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During the first half of the 90’s, the OCWS continued to offer the usual events including the Auction, BBQ, Champagne Brunch, Chili Cook-off, Holiday Dinner and Dance, Installation Dinner, and Mini-Tastings. Further, the Wine Society continued to sponsor the Wine Extraordinaire and Wine Classic plus both the Commercial and Homewine Competitions. A new Spanish-themed wine serving area was designed and built at the Orange County Fairgrounds and many of the annual OCWS events moved to this new facility. The Wine Society membership grew to over 1,100 members and a full time Office Administrator was hired for our office upstairs in the Little Theater on the Fair Grounds. John Goodnight continued to edit and publish our monthly newsletter, The Wine Press. During this period, October 1990 to September 1991, Ronnie Johnson served as President with Charley Owen as her Vice President and John Goodnight, Treasurer, and Sharon Spaulding, Secretary. During Ronnie’s administration, David Hirstein completed a total rewrite of the Bylaws with the help of Sam Puzzo and Al Barber. Ronnie was reelected as President for the board term October 1991 to September 1992, with Sam Puzzo serving as Vice President, and John Goodnight and Sharon Spaulding again serving as Treasurer and Secretary, respectively. During this year, the Wine Society expanded the Scholarship Fund to include five different colleges. One of our early recipients of a scholarship at California Poly-SLO, was Odine Chattan who is one of our judges today and a winemaker at Geyser Peak and has her own label. Also, recipes were collected and published into an OCWS Cookbook thanks to the efforts of Chuck Baldree. The next year, Bob Prill was elected as President for October 1992 to September 1993, with Sharon Spaulding as his Vice President, Jan Beale as Treasurer, and Ronnie Johnson as Secretary. Highlights of this year included another Wine Cruise and Sparkling Elegance. Although newly elected to the Board, Ronnie Johnson reluctantly resigned in order to devote more time to her graduate studies and Carol Esslinger was appointed to serve the remaining portion of the term. Bob Prill was reelected the following year with Terry Majerski as Vice President, Jan Beale, continuing as Treasurer, and Lora Howard as Secretary. During this year, Mark DeWitt started to develop a series of new programs for the Commercial Wine Competition and related events. Terry Majerski was elected President for Board term October 1994 to September 1995, with Charley Owen as Vice President, John Goodnight returning as Treasurer, and John Johnson as Secretary. It was during this year that the newly-developed Competition computer programs were first used. The two grand tastings, the Wine Extraordinaire and the Wine Classic were continued, however, they moved first to the Anaheim Marriott, then to the Red Lion, and eventually to the Anaheim Hilton. Serving as chairs of the Extraordinaire were Sam Puzzo, Rich Skoczylas, Terry Majerski, Al Barber, and Mark DeWitt. Bob Prill, Rich Skoczylas, Terry Majerski, and Lora Howard with Bob Trout, chaired the Classics. These events continued to attract large crowds averaging over 100 wineries and 20 food purveyors. Also during this period, either Sharon Spaulding or Charley Owen arranged the monthly programs. These tastings were not without their problems. At one tasting a winery mistakenly sent eight cases of the same wine and on three occasions the winery cancelled at the last minute leaving the Chair to find an emergency replacement. During this period, the Orange County Fair expanded to 17 days. In 1991, a committee under the leadership of David Hirstein, designed a new wine booth that was to be located at the end of the Flower and Garden Building. David and his committee fabricated a model that incorporated expanded serving areas, an office, and a wine cellar. The Orange County Fair staff built the new wine area just in time for the opening of the Fair. It was initially called the Wine Pavilion. A great deal of thanks is owed to Clint Hoose of the Orange County Fair Board of Directors and Norb Bartosik, the General Manager of the Orange County Fair. This new facility has allowed the OCWS to increase its sales while providing an ideal environment for subsequent events on the Fair Grounds and a permanent storage area for its wines. The Wine Pavilion was managed by either day or night managers who worked every day of the Fair. The Day Manager was Marcia Brechtel and John Goodnight or Al Barber managed the night shifts. In 1992, the Orange County Fair celebrated its 100th Anniversary and the Wine Society donated the sparkling wine for a wedding that was held during the Fair. In 1994, Becky Bailey-Findley became the new CEO and General Manager of the Orange County Fair and remains in this position today. Also, in 1994, cheese plates were sold to accompany the wines but were subsequently discontinued due to the problems in assembling and packaging the trays. The Commercial Wine Competition averaged 2,300 entries and 800 awards with over 50 different varietals and styles of wine. In 1991, the host hotel for the Competition was moved by myself to the Red Lion in Costa Mesa, and remains at the same facility today under its new owner, the Costa Mesa Hilton. Jerry Mead remained Chair of the Steering Committee and Director of the Panel of Judges for 1991 and 1992, but resigned in 1993. As a result, the Orange County Fair established a new position of Director of Judges and selected John Hardman who served in this capacity from 1993 through 1995. The Chairs of the Competition included myself, John Hardman, Jan Beale for two years, and Bob Prill. During this period, various Rhône and Italian type varietals were added and Sparkling Wines were subdivided into five separate categories. It was also during this period, that the first Label Competition was planned and conducted thanks to the efforts of Carol Esslinger and Carol Stiglbauer. The number of judges averaged 75 and included such notables as John Nemeth (Silverado), Robert Blue (Fetzer), Christian Roquenant (Maison Deutz), John Crandall (Cambria), Hugh Chappelle (Madrona), Greg Gessner (Korbel), Greg Fowler (Mumm Napa), Bob Foley (Pride Mountain) and Nancy Steel (Perry Creek). New participants who are still judging today include John Eppler, Joe Franzia, Mitch Cosentino, Nils Venge, Fred Brander, Alfred deLorimier, Fred Payne, Steve Hagata, Randle Johnson, Marty Mathis, Kent Rosenblum, Gideon Beinstock, Thomas Coyne, Jeff Runquest, Linda Trotta, David Cofran, Virginia Cole, Don Galleano, Jim Klein, Jeff McBride, Leon Santoro, Jerry Seps, and George Troquato. The Steering Committee continued during this period with Jerry Mead as Chair in 1991 and 1992 and John Hardman 1993 through 1995. Jane Goodnight served until 1992 and Chuck Hansen and Jerry Wilson continued their long-term support of the committee. During this period, both the OCWS President and Competition Chairs joined the committee each year. The Homewine Group continued during this period under the leadership of Jim Graver and the annual Homewine Competitions continued to be held on the Fair Grounds. The group also sponsored several events for home winemakers to allow them to test and assess the progress of their wines. Through this period, the typically OCWS annual events continued. Charley Owen again chaired the Wine Auction and Chairs of the Champagne Brunch included Sam Puzzo, Rich Skoczylas, and Lora Howard. Bob Prill, Terry Majerski, and Lora Howard chaired the Mini-Tastings. Sharon Spaulding, Jan Beale, Bob Prill, Tony Marino, and Rich Skoczylas chaired the annual BBQs. Finally, Ronnie Johnson, Sam Puzzo, Tony Marino, Terry Majerski, and John Johnson chaired the Chili Cook-Offs. During this period, the Wine Society unfortunately lost four of its long-term active members. They are remembered for their contributions and will remain in our memories. Subsequent articles will continue to provide a history of the OCWS. I would like to thank our past Historians, especially Vivien Owen, for her photo albums, and John Goodnight for providing me copies of the newsletters for the past five years. These materials and the many pictures have been invaluable in preparing this article and keeping a record of the Wine Society. Larry Graham |
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Orange County Wine Society, PO Box 11059
Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Office Ph: 714.708.1636
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