Wendy

Featured at the Fair

For the past several years, the dynamic duo of Lloyd and Liz Corbett have delivered an extra special treat for both OCWS members and Orange County Fair attendees.

Entering its sixth year, the Featured Winery Program has brought some of the top winemakers in California right to The Courtyard. Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from 3-8 p.m., winemakers are providing some of their very best vintages while giving the public an opportunity to learn more about their winery and giving them an opportunity to join their wine club or get discounts if they visit their tasting rooms.

The idea behind the program was simple – to give OCWS another opportunity to contribute to its robust scholarship program. All the proceeds go toward the scholarship program and by last count that amount has swelled to more than $16,000.

“We wanted to give the wineries – especially the smaller ones with no marketing budget – a means of meeting the public and an opportunity for the public to meet the winemakers,” Liz said. “This establishes a personal bond and an opportunity to learn more about the history of the winemakers, his/her successes and challenges and so much more.”

This year’s lineup boasts some recognizable names and some boutique wineries that are sure to intrigue those who are keen to learn about a winery they may never have heard about.  The opening weekend has a stellar lineup with Macchia Winery, Graveyard Vineyards and Double Bond Winery. The program rounds out on the last weekend with Boisset Collection, Dark Star Cellars and San Pasqual Winery.

So if you are volunteering at The Courtyard on the weekend, make sure to stop by the Featured Winery station and enjoy some of California’s finest offerings while contributing to a good cause.

“We get such a huge feeling of satisfaction when we see the interaction,” Liz added. “We enjoy being part of the OCWS and contributing to its ongoing success.”

List of featured wineries at this year’s fair

July 19                    Macchia Winery

July 20                    Graveyard Vineyards

July 21                    Double Bond Winery

July 26                    Riboli Family Wines

July 27                    Sycamore Ranch Vineyard & Winery

July 28                    Cordon of Santa Barbara

Aug. 2                     Fallbrook Winery

Aug. 3                     Bella Grace Vineyards

Aug. 4                     Cypher Winery

Aug. 9                     San Antonio Winery

Aug. 10                  915 Lincoln

Aug. 11                  Eberle Winery

Aug. 16                 Boisset Collection

Aug. 17                 Dark Star Cellars

Aug. 18                 San Pasqual Winery

 

May 25, 2024
By
Featured Wineries
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President’s Message

By Carolyn Christian

Here we are in June, and it is difficult to believe that 2024 is nearly halfway over. This means that we are in the throes of our busy season!

Our unique relationship with the OC Fair and Event Center provides us the opportunity to host two amazing wine competitions—the OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition and the OC Fair Home Wine Competition. These events helped launch our organization back in the mid-1970s, and they are what make us the organization we are today!

This year marks the 48th annual event for both! We could not possibly put on these events without the amazing volunteers that form the membership and foundation of our organization. It makes me incredibly proud to see the level of commitment from so many people. What takes months and thousands of hours to put together has become a well-oiled machine. My personal thanks to Fran Gitsham and Kevin Donnelly for leading the incredible teams that are making these events happen this year.

On the heels of the competitions, The Courtyard is ramping up for another amazing season of wine tasting, wine by the glass, featured wineries and seminars at the OC Fair. This is another instance of hundreds of people coming together to make something so vast seem effortless. The Courtyard is an event that many mark as their anniversary as members of the OCWS, having joined from “the other side of the counter” after a wonderful experience tasting wine and realizing that the OCWS seemed like a great group to join.

The OC Fair is our main recruiting time and last year we brought in over 250 new members. These new members are already getting involved in events and committees. I would be remiss in not mentioning that Fred Heinecke and Fran Gitsham head the team that makes The Courtyard happen.

As part of our educational mission, we provide events to help those who want to learn to make wine. Don’t miss the Kit Wine Class this month. Along with our traditions, we are trying to add new events as the opportunities arise. Don’t miss this month’s new events – the Wine Defect Identification Workshop and the OCWS Outing with Vinos Unidos (see this issue for more details).

We are approaching our 50th Anniversary in 2026. In preparation for this momentous occasion, we are putting together articles on the history of the OCWS (see Hank Bruce’s article in this issue) and gathering historical information to assemble a comprehensive history of the organization. The OCWS History Committee will be hosting a series of luncheons for our “Vintage Members” to gather historical information.

Each meeting will include members, starting with the longest standing members and moving forward in time. Our first luncheon was a huge success and included original members like Judi Brady and Jane Goodnight. With such a rich history, we have much work ahead of us to gather the untold stories of our organization. In addition to the luncheons, we will have several ways in which you can share your stories with us.

As we move into the summer and our busiest time of the year, let me just say how truly lucky we are to have such great volunteers that help make this organization what it is – a vibrant and resilient group of over 1,000 members, all at a different stage in their wine enthusiast journey, working together to make things happen. We have truly been “Pairing Wine Education and Fun Since 1976!”

Cheers to you all!

May 25, 2024
By
President's Message
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A Brief History of the Commercial Competition

By Hank Bruce (OCWS History Committee)

Did you know the Orange County Wine Society was officially incorporated on June 8, 1976 through the efforts of Brant Horton and eighteen other local wine enthusiasts?

It all started in May 1976 when Brant Horton, an Orange County wine retailer in Tustin, formulated a plan to host a professional competition of California wines. Each year only certain varietals would be judged. Those varietals were organized into three price categories. All wines would have to be commercially available in Orange County, and all wines within the selected varietal would be judged, whether they were donated or purchased. The judges would either be commercial winemakers or winery principals.

The first annual Commercial Wine Competition was held on July 10, 1977 at the South Coast Plaza Hotel in Costa Mesa, California, with the support of the Orange County Fair and hosted by the OCWS. A total of 92 individual wines (59 Chenin Blancs and 23 Gamay Beaujolais) were rated by 18 judges. In 1986, the 10th anniversary of the Commercial Wine Competition, Jerry Mead, founding member and syndicated wine columnist in more than a dozen newspapers, headed the expected panel of 76 judges, who evaluated over 2,600 wines at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California.

The initial three-day Commercial Wine Competition was reduced to two days in 1990 and entries stabilized at 2,400 with about 50 varietals and styles of wine. The host hotel has changed several times through the years to include the Disneyland Hotel, the Anaheim Marriott and the Red Lion (now called  the Costa Mesa Hilton), where it has been held for over the past 30 years, except for 2020, when due to the pandemic, the 44th Commercial Competition was not held.

The Commercial Competition is a nine-month, major effort requiring about 6,000 volunteer hours and about 200 volunteers. The volunteers make invitation phone calls; physically receive, catalog and input wine entries into a database; steward wines; run a commercial dishwasher; dry glasses; direct traffic; verify scores; input data entries; compile results; coordinate judges’ food, etc., etc.

Our Commercial Wine Competition is the largest of its kind in the world and the second largest wine competition overall in California. In the 47 years of competition, there have been over 460 judges for a combined total of 3,326 years of experience. A renowned list of judges and their associated wineries have kept the competition at the top of its game and made the competition one of the most widely revered competitions of California wines anywhere. Let us not forget, it is our volunteers who keep this huge event running (pun intended).

 

May 25, 2024
By
History
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Death by Chocolate Trifle

Brownies:
1 (18.4 ounce) package brownie
mix (such as Betty Crocker)
2 large eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons water
Chocolate Pudding:
4 cups milk
2 (3.9 oz.) packages instant
chocolate pudding mix
To Assemble:
3 (1.4 ounce) bars chocolate covered
English toffee
1 (16 oz.) package frozen whipped
topping, thawed
Instructions
PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees F
(175 degrees C).
GREASE 9×13-inch baking pan.
Make the brownies:
COMBINE brownie mix, eggs, vegetable oil, and water in a large bowl. MIX with a wooden spoon until well blended. Spread into the prepared baking pan. BAKE in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted 2 inches from the side of the pan comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely.

Prepare the pudding:
WHISK milk and pudding mix together in a large bowl until smooth; set aside. To assemble:
CRUMBLE 1/2 of the brownies on the bottom of a glass punch bowl; spoon 1/2 of the pudding on top.
CRUSH 1 toffee bar over pudding and top with 1/2 of the whipped topping.
REPEAT layers in the same order, then refrigerate until ready to serve, saving the last toffee bar to crumble and sprinkle on top before serving.

May 25, 2024
By
Recipes
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Mini-Tasting Results

April 2024 Pinot across California Mini-Tasting Results:

The April Mini-Tasting was held at seven sites throughout the county, with 113 people enjoying 10 wines in a blind tasting. The attendees each contributed a dish, each site voted for their favorite dish and the chef was awarded a bottle of wine as Chef of the Evening.

The wines were served in five blind flights of two wines each and the attendees judged each wine, voted for their favorites and tried to determine the region of California where the grapes were raised. Each of the 10 wines placed in the top three or four at one or more sites and the top two wines did very well at five of the seven sites.

All 10 of the wines finished in the top four at one or more of the sites, with the top two wines finishing in the top four at six of the seven sites. The top three were all California wines, but the fourth and fifth favorites were from Italy and Spain.

The overall winner was Cuvaison Estate’s Cuvaison Pinot Noir from Carneros. It got first place at two sites and second place at three more sites. Second place overall was Black Kite from Kite’s Rest Vineyard in Mendocino. It got first place at three sites and fourth place at two more.  Third overall was Amici Pinot Noir from Amici Cellars in the Russian River Valley.

The three favorite wines across the seven host sites:

Place Wine & Winery YR PRICE DESCRIPTION
1st Cuvaison Estate

Cuvaison

 

Caneros, CA

 

92 points

Wine Enthusiast

 2021 $38.99 Effusive cherry and raspberry aromas are followed by warm, broad strawberry and cinnamon flavors in this full-bodied, smooth and generous wine.
2nd Kite’s Rest Vineyard

 

Black Kite

 

Mendocino, CA

 

94 points

Wine Enthusiast

 2016 $49.99 Good balance and a plethora of juicy, ripe fruit flavors highlight this full-bodied wine.  It has generous black cherry and light baking-spice aromas, plenty of cherry and sour cherry in the flavors and a moderately tannic texture livened by good acidity.
3rd Amici Cellars

 

Russian River Valley, CA

 

93 points

James Suckling

 2021 $39.99 Rich aromas of cranberry, black cherry and baking spice meld with flavors of lively red fruits and hints of cherry cola. This polished Pinot Noir offers silky tannins and precise acidity that add complexity to the long finish.

 

Attendees brought a delicious dish to share and then voted on a Chef of the Evening. The results of the Chef of the Evening at each host site are:

  • Hosts Chris & Hank Bruce:

Pam Carter — Beef Enchiladas

 Hosts Carolyn & Damian Christian:

Mary Ann & Don Mayer — Death by Chocolate

 Hosts Mike Del Medico:

Rich Skoczylas — Paella

  • Host Julie Good:

Jim Kerins — Cherrywood Smoked Salmon

  • Hosts Christy & Robert Hall:

Greg Brett — Neapolitan

 Hosts Steve & Kim Rizzuto:

          George Cravens — Pork Loin with Cherry Chutney

 Hosts Pat & Frank Solis

          Tie –

Eric & Carmen Kaines — Filipino Pork Adobo

Jim Burk — Kumquat Cheesecake

Congratulations to all the winners and a big thank you to the hosts!

—George Cravens, OCWS Director

May 25, 2024
By
Mini Tastings
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OCWS Scholarship Program: Spotlight on Orange Coast College

OCWS funds scholarships for eight California Colleges and Universities, including the culinary arts program at Orange Coast College. OCC is one of the few programs not focused on enology or viticulture but on culinary arts.  Students at OCC can obtain an associate’s degree in culinary arts and various occupational certificates. The. school typical has several hundred students enrolled in the various programs. Just recently, OCC added a wine component to their culinary arts program.

In May, I had the good fortune to attend the 66th annual OCC Honors Night Scholarship Ceremony and award OCWS scholarships to seven very deserving students. Over 300 scholarships were given to nearly 500 students.  The recipients for the OCWS Scholarships at OCC are:

  • Khoa M. To
  • Man-in Chao
  • Jasmine Tre Dagley
  • Morgan E. Downie
  • Blanca Michelle Granados
  • Shannon Michelle White
  • Madeline X. Ngyuen

Next month we will be highlighting another one of the colleges/universities supported by the OCWS scholarship fund. Just a friendly reminder there is always time to donate to the OCWS Scholarship Fund for 2024.  There are two ways to donate:

  1. Mail a check – Make your check out to OCWS and mail it to the OCWS office at OCWS O. Box 11059  Costa Mesa, CA 92627  Attn: Scholarship Fund  A donation letter 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.

—Damian J. Christian, Scholarship Chair

 

May 25, 2024
By
Members Corner
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Wine Wisdom

The ABC’s of Chardonnay

1. In what decade did Chardonnay suffer criticism leading to the ABC acronym, Anything But Chardonnay?

A.  1970s

B.  1980s

C.  1990s

2. Chardonnay has suffered criticism as a consequence of winemakers:

A.  using new oak and malolactic fermentation (MLF)

B.  using charred barrels for aging

C.  using malolactic fermentation (MLF)

3. The use of malolactic fermentation (MLF) to produce Chardonnay results in:

A.  A creamy flavor

B.  A buttery flavor

C.  Both a creamy and buttery flavor

4. Chardonnay wine can be a wine for all white wine lovers because this ubiquitous grape can provide any style of wine from dry still wines to sparkling wines to sweet late harvest wines.

A.  True

B.  False

5. The Chardonnay grape is a vitis vinifera cross of Pinot Noir and a Croatian grape that was brought to France by the Romans. The two grapes were planted in close proximity and subsequently interbred. What was the name of this Croatian grape?

A.  Gouais Blanc

B.  Glera

C.  Garganega

6. Grown in France, where did Chardonnay originate?

A. Chablis

B. Burgundy

C. Champagne

7.  A favorite with winemakers, the Chardonnay grape is easily cultivated, adapts to different environments and takes on the characteristics of its vineyard, making the grape easy to demonstrate and express the terroir and the winemaker’s style.

A. True

B. False

8. One of the best-known uses of the Chardonnay grape is:

A. Serving it to a first date

B. Using it in the making of sparkling wine

C. Eating it to provide digestive fiber

9.  In Italy, Chardonnay is used to make a sparkling wine called Franciacorta in which Italian Region?

A. Tuscany

B. Lombardy

C. Veneto

10.  In Italy, the Chardonnay grape is allowed in the making of Prosecco in what region?

A. Tuscany

B. Veneto

C. Umbria

11.  Chardonnay’s acidity accompanied by its other moderate, neutral characteristics seem to make it a favorite for sparkling wines. In Spain, Chardonnay is allowed to be blended in:

A. Roja

B. Cava

C. Sherry

Chardonnay—it’s dry, it’s sweet, it’s oaky, it’s buttery, it’s fruity, it’s complex, it’s acidic, it’s minerally, it’s sparkling. It gives a whole new meaning to anything but Chardonnay because it is anything BUT Chardonnay! So, ignore the alphabet, if you have the wine, enjoy it! Cheers!

Answers: 1. C, 2. A, 3. C, 4. A, 5. A, 6. B, 7. A, 8. B, 9. B. 10. B, 11. B

—CL Keedy, Linda Flemins and the Wine Education Committee

May 23, 2024
By
Members Corner
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Competitive Spirits

Who could have imagined that a small band of 16 like-minded, wine-loving people getting together 48 years ago could grow the largest competition of California-only wines in the world?

From that handful of passionate people and one small table at the very first competition, which had a whopping three varietals to be judged with a total of 49 entries, the OCWS continues to elevate the OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition, which now finds entries of upwards of 2,500 California commercial wines each year being 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 one.

If 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 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!

Fran Gitsham, Chair, 2024 Commercial Wine Competition

April 25, 2024
By
Commercial Competition, Members Corner
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