The Commercial Wine Competition Committee is continuing to move forward with the planning of the 2021 Commercial Wine Competition. It is scheduled for the weekend of June 5-6, 2021. Of course, our volunteers are critical to its success!

We understand there is still uncertainty with the COVID-19 pandemic and we are working with the OC Fair and Event Center Administration, taking the necessary steps to prioritize the safety of all of our members. We want you to know that concern for our volunteers is at the forefront. We are developing plans to adhere to and follow all guidelines, rules and regulations as set forth by the national, state, and local government and health departments. Since we are in the early planning stages for the event, there will be many questions you may have – we only ask that you be flexible, as nothing has been etched in stone at this point in time.

This event offers many opportunities: meet the winemakers and winery principals, increase your wine knowledge, enjoy getting to know your fellow OCWS members, and experience some great California wines. There are many tasks where volunteer help is needed: stewarding, glass washing and drying, verification of scores and computer input. No training is necessary as newer volunteers will be teamed with experienced competition volunteers.

All volunteer sign-ups are now done online! The volunteer site identifies bagging nights, stewarding days, and other work tasks with dates and times. In order to qualify for stewarding, you will need to sign up for two additional work parties. We offer bagging, hotel setup, and moving of wine to and from the competition site. In addition, volunteers can elect to work the sorting and medal mailing crews in late June.

An email announcement will be sent late March notifying members when sign-ups begin. Please make sure your email address is up to date in the ocws.org website as we will be using your email to send you confirmations. If you have questions about volunteering, please email us at Robyn@ocws.org. We look forward to your participation in this very important event! 

– Robyn & Dean Strom, Volunteer Coordinators
Commercial Wine Competition Committee