Join fellow OCWS members for a three-day trip when they will sample wines, experience original dining experiences and more Nov. 8-10.
Have you ever wanted a slice of Sideways? Are you a fan of Pinot Noir from the Sta. Rita Hills? Do you enjoy the quaint charm of Solvang, Buellton or Los Olivos?
If any of that sounds fun, come November it can be yours. The Orange County Wine Society is inviting members to uncork a new adventure in the Santa Ynez Valley that will feature discounts and other benefits at select wineries using a special passport being created for the trip.
A committee has spent the last few months creating a top-flight itinerary that will include:
Two-night stay at Hotel Hygge
Santa Maria BBQ buffet with wine at The Hitching Post
Three-course, wine-paired dinner at The Inn at Zaca Creek
Discounts at wineries such as Liquid Farm, Future Perfect, Story of Soil, Lucas & Lewellen and more!
We have reserved all 20 rooms at Hotel Hygge for the trip. If all the rooms are booked, we will likely be able to get 10 or more additional rooms at the nearby Sideways Inn but the price will be higher.
The tentative plan is as follows:
Sunday, Nov. 8: Arrive in Santa Ynez Valley. Afternoon wine tasting (TBD as a group or on your own). 5-8 p.m. Dinner at Hitching Post, featuring owners Frank Ostini and Gray Hartley, who will be pouring a selection of their wines.
Monday, Nov. 9: Wine tasting in Los Olivos. A list of wineries in the passport will be provided. Tasting reservations must be made on your own and are not covered in the trip price. 5-9 p.m. wine-paired dinner featuring Foxen Winery at Inn at Zaca Creek.
Tuesday, Nov. 10: Checkout or tack-on tastings at wineries (TBD).
Breakfast is not provided in the cost of the trip. We are currently working on getting discounts at restaurants that provide lunch and updates will be provided to those who sign up for the trip.
Signups will begin at OCWS.org on August 15 and members are encouraged to act early as spots are expected to fill quickly.
The cost for the hotel and two dinners (wine included) is $700 per couple and $425 if you are going solo. The registration deadline is Sept. 24 and the drop-dead date for refunds is Sept. 27. No refunds will be given after Sept. 27.
There also will be a waitlist during signups for those wanting to go and can either replace someone who can no longer go or additional rooms become available. (no splitting costs of hotel or restaurants).
The passport will be valid Nov. 8-12.
There will be more details to come and if there are any questions, please reach out to Greg Risling at editor@OCWS.org.
It is with a heavy heart that I write this column as I have just learned we lost a decades-long member of the Orange County Wine Society: John Goodnight. He was a past president of OCWS (1987-1989, 1999-2000), recipient of the President’s Award (2002) and long-time volunteer.
John helped get The Wine Press started and most recently, John served as a Best of Show judge at the 2026 OC Fair Home Wine Competition. Our thoughts go out to Jane Goodnight. John was a great friend and great poker player.
The 2026 election for the OCWS Board of Directors is scheduled to take place after the September 11 annual business meeting. Prospective candidates must submit their declaration of candidacy to Greg Hagadorn no later than August 28.
Past President Carolyn Christian and I have completed our maximum two consecutive terms and cannot run for re-election. I urge dedicated OCWS members who have the time and interest to seek election to the board. For me, serving on the board has been a great honor and a truly rewarding experience. It is an opportunity to have a hand in the operation of an outstanding 501(c)3 organization.
The Orange County Fair is now in full swing after the July 17 opening. Leslie Hodowanec’s set-up crew was able to get everything in place for opening day despite delays and hiccups from the sign shop. Carolyn Christian put together a fantastic theme for the 2026 Courtyard with a look back over the five fabulous decades of the OCWS. Be sure to check out the OCWS history.
The fair has another 16 days to run, so if you haven’t had a chance to see The Courtyard and taste some of the award-winning wines from the Commercial Competition it is not too late.
Rich Skoczylas and Sue England have been working on The Courtyard schedule and put out the SOS (Save Our Shifts) alerts. There still may be a few opportunities to add some shifts, so watch for emails.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Summer, the fair and time to think about running for the OCWS Board of Directors.
Please note that the earlier you declare, if you’re working at the OC Fair, you can campaign with your friends and fellow members. You can hear and listen to the issues that other members have and are concerned about.
Have you thought about getting more involved with the OCWS outside of volunteering for or attending various OCWS-related events? If you are innovative, open-minded, possess good interpersonal skills, are results oriented and a problem solver, then a position as a board director just might be right for you.
The beginning of a three-year term of the nine members of the Board of Directors, according to the bylaws, shall be staggered such that three members’ terms will expire each year. The three vacated Board positions will be filled each year by a vote of the OCWS membership, following the Annual Business Meeting in September.
The overall time commitment for a board member varies, based on assignments and participation. We are moving from having the Board manage some events to having our members run the event with a Board coordinator being the liaison to the Board regarding budgets, event timing and placement.
A candidate should possess some of the following skills and experience as well:
General knowledge of OCWS events and activities
Experience as a volunteer in some events
The ability and time to organize events during the year
Selected event and budget management skills
Be a member in good standing To declare your candidacy for a position on the Board, the candidate must present their Declaration of Candidacy in writing, by mail or via electronic media to the Election Chair no later than 14 calendar days prior to the scheduled Annual Business Meeting.
During the Annual Business Meeting, you will have the opportunity to speak to the membership and present your qualifications. A written Statement of Qualifications must be presented to the Election Committee no later than five calendar days after your Declaration of Candidacy.
If being an OCWS leader interests you, feel free to contact Greg Hagadorn with any questions related to director responsibilities, the election process or anything related to the election at (714) 388-8803 or Greg@OCWS.org.
January, February, March and April on the third working Friday of the month, come and hear from the winemakers that won Double Gold, Gold and Silver awards at the OCWS Commercial Wine Competition.
Thank you to our crew of set-up volunteers for making our 50th anniversary at The Courtyard very special and we all hope that you are enjoying it too. The beautiful work that went up, sadly must be torn down. We can use your help.
All members are invited to sign up for the tear down crew for one or both days on Monday, Aug. 17 and Tuesday, Aug. 18 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Lunches are provided. This is a great way to see the fair behind the scenes. Please sign in directly with Leslie Hodowanec at Les@owcs.org
John Goodnight was a 2002 OCWS President’s Award recipient, an exceptional volunteer, a dedicated member, and a remarkable financial expert. This July 2026, the Orange County Wine Society lost one of its most passionate and valued gentlemen.
John was undoubtedly one of OCWS’s pioneers and visionaries. In 1986 John first ran for the Board of Directors and was elected as Treasurer, his first mandate was to obtain a computerized financial program. At this time, the OCWS financials were prepared by an outside accounting service. John stated, “All we used was the check register and a cigar box!” After researching, John found a shareware program that did the trick. John also influenced the Board of Director decision that there was a need for a full-time Office Administrator. Prior to this time, the Office Administrator was in a part-time position being considered as an independent contractor. John had the unenviable position of setting up and complying with all the state and federal requirements for full-time employees. John continued to function as the OCWS Treasurer for nine of his twelve years on the Board, two of those years he served as the OCWS President.
The OC Fair
John worked the OC Fair night shifts and locked up daily. He instituted Cashier Procedures by creating forms, accounting sheets, and cash controls. He also assisted in organizing shift controls. John was the OCWS President when Norb Bartosik, the General Manager of the OC Fair, approached the OCWS with the idea of providing the OCWS with a new venue during the Fair. Originally, the Wine Garden and later called Wine Pavillion and now called Wine Courtyard, was relocated. Despite this relocation, the then-called Wine Pavilion enjoyed a 35% increase in gross revenue during its first year and has been our primary source of revenue since then.
Newsletter
Prior to John managing The Wine Press, the newsletter was not printed consistently. John wanted to make sure The Wine Press was printed once a month.
Preparing The Wine Press was a monumental task. Articles would be prepared using a Word file then cut and pasted on to “paste-up boards.” They kept the Newsletter to about 8 to 12 pages. Later, John started utilizing Microsoft Publisher, a desktop publishing software. He did this monthly for 17 years. Jane Goodnight would edit the final version. They would then take The Wine Press to the printer to print and collate about 600 to 700 copies since that was the amount of the membership at that time. They would then have to print labels and postage then take the newsletter to the post office for mailing. A herculean task, to say the least!
John jokes that he included a joke page in the newsletter which was comprised of cartoons and light humor sourced from the web. One person complained to the Board, so they printed that a vote was taken resulting in a landslide for keeping the joke page.
Under John’s leadership, graphics from the Wine Press won numerous OC Fair ribbons including the Blue Ribbon First Place for the Wine Press and a Best of Show award for the Extraordinaire program.
Jane
Around 1979, is when Jane McGrath met John Goodnight. They met at a piano bar at the Rose and Crown in South Coast Village in Cost Mesa. Jane was, and still is, a member of the OCWS Commercial Wine Competition Steering Committee, and she invited John to OCWS events. Jane remembers their first Valentine where John stated, “I like RC, you like wine, won’t you be my Valentine?” Jane started inviting John to OCWS wine events and he quickly got heavily involved in volunteering and leadership at OCWS all happily leading to a 1983 wedding.
Jane has fond memories of her and John participating in one of the most popular OCWS events, The Chili Cook-off! She remembers one year they won for the mildest chili, but they were a little disappointed in that award label so the following year they made a really hot chili, and they won for the hottest chili and felt a lot better about that award!
Membership Chairperson
In 1987 and 1988, while serving as OCWS Treasurer and Membership Chairperson, John estimated there were about 350 members. Membership information was stored on an Excel spreadsheet. The OCWS would do a mass mailing for dues collection in November and December using mail merge. However, John remembers the Board of Directors discussed their promise to the membership to always look after the membership and operate on a break-even basis, not on a “for profit” basis. As a result, the Board felt this process was not fair to the members who joined late in the calendar year, so they started an annual membership renewal. Membership renewal would commence on the anniversary of when the member joined.
John remembers that the Orange County Fair (OC Fair) was always the best recruitment time for new members. The number of new members joining would be about 40 to 50. There used to be a dual $10 family membership offering.
Times have changed, but one thing remains certain: OCWS is fortunate to have dedicated, enthusiastic and passionate members, yet few have matched the leadership, vision, and valuable contributions John brought to the organization.
August is the season for the OC Fair, backyard gatherings, beach days, and warm evenings spent with friends and family. Whether you’re enjoying a glass of wine while taking in the sights and sounds of the fair, relaxing after a day at the beach, hosting a barbecue or watching the sunset from your backyard, there are so many wonderful ways to enjoy the final days of summer.
For this month’s photo contest, we want to see your favorite August wine moments! Share the fun and snap a photo and send it our way—we can’t wait to see how you’re celebrating the season!
Each month, the OCWS Photography Committee selects a Photo of the Month to be featured in the OCWS newsletter and showcased on our website. The winner will also receive a special bottle from the OCWS cellar!
Feel free to capture and share some fun, candid moments from an event—we’d love to experience it through your eyes! These photos are separate from the Photo of the Month Contest (no prizes involved), but they may be featured in our marketing materials or on social media. It’s a wonderful way to share your perspective and highlight the spirit of the OCWS community.
REMINDERS:
• By submitting, you grant OCWS rights to use your photos for marketing.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Leslie Hodowanec, Hank Bruce, Arnie Gamboa, and Don Phillips, the Photo Committee, and photographers for their dedication, support and incredible photos. Your contributions are truly appreciated. Thank you so much –
After reading the results of the 2026 OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition and checking out the Best of Class and the Double Gold award winners at winecompetition.com, I started to wonder what makes a wine worthy of these rewards? I could ask the competition’s judges but they had all gone home.
So, I thought, via the internet, I would reach out to some well-known sources in the wine industry and ask; What makes a wine great? The following answers came from two well-known wine publications; Wine Spectator and Decanter; three wine critics: Jancis Robinson, Robert Parker and Jeb Dunnuck: and finally, three wine authors: Madeline Puckette (Wine Folly) and Jamie Goode (The Science of Wine; From Vine to Glass) and Karen MacNeil (The Wine Bible).
First, let’s define the components of wine that will be the basis for determining a great wine. There are five important structural components of wine that are all sensed on the palate: sweetness or residual sugar, mouthwatering feeling from acidity, mouth drying feeling from tannin, alcohol level and body or weight but these structural components need to complement each other perfectly so no single component overpowers another and likewise so no single component fails to make a contribution. To judge if a wine has the basis of greatness and has accomplished the necessary coordination of components it must have a balance of the five structural components, plus a lingering finish of pleasing flavors and an intensity and complexity of aromas and multi-layered flavors. But all this is the foundation of a good or even basic wine. Is it enough for a great wine? What do my internet sources feel is necessary for that final acclamation of greatness?
Wine Spectator says greatness is achieved by the faultless combination of balance, finesse, complexity, elegance and restraint and sense of place. They define elegance and restraint as clarity of taste with tannins that are not overpowering. Sense of place or terroir refers to a wine’s reflection of its origin, where it came from.
Decanter magazine lists balance, complexity, intensity, length and typicity as the features that define a great wine. They add the term typicity, which is how well the wine characterizes the grape variety and the grape’s particular region to accompany sense of place and terroir.
Jancis Robinson says a great wine must have longevity, balance, complexity, length and terroir (sense of place). She has added the need for longevity for a wine’s greatness. A great wine must not only have the required greatness qualities when young but also as it matures and ages in the bottle.
Robert Parker saying “a great wine transcends mere drinkability” sets out the following conditions: pleasing the palate and intellect; holding a taster’s interest, intensity without heaviness, reflection of terroir and aging potential. Although he lists the concepts with his own terminology and definitions, he generally agrees with others’ criteria. But he also brings in the taster’s experience, what he calls “an emotional experience” as a determining factor.
Jeb Dunnuck, although saying he limits his criteria, he uses the following rather broad descriptors for his evaluation: a wine has to provide both hedonistic and intellectual pleasure (complexity and experience); great wines deliver a depth and intensity of aromas and flavors without being heavy (balance and intensity); the ability of a wine to improve with age (finish and longevity); a singular personality (terroir, sense of place).
Author of Wine Folly, Madeline Puckette simply lists balance, acidity and tannin, complexity and typicity (terroir) as the core for greatness.
Author Jamie Goode states that a great wine should have transparency and precision (terroir); acidity and focus; complexity and harmony (balance); the ability to evoke emotion (experience). However, he suggests a wine’s greatness is attained without a winemaker’s manipulation.
And finally, Karen MacNeil, The Wine Bible author, has the most extensive list for a wine to achieve greatness. Her nine qualifiers are (with her extra explanations added): distinction ( true expression of the grape(s) used), precision (precise and well defined flavors), balance (all components in equilibrium), aliveness & choreography (vibrant and dynamic in the mouth), beyond fruitiness (flavors and aromas beyond fruit), complexity (multifaceted flavors and aromas), connectedness (the embodiment of a particular place), length (persistence of the wine on your palate even after swallowing), capacity to age, and ability to evoke an emotional response (the rare power to make us feel). When examining her list in depth she is in agreement with the others on what makes a wine great although much more nuanced in assigning the reward.
My sources have generally agreed on the attributes of a great wine are balance, complexity, finish, intensity, terroir, age ability, typicity and experiential longevity. What they haven’t agreed on is how to measure all of these characteristics. Each source, although with some common understandings, have their own unique method of determining a great wine. As they also have their own unique palate. And though they may be able to agree on a particular wine’s greatness that can’t always be guaranteed. My own definition of a great wine is one with balance, complexity, intensity, length, typicity, all of which so many good wines have, but then I need the WOW factor, that “emotional” response that I’ve just tasted something great that I won’t forget.
Now it’s your turn. Make a list of your own criteria and go find your own great wines. I will be doing the same. And while we are looking, just get a bottle, open it and enjoy the experience. Cheers!
Every summer, the Orange County Wine Society does what it has always done best: invites fairgoers to try a wide selection of wine at The Courtyard.
This year’s edition resonates a little more as OCWS celebrates its 50th anniversary. Over those past five decades, the organization has welcomed wine enthusiasts who believe that great wine is not merely a luxury but a language. No setting has given that language a louder, more joyful stage than The Courtyard at the Orange County Fair — a beloved annual tradition that the OCWS has proudly hosted, curated, and championed.
There’s a little something for everyone interested in a wine experience at The Courtyard. Whether it’s sampling an award-winning vintage from the most recent OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition, trying different varietals from a visiting winery via the Featured Winery Program or attending a volunteer-run seminar about how wine interacts with different dishes, the monthlong fair run is a good time for anyone to enjoy an array of wines from across California all in one place.
That goes the same for the dozens of OCWS volunteers who graciously give their time and effort to make The Courtyard hum morning, noon and night. For those who are volunteering for the first time, there are plenty of grizzled veterans who will make the shift much easier and enjoyable. And for everyone’s hard work, those highly prized drink tickets which gets members a full pour, split or tasting of award-winning wines is well worth the work.
The numbers, by now, are staggering. Thousands of bottles poured. Tens of thousands of fairgoers introduced, perhaps for the very first time, to the idea that wine is not intimidating but inviting.
Ask any of the volunteers who work the fair and they will tell you the same thing – OCWS isn’t just an organization, it’s a community. Sure, there’s good wine to be shared, but it’s also about educating the public and enjoying one another’s company that makes volunteering at the fair such a rewarding experience.
Your adventure awaits, so come on down to the fair, have a glass and make some memories.
