some things you can do to give them their best chance to show well. If you haven’t bottled the wine yet, make sure you’re using sound winemaking practices. This means tasting regularly, topping off carboys and maintaining SO2 to prevent oxidation and spoilage. Oxidized wine is a common fault and it can happen to any wine. I’ve tasted commercial wines that suf-fered from oxidation right out of the bottle.Resist the urge to submit anything that has just been bottled. Bottle shock is a real phenomenon. I’ve found my wines need at least 30 days to recover after bottling.I know a lot of this isn’t rocket science but by putting care into your wine and thoughtfulness into the en-try process beforehand, you can help them to show their best on competi-tion day.Good luck to all!—Ed Reyes,ed@ocws.org Specify the grape’s AVA, if applicable, and vintage in the entry form “descrip-tion” section. If you’re entering a blend, be sure to specify the percentages of each blend component in the “descrip-tion” section as well. Fruit wines should be entered into their appropriate catego-ry. Note the wine’s sweetness level and enter that into the appropriate category. All that information will be on the judg-es’ score sheets for their consideration.SPECIFYING AVAFor winemakers, wine competitions are a great way to see how our wines are viewed by our peers.

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Home WinemakersMay 2024 ocws.org 7The 48th annual OC Fair Home Wine Competition will be held on Saturday, June 8 at the OC Fair and Event Center. We need volunteers in many areas to help make this event a success. No experience is necessary. New volunteers will be paired with competition veterans. In return, you’ll get a hot breakfast and lunch, courtesy of our OCWS Cooks' Caucus. You’ll also get the chance to taste award-winning wines at the end of the event. Lots of fun will be had by all. To sign up, please go to our website at OCWS.org/home-wine-competition/.HOME WINE COMPETITIONThe 2024 OC Fair Home Wine Competition will be held on Saturday, June 8, at The Courtyard. This is the largest home wine competition in California. It is organized by the Winemakers Group and run entirely by volunteers from the OCWS. We need your help to make it a success.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, 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.The event runs from 7:30 a.m. to about 2 p.m. All volunteers will be treated to breakfast and lunch, courtesy of the OCWS Cooks Caucus. You also will get the opportunity to taste many of the award-winning wines after the judging is complete. Sign up today using the volunteer form on the OCWS website. I hope to see you there.Attention Winemakers! Time is running out to enter your wines into this year’s OC Fair Home Wine Competition. Online entries must be submitted and all wines must be received by May 24, 2024.Don’t miss the opportunity to compete for bragging rights with your fellow winemakers. Awards include Best of Show, Double Gold, Gold, Silver and Bronze. Last year, OCWS winemakers won numerous awards including one of the four Best of Show categories. Will one of yours win the top prize? You’ll never know unless you enter.Attention Aspiring Winemakers! Here’s your chance to learn how to make wine. John Lane from our Winemakers Group will be conducting a Kit Winemaking Class Saturday, June 29 at the OC Fair and Event Center. This is a great introductory class for new winemakers. It’s basically like following a recipe only you’ll make wine instead of a meal.Since our rst kit winemaking class over 10 years ago, almost 200 OCWS members have taken part. Over half of our new winemakers started as a result. Many members have produced OC Fair medal-winning wines from kits. Plus, they are a great springboard to making wine from grapes.At this class you will learn: kit selection, equipment needed, step-by-step kit instructions, monitoring your wine throughout the process, racking/clarifying, storage/aging and bottling. This is a “hands-on” class. John will take you through the process using two separate kits. You’ll start a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wine in the rst half of the class. In the second half, you’ll nish and bottle a French Bordeaux-style wine, which you’ll get to take home. Cost to attend is $25 and attendance is extremely limited. The class will last roughly four hours. There will be a short break in the middle with a catered lunch served. Bill Forsch from our Winemakers Group will be serving his homemade sausage sandwiches.Don’t miss this educational opportunity. Sign up now on the OCWS website to attend. Maybe next year you’ll be entering your wines in the 2025 OC Fair Home Wine Competition.—Ed Reyes, ed@ocws.orgCalling all Volunteers to Wine Competition!

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Winery Program8 ocws.org May 2024 San SimeonWines6:30 p.m.Friday, May 10, 2024Avenue of the Arts Hotel3350 Avenue of the ArtsCosta Mesa, CASign-Up Deadline:Sunday, May 5MenuMenuSalad Course:Dinner starts with an Orange County salad with mixed baby eld greens, candied walnuts, endive, cherry tomato and balsamic vinaigrette and served with warm sourdough baguettes with sweet butter.Entree Options:• Buffet—Beef stroganoff served over wide egg noodles, sour cream and green onion garnish on the side and charred rainbow carrots.• Fish—Roasted salmon with harissa, preserved lemons, chickpeas and fresh mint, orzo pasta and charred rainbow carrots.• Vegetarian—Wild mushroom ravioli on a bed of butternut squash puree with sage brown butter emulsion. $56 members, $61 guestsBe sure to pick up your meal ticket when you check in to show the waiter. Meals are ordered in advance and can-not be changed at the event.Sign-UpsSign-UpsSign up on the OCWS website to attend this event. Attendees can self-park in the hotel garage and get their ticket validated at OCWS check-in or pay $10 for valet parking. Dinner begins promptly at 6:30 p.m. with the meet-ing following at about 7:30 p.m.No OUTSIDE food is permitted to be brought in to these tastings; however, members may bring their own wine to enjoy and share during dinner. Be sure to wear your name tag. As we need to contract the meals with the hotel, the last day to sign up or cancel and receive a refund is Sunday, May 5.Volunteers NeededVolunteers NeededWe need several volunteers to help with check-in from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Please indicate you can help when you sign up to attend this event. San Simeon wines are terroir- driven and shaped by unique soils and the Pacic Ocean’s inuence, which cools the vine-yards at night to give the wines their distinct freshness. The fog and cool air from the sea plays a vital role in their vineyards, where their wines can only be described as…Rugged! Rened! Respected!Their wines are 100% estate grown and certied sustainable from two of the most presti-gious regions along California’s Central Coast: Monterey and Paso Robles. Their vineyards are meticulously farmed to yield grapes with concentrated avors and aromas, while winemaking techniques create unique wines of the highest quality, character and complexity. They represent the pinnacle of vineyard-to-bottle winemaking.The San Simeon winemaking team includes Marty Spate, who brings over 20 years of experi-ence to the role of winemaking, wine growing and sourcing. His career has touched multiple countries spanning from Aus-tralia to Italy and most recently California’s Central Coast. —Rich Skoczylas, Winery Program Coordinator

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Bubbles ’n’ BrunchMay 2024 ocws.org 9W e’re going to continue our brunch journey with an old standard in Orange County. In 1974, some 90 years after the last appreciable silver was coaxed from these hills, the Orange County Mining Co. opened its doors. Ever since, the restaurant has provided guests with a rustic, casual American steakhouse and saloon ex-perience. We will meet in one of their private banquet rooms, Angels Camp. So, let’s relax, toast, laugh and enjoy the view! Here is a sneak peek at some of their buffet options: Pastries • Eggs BenedictScrambled Eggs with CheeseBacon and SausageOmelet and Wafe StationsCarved Prime Rib • HamEnchiladas • FajitasSnow Crab Legs • ShrimpSmoked Salmon There will also be a selection of assorted salads and desserts.The price for this buffet is $71 for members and their guests, all inclu-sive. Parking is all valet, at $8 per vehicle. Carpooling or ride sharing is suggested. The event will be posted on the website for signups. Space is limited; when the event lls up, please contact the ofce to be placed on a waitlist. Each person is requested to: 1. Bring a bottle of your favorite champagne and/or wine.2.Bring champagne and/or wine glasses.3. Please wear your OCWS name badge. 4.Please drink responsibly.Because we need to contract with the restaurant the attendance count, the last day to sign up, make changes, or cancel to receive a refund is April 29. Any cancellations after this date would be lled and refunded from the wait-list. Looking forward to toasting with you again!—Rochelle Randel, OCWS Champagne Brunch CoordinatorOrange CountyMining Co.10000 S. Crawford Canyon RoadSanta Ana, CA11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.Sunday, May 5, 2024Sign-Up Deadline:Monday, April 29

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10 ocws.org May 2024EventsWe are headed toward the 48th Com-mercial Competition June 1-2 and signups are now available on our website. We understand that these are chang-ing times and conditions; please be ex-ible and we can work together to make this another fun event. There are many areas where volunteer help is needed, stewarding, glass washing and drying. Continuing the eciency, the computer input will be assigned. A sign-up form is included on the web-site—OCWS.org/2024-commercial-com-petition-volunteers/—that identies stewarding days, two bagging nights and other work parties with times and dates. In order to qualify for stewarding, we need you to sign up for two additional work parties. We can oer bagging and moving of wine to and from the competi-tion site, including sorting. We also will be assigning the ribbon mailing crew. We denitely need your support for our work parties in order to run a successful competition. The good news is that we will have hired help for heavy lifting. No training is necessary as newer members will be teamed with competition veterans.A quick check—if you volunteer to steward, it involves carrying trays of glasses. It’s physical and can get tiring. Along with stewarding, you need to be prepared to assist your steward captain by opening wine bottles, preparing glass-es for tags, cleaning up the judges’ tables as needed and listening to your steward captain for direction.It’s really all about teamwork for this to be successful. If you have any questions, please feel free to phone me at (562) 822-3382 or email strompharms@earthlink.net.—Robyn Strom, OCWS Volunteer CoordinatorVolunteers needed for annual eventCommercial Wine COMPETITIONOnce again, I have had the honor of leading an amazing team of volunteers who put together another fun and protable Wine Auction. The event was a HUGE success this year, with no wine lots going unsold (a rst for this event that anyone can remember), and the addition of artwork and winery/dining experiences as part of the auction. We don’t have the nal numbers but we grossed over 10 percent more revenue than projected.Many thanks to our donors:• Booker Vineyard & Winery• Capital Grille• Carolyn and Damian Christian• Carruth Cellars• Denner Vineyards• Dr. Trista Shelton• Dutcher Crossing Winery• Emercy Winery• Fran Gitsham• Kendall-Jackson Winery• Marjorie Trout• Notre Vue Estate Winery & Vineyards• Orange Coast Winery• Parrish Vineyards• Seasons 52• Sue England• Wendy TaylorHundreds of volunteer hours went into the preparation of our second largest fundraiser of the year. I would like to recognize a host of people who made the event a great success.A BIG thank you to the Wine Auction Committee (I affectionally call the Wine Auction Warriors) for the amazing job they did this year:2024 Wine Auction WRAP UP• Adrienne Amico – Special Auction• Dino Amico – Wine Ops – Load Out• Chris Bruce – Data Entry• Hank Bruce – Wine Ops - Warehouse• Damian Christian – Wine Ops – Auction Floor and Workers• Kevin Coy – Advisor• Sue England – Volunteers• Ellen Flynn – Check-in• Fran Gitsham – Verbal Auction• Scott Green – Computers• Cathy Painter – Event Food and Wine• Lee Painter – Wine Ops - Verication• Rochelle Randel – Check-in• Bill Redding – Advisor• Janet Riordan – Check-out• Tricia Shelton – Check-out• Daniel Vlahovic – Wine Ops - VericationA special thank you to Bill Redding and his dedicated team who catalogued and prepared the wines prior to the event. And to Kevin Coy for overseeing the crew to move over 4,000 bottles of wine from the cellar to the auction oor.All lots sold at this year’s eventsee AUCTION, page 11

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EventsMay 2024 ocws.org 11Every year, one of the BEST locations to meet and greet at the OC Fair is at The Courtyard, an attractive place to enjoy award-winning wines while generating the largest source of OCWS scholarship funds. Our crew helps make sure the OCWS passes various OC Fair & Event Center requirements and other inspections the week before the OC Fair starts. We need your help to set up. You will be volunteering alongside others who are very fond of transforming The Courtyard for this year’s fair.It takes a crew of volunteers over several days to make The Courtyard look so nice, not only during the fair but also keeping it ready after the fair ends for our OCWS events. Our set-up crew is not the same as volunteering for server shifts during the fair and RBS server training is not required.Set Up dates are scheduled for Tuesday July 9, Wednesday, July 10 and Thursday, July 11 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tear down is set for Monday, Aug. 19 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch and parking will be provided all four days and you will earn volunteer recognition points too. The Courtyard is a special place for our organization. Members can sign up now on any or all dates, or Join the 2024 OC Fair Courtyard Set-Up CrewJULY Courtyard Set Up Courtyard Set Up Courtyard Set Up & Decorate AUGUST Courtyard Tear Down19 SAVE THE DATES: 2024NEW EVENT:OCWS Outing11910if you have questions, please contact Les@ocws.org. Thank you, crew!—Leslie “Les” Hodowanec, 2024 Courtyard Set-Up/Tear-Down CoordinatorOCWS members are invited to a special tasting of Vinos Unidos wines 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, June 30, at a private residence in Orange (exact location TBA). Cost is $40 and includes a tasting of four wines poured by Vintner Bob Jauregui, winner of six medals at the OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition. Light snacks/charcuterie will be included. Signups will be available starting this month online at OCWS.org. SIGN-UP DEADLINE: Tuesday, June 25AUCTION, from page 10Hats off to our top 10 spenders for their generous bids that made this event successful.• Kathy & William Schymick• Stephen Martinez• Eberhard & Mary Anne Neutz• Sandi & Danny Jones• Gloria Franklin• Dewey & Diana Davide• Julie Good• Ed Reyes & Debbie Renne• Mike & Cathy MacKenzie• Robert Maloney & Joey DeLeonAnd nally, many thanks to the nearly 200 attendees who patiently waited while we dealt with printer and register issues to get the nal invoicing out. Despite these small challenges, the event was a great success!—Carolyn Christian, OCWS President

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12 ocws.org May 2024EventsThe Courtyard at OC Fair coming soonFor many members, their rst experience with the Orange County Wine Society was at The Courtyard. Seeing the fun while enjoying wine can make a wine enthusiast want to be part of this event. “Always a Good Time” is the 2024 Fair theme and we plan to more than live up to that sentiment Friday, July 19 through Sunday, Aug. 18. The Courtyard is our main fundraiser for operations and scholarships and requires the largest number of OCWS volunteers for the year.The Courtyard operates with ve shifts: Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.; the Express Bar is open daily 5 to 9 p.m. Online sign ups for shifts has already began with the managers, stewards and cashiers. Servers can request shifts beginning May 1. All volunteers must be California Responsible Beverage Service certied before signing up, with the exception of cashiers.If you are new to The Courtyard or haven’t volunteered for a while, The Courtyard Committee will provide training for all positions before the fair begins. If you need the RBS training, email RBS team members Sue England and Linda Flemins at RBS@ocws.org. If you've been a server in the past and would like to be considered for another position, contact Rich Skoczylas at Rich@ocws.org.Now for the perks! Volunteers are asked to work a minimum of four shifts over the run of the fair. For this effort, they receive OC Fair credentials that allow entrance to the fair any day (even sold-out days) and a free parking pass. For each shift worked, volunteers also are rewarded with two coupons that can each be exchanged for a glass of varietal wine or four one-ounce tastes of award-winning wine. And, of course, getting to know fellow wine enthusiasts and the opportunity to learn about and taste all the varieties of wine. —Fred Heinecke, Courtyard Committe Co-Chair RBS certication requirementsOnce you have sent your request for certication you will receive an email from #1 Premiere with your username and password and a link to the online course. You may take the class one chapter at a time or all at once. The online course is followed by an online exam with ABC. Once you are RBS certied 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 certied this year.EMAIL USEach OCWS member will need a valid individual email address that will be used to set up your account. Your own individual email address will be your username for the online system.PLEASE NOTEInstructions 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 the OCWS has selected. 3) Take a nal quiz with ABC online and obtain the RBS certicate, which is valid for three years. Make sure to send a screenshot to Sue at ocwssue@gmail.com.3-STEP PROCESSBefore we know it, the OC Fair will be upon us again. The largest OCWS fundraising effort of the year will be taking place for a total of 23 days, Wednesdays through Sundays, July 19 through Aug. 18.Volunteering at The Courtyard is a unique and fun experience. Soon, you will be seeing information about signing up for shifts but, in the meantime, it is important to know that all Courtyard volunteers handling wine in any capacity are required to be RBS (Responsible Beverage Server) certied through the ABC (Alcohol Beverage Commission) pursuant to fair requirements.It is highly recommended that you obtain certication sooner than later in order to sign up for The Courtyard shifts when available.If you received your RBS certication in 2022 or 2023, then your certications are still in good standing for this year. Certications are valid for three years. How do I get started? Check out our tips below! Thank you so much for your volunteer efforts! You are what makes the OCWS the great success it is.—Linda Flemins and Sue England, OCWS DirectorsVolunteers must be RBS certied before signing up to volunteer.The COURTYARD

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May 2024 ocws.org 13By now you have likely heard of our fabulous Varietal Hour. So it’s time to nd out what they are all about!First of all, they are FREE. Sure, you say, nothing is free, and if it is then it’s not worth my time. Au contrere, my friends! What started as a way of gathering during the COVID-19 quar-antine has blossomed into quality time with friends, both old and new. And the things we have learned and been taught by this group is 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 com-fortable 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 some-thing for everyone. Varietal Hour is held every other Monday from 7 to 8 p.m.All you need is a computer (or phone) and internet connection. If you are new to the Varietal Hours or to Zoom, please feel free to contact Don Phillips at don@OCWS.org or George Cravens at george@OCWS. org for help and information, even if it means contacting us days before the event, and we will walk you through the process and even do a short Zoom meeting, just for you, to get you com-fortable 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 10 p.m. the Sunday 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 or George at the above emails 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 Hour Co-ChairVarietal HOURJoin us as the online wine fun continues! DATE TIME VARIETAL HOSTS May 27 Dark! Happy Memorial Day! May 13 7 p.m. Unusual Varietals Elee & Don Phillips June 10 7 p.m. Rhone Wines Scott & Manuela Harral June 24 7 p.m. Favorite California Region Lee & Cathy PainterEvents July 8 7 p.m. Spanish Varietals YOUR NAME HERE July 22 Dark During the OC Fair

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14 ocws.org May 2024COMPETITION, from page 1Feature StoryIf I have not provided enough information yet to have your heads spinning, I could continue to bore you with more statistics, positions and lists of people who, out of their passion for the OCWS and the goodness of their hearts, take on all manners of positions. This is truly just the beginning wherein you hear about volunteers elevate the OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition, which now nds entries of upwards of 2,500 California commercial wines each year judged by a distinguished panel of nearly 100 renowned California winemakers and winery principals.One can only further envision just what it takes to successfully pull off the competition year after year. The event is overseen by the Commercial Competition Committee, which is comprised of a number of people from the chairperson, who heads the rest of the committee, to the cataloging coordinators who catalog and handle upwards of 15,000 bottles of wine.There is the director of judges, who coordinates all the judges and their activities, and the facilities coordinator, who handles the hotel arrangements, room bookings and meals. There is also a judges’ liaison, the judges’ scoring coordinator, the data entry supervisory and the volunteer coordinators and the bagging, moving and sorting coordinators. And, lest we forget, the more than 300 OCWS volunteers working each year doing all other jobs to make the competition more successful than the one before. The competition itself isn’t, technically, complete until the results have been tabulated, medals awarded, remaining duplicate bottles sorted and photographed for publication and posted on our results website, winecompetition.com, and put to bed for further sorting for various purposes, such as pouring to the public at The Courtyard at the OC Fair and the annual Wine Auction. And then, after just two months of taking deep breaths after the competition is completed, it all begins again in preparation for the next year. running this organization. It is the hearts and minds of the OCWS members who bring everything we do to fruition in an amazingly competent and successful way. All that can truly be said at the end of the day is that there is no organization, nor group of dedicated volunteers, anywhere that can rival the Orange County Wine Society!Every year, judges from throughout California sample thousands of wines during the OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition.

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May 2024 ocws.org 15Photo of the MonthBARRELS OF FUNThe Photo of the Month winner for March is OCWS member Kevin Coy, who captured this shot in October 2023 at Taylor Fladgate Port house in the Vila Nova de Gaia area of Portugal.The OCWS sponsors a photog-raphy contest and you are invited to participate! 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 committee will select a Photo of the Month for publication in the upcoming newsletter as well as on the OCWS website. The winner also will receive a bottle of wine from the OCWS wine cellar. The ultimate goal is to publish an OCWS calendar consisting of the 12 best photos of the year. These may or may not be the 12 monthly winners.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

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16 ocws.org May 2024 2024UPCOMINGEVENTSMay 5BUBBLES ’N’ BRUNCHOrange County Mining Co. / OrangeAugust 19COURTYARD TEAR DOWNOC Fair & Event Center / Costa Mesa June 29KIT WINE CLASSOC Fair & Event Center / Bldg. 15 / Costa MesaMay 10FEATURED WINERY / SAN SIMEON WINESAvenue of the Arts Hotel / Costa MesaJune 8HOME WINE COMPETITIONCourtyard, OC Fair & Event Center / Costa MesaJune 1-2COMMERCIAL WINE COMPETITIONHilton Hotel / Costa Mesa June 30OCWS MINI-OUTING Vinos Unidos / Location TBAJuly 9-11COURTYARD SET UPOC Fair & Event Center / Costa MesaMay 13VARIETAL HOUR / UNUSUAL VARIETALS Via ZoomJune 10VARIETAL HOUR / RHONE WINES Via ZoomJune 24VARIETAL HOUR / FAVORITE CALIFORNIA REGION / Via ZoomJuly 19-August 18OC FAIROC Fair & Event Center / Costa MesaJuly 8VARIETAL HOUR / SPANISH VARIETALS Via Zoom

OCWS Newsletter - MAY2024

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