Category: Members Corner

By Greg Risling

Take one look at Denae Prosser’s artwork and you can feel the warmth, exuberance and joy jumping off the canvas.

You might not be familiar with this budding artist but chances are you have seen her designs, most notably the Best of Show winner in the 2024 OC Fair Home Wine Label Competition.

“It was shocking,” Prosser said of earning the highest award.  “Sometimes you win stuff, but I was like ‘what?’ I was very happy to win.”

What makes the award even more special and heartfelt is Prosser is part of a unique program that provides vocational life skills to people with special needs. Based in Fallbrook, D’Vine Path gives adults living with disabilities the opportunity to handcraft meals, help make wine or design floral bouquets.

D’Vine Path, nestled on eight acres in Fallbrook, was named California’s Nonprofit of the Year in 2024. The organization was founded in 2019 by Executive Director Lenila Batali whose adult daughter has autism. Over the past six years, the program has aided dozens of students obtain specialized skills they need in the workplace. Nearly three-quarters of participants have found part-time or full-time employment.

“They are learning, growing and being empowered,” Batali said. “That is what they are doing every day and we have so much fun. As a parent, all you want is for them to be productive and to have friends and they are getting that here.”

Spend a couple of hours at the Fallbrook farm and winery and you are immersed and amazed by the creativity and work ethic. On this particular day, Prosser and her fellow classmates are busy with their latest portraits. Prosser said she likes a lot of color in her pieces and plays with the palette for inspiration.

The Best of Show-winning label is a vibrant sunset sinking into an ocean of rolling waves. In some of her other artwork, she likes to hide the face of Jesus or the cross somewhere for people to find. In another illustration, she has a couple in France with a poodle holding glasses of wine.

She also done comic books and has hopes of designing game boards. Students can turn their hobby into a profitable venture as half of the money raised through sales of their artwork goes back to them and the other half goes to D’Vine Path.

There are four paths for students: art, the farm and garden program, culinary arts and the trellis viticulture program.

Chris Miller, an enology specialist and former OCWS member, oversees the viticulture program. Miller has been

making wine for about 12 years and worked with the Batali family who has their own vineyards.

D’Vine’s has about 360 vines that makes six varietals, including Albarino, Barbera, Durif and Grenache. Students get equal time in the classroom and the vineyard to understand the intricacies of how wine is made. There is a great pride in taking part in the process – one student says, “when I assist in making wine, I feel essential.”

“You see how enthusiastic they are about learning the process,” Miller said. “They are very meticulous and they want to make the wine perfect. We work on building up their speed because with winemaking there are timelines to meet.”

Students also are prepped for being interviewed for jobs. One of D’Vine Path’s first students went on to work at Wilson Creek Winery and others have found jobs or internships at local wineries or restaurants.

Batali said she hopes one day that D’Vine can be a destination spot where visitors can enjoy handmade meals and wine infused with love and care. For now, much like the vines they tend, the organization is deeply rooted in helping individuals with disabilities be the best version of themselves as D’Vine continues to flourish and grow.

“The most rewarding part is seeing the students give tours – they have such pride,” she said. “Once you step onto the property, no one has a disability. We are all equal.”

by Carolyn Christian

Welcome to the start of what promises to be a great year for our organization. As we enter our 49^th year as an organization, we should be proud of the legacy we have established. From our humble beginnings starting with a group of home winemakers to a group that boasts over 1,000 wine enthusiasts (including our winemaker group), we have a truly resilient organization that has grown and remained stable over the past several decades.  

Wrapping Up 2024

            2024 has been a very busy year with the usual OCWS events and some new ones as well, including the Wine Defect Identification Workshop, Vintage Member Luncheons and Volunteer Recognition Reception. We had several amazing holiday events that ended 2024 on a high note. The annual Holiday Dinner Dance on December was followed by a Holiday Mini-Tasting at members’ homes on December 14. The holiday festivities wrapped up with the Winemakers’ Group Holiday Potluck at the Eastlake Village Community Center. Overall, we have had a very successful year.

Thank you to Event Leadership

I would personally like to thank the OCWS Board of Directors and other non-board members who have stepped up to chair events this past year. Please take a moment to review the Responsibilities List on our website to see who oversees our various events. These are the individuals who help keep this organization running smoothly.

2025

In the coming year, we have many exciting events in store for our members. Our long-standing winery programs run from January to May and our Bubbles ‘n’ Brunch/Dine with Wine events are sprinkled throughout the year.

There are also several mini-tastings where members blind taste 10 wines at fellow members’ homes. We also hold new member mixers to greet those fledgling oenophiles.

At the OC Fairgrounds, there are an abundance of events, whether it’s the Spring and Fall socials, the Wine Auction and of course The Courtyard at the OC Fair, which runs from July 18 to August 17.

Our biggest flagship events are the OC Fair Commercial and Home Wine competitions that occur during late May and early-to-mid June.

There is plenty of other options that will suit your style from private tastings at local wineries to educational seminars.

All-Volunteer Organization

I cannot stress enough the importance of our volunteers. Please check out the amazing events being organized for our members’ benefit. Check the newsletter, website and weekly email reminders and sign-up early for our events, including our amazing volunteer opportunities, which you won’t find anywhere else! If you find an event is sold out, please contact our office to be placed on a waiting list. We often have cancellations allowing for those on the waiting list to attend.

In addition to our events, I encourage you to promote the OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition, which we have hosted over the last 49 years, to wineries throughout California. Take printed brochures, send them an email, and remind them that despite the news about the decline in wine sales, OCWS is alive and well, with over 1,000 members who purchase and consume wine on a regular basis.

I look forward to working with you all in 2025 to continue this organization’s amazing journey on our way to our 50th anniversary!

Cheers to you all!

The Holiday Dinner Dance has been an OCWS tradition for decades. It is one of the few events where our members can dress in semi-formal attire and enjoy a gourmet meal and outstanding wines. This year’s event was no exception. Nearly 90 OCWS members gathered at the Avenue of the Arts Hotel in Costa Mesa to enjoy a sparkling wine reception with passed appetizers followed by a sit-down dinner. 

Attendees brought unwrapped toys to support the Cosa Mesa Fire Department’s Spark of Love Toy Drive. Thank you to all who brought toys. A special thank you to members of the fire department who came to the event to pick up the toy donation for less fortunate children in Costa Mesa.

The event would not be complete without The Three 2 Sevens band, which played classic dance tunes from various eras. Attendees danced the night away. We look forward to continuing this OCWS tradition again in December 2025.

Carolyn Chritian, OCWS President

By Greg Risling

There is no question when New Year’s Eve rolls around, there is an abundance of festivities for you to choose.

But what you might not know is there are wineries across Southern California who host NYE events that cater not just to their wine club members. There are galas for the more refined wine drinker or even family-oriented gatherings.

You can find a good variety in Temecula, home to nearly 50 wineries. While thousands of people cram into Times Square to watch the big ball drop in New York City, Temecula attracts up to 4,000 people for its annual NYE Grape Drop.

For more than a decade, people have flocked to Old Town to see giant grapes descend from the bell tower at City Hall. There is typically live music, food vendors and activities for the kids. This year, there will be a drone show that will culminate with the Grape Drop to coincide with the East Coast midnight countdown.

“The New Year’s Eve Grape Drop is a family-friendly event that allows the community to celebrate the incoming new year with activities, live music and food,” said Tracy Tomines, a city spokesperson. “The city of Temecula is proud to have been nominated for USA Today’s favorite New Year’s Eve drop, as it brings attention to Southern California’s beautiful wine county.”

At nearby Wilson Creek Winery & Vineyards, they are not going to celebrate just once but twice on New Year’s Eve as a way to mark the winery’s 25^th anniversary. Starting at 6 p.m., guests can indulge in a four-course, wine-paired dinner ($220) in the Winemaker’s Loft. The East Coast Elegance event, a black-tie affair, will cover up until the clock strikes midnight back east.

And for those who can muster another couple of hours or just want to attend the West Coast Party Vibes event, there will be a dance party with a live DJ and a dessert and coffee bar ($100) that will be cranking until we celebrate 2025 here on the West Coast.

“A lot of wineries skip NYE events, but for us, it’s a night filled with joy, laughter and great wine under the stars,” said Wendy Holder, Wilson Creek’s vice president of marketing. “It’s an experience unlike any other—where you can toast to new beginnings in the heart of wine country, surrounded by friends old and new. It’s our way of making sure that the new year starts off with a little magic.”

Also hosting a grand event is Europa Village Wineries & Resort in Temecula. It’s a 007 soiree, celebrating James Bond and Casino Royale. Guests will be swept into the elegance, mystery and thrill of the aforementioned film. They can sip on signature cocktails, be treated to a three-course dinner, enjoy an array of casino games and strike the Bond pose in a glamorous photo booth. Tickets are $190 and the event runs 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Closer to home, McClain Cellars is hosting a black tie New Year’s Eve Gala at its exclusive Irvine Members Lounge. The event includes live music, dinner and the Laguna Beach winery’s finest wines to toast to new beginnings. The gala is 8 to 11:59 p.m. Sunday Dec. 31.

Compiled by the 50thAnniversary Committee Hank Bruce, Carolyn Christian, Linda Flemins & Jane Goodnight

As we approach our 50^th anniversary as an organization, the Orange County Wine Society has started a committee to pull together the history of the organization over the last five decades. 

The committee has been researching, documenting and collecting historical information including a complete list of the board members since 1976, the various mega-tastings like the Wine Classic and Wine Extraordinaire, statistics on the various years of the OC Fair Wine Competitions and The Courtyard, timelines and milestones of the organization and much more.

To collect personal accounts of the organization, the committee started the Vintage Member Luncheons. These events have been both successful and incredibly fun. Our ultimate goal is to produce a history of the organization’s first 50 years.

The luncheons feature various stations where longtime members can view old videos taken by our own Charley Owen, view and identify photos from early events, share their own stories with interviewers and contribute to idea boards for things like 50^th anniversary events and keepsakes.  All of this is designed to trigger memories of the early years.

OCWS members who have attended the Vintage Member Luncheons have had a great time sharing memories of bus trips to Temecula and Paso Robles and cruises to Mexico.  Being together with other vintage members in this social setting has greatly facilitated our ability to gather information that is not documented elsewhere. Believe it or not, a few of our original members such as Jane Goodnight and Judy Brady are still active. And the memories that attendees shared made it seems like only yesterday.

Here is a taste of some of the things that were shared…

• Charley Owen always had his video camera with him, but no one ever saw the videos, so there was a rumor they didn’t exist (thankfully the family donated the videos to OCWS and we are preserving them for the future!).
• Attendees who watched the videos, marveled at the younger and thinner versions of themselves on the screen.
• Wine glasses from previous events had various logo designs, many of them designed by OCWS member and artist Marjorie Trout who passed away recently.
• The OCWS Recipe Book was published in 1992 and it was not as popular at the OC Fair as hoped, so many were given away to members years later.
• Members had fond memories of our competition judges and their antics, such as Kent Rosenblum and his endless supply of Sven and Ollie jokes.
• Attendees shared stories of the various winemakers who presented at the OCWS anniversary tastings, which have been held every five years.
• Attendees brought historical items for others to view: glasses, awards, award booklets (before WineCompetition.com was created), posters and more.
• In the early days at the OC Fair (late 1970s), OCWS was required to serve food with the wine tastings and the organization had a yellow submarine next to our wine booth that made sandwiches.

In addition to sharing memories, attendees are treated to a gourmet lunch and wine. 

Invitations are being sent out based on the member’s join date. The first two luncheons included those who joined between 1976 and 2000.  We are currently in the process of planning our third luncheon.  If you are invited to a luncheon but unable to attend, you will be invited again until you are able to attend one. 

To allow all members to attend these luncheons, we are limiting members to attending only one luncheon.  Watch your email for an invitation in the future as we include more recent members.

Merchandise will be available for sale at upcoming Orange County Wine Society events. Aprons and hats (four standard colors) are always available online as they are one size fits most.

But did you know the OCWS logocan be added to other apparel?

If you don’t see a style, size or color that I’m selling, a shirt from home can be an option. The logo looks great on a fleece vest or denim jacket too! For custom apparel, there is a $15 embroidery fee. Bring your item to an event or drop it off
in the OCWS office. Merchandise also will be available at upcoming Winemakers’ Group dinners, January through May.

—Courtney, Merchandise Maven

Last month, we recognized our top volunteers at the NEW Volunteer Recognition Reception. Our hope is to make this an annual tradition.

Pre-COVID, we recognized our volunteers at the Annual Business Meeting in September. When we moved the annual meeting online, the OCWS Board recognized that this was a better format for the financial review of the organization. However, while the online format worked well for the business meeting portion, it was not the best format for recognizing volunteers. As such, we decided to hold an in-person event to celebrate our amazing volunteers who put in more than 23,000 hours between September 2023 and August 2024.

The event featured appetizers from Newport Rib Company and wine from the OCWS Cellar. Volunteers were recognized at three levels (Gold, Silver and Bronze) based on the number of hours they volunteered. In addition to being invited to the Volunteer Recognition Reception, the volunteers received printed certificates, and an online coupon good toward a future OCWS event ($50, $25 and $10, respectively). We would like to recognize the following volunteers for their many hours of service to the organization:

Volunteers that make a Difference

The afternoon soiree ended with the most coveted OCWS award, the President’s Award, given to this year’s top volunteer or volunteers who have given amazing service to the organization, not only this year, but over many years.

Thank you to the committee who made this year’s Volunteer Recognition Reception possible: Rochelle Randel, Don Mayer, Sue England and Carolyn Christian.

Congratulations to all the volunteer award winners. For those who were unable to attend the reception, your names will be posted on the OCWS website and you will see your online discount coupon in your account no later than November 1^.

—Carolyn Christian, OCWS President

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. olive oil

¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

¼ cup vegetable broth (I used lemon wine)

3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (divided)

½ cup fresh basil, chopped

½ tsp. lemon zest

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

¼ tsp. fresh ground pepper

11/2 lbs. fresh cod

For the sauce: heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat.

Add red pepper flakes and garlic, sauté for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook until soft and blistered. (9-12mins) Stir in liquid and 1 tbsp lemon juice. Simmer gently, then add basil and 2 tbsp. lemon juice, zest, salt, sugar and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes, set aside.

For the cod:

Heat olive oil in another pan over medium heat. Season cod with salt & pepper.

Cook until golden brown. About 3 minutes per side. Pour the tomato basil sauce over the cod, warm up for a minute, enjoy!

Orange County Wine Society funds scholarships for eight California colleges and universities, including the University of California Davis.

UC Davis has a dedicated Department of Viticulture and Enology that was established back in 1880 by the California Legislature to help the developing California wine industry and is considered one of the top programs in the country. In 2011, UC Davis opened a facility for making wine, beer and processed foods with sustainability and the environment in mind.

The campus hosts a four-acre vineyard next to the Robert Mondavi Institute. The department typically graduates about 20 undergraduate students in viticulture and enology per year. UC Davis also offers a Master of Science degree.

The Viticulture & Enology Graduate Group (VENGG) provides opportunities where students can conduct research on current issues in the wine industry through independent research and internships. This program graduates five to 10 students per year. The department also offer a Wine Executive Program that teaches the fundamentals of winemaking and management skills necessary to be successful in the challenging wine business world.

Next month we will be highlighting another 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, P.O. Box 11059, Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Attn: Scholarship Fund. A donation letter will be sent to you.
2. Donate Online – Log on 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 Christian, Scholarship Chair

When Tom and Laureen Baldyga moved into their Cowan Heights home in 2011, they had a set of priorities: a house with a view, a three-car garage and a wine cellar.

While the home had sweeping views of Orange County and Catalina Island as well as the three-car garage that would accommodate practice sessions for Tom’s band, the couple had to find the space for the cellar.

They finally settled on a 6×6 spot underneath the stairs. The couple got some of their inspiration from Bacchus Secret Cellars in Irvine where Laureen once worked. After working with a contractor on the design and its features, the cellar was built and has become a centerpiece of the Baldyga home.

The outside of the cellar is adorned with about 30 wine case panels emblazoned with the logo and name of wineries from around the world that the Baldygas have gotten from Bacchus or collected themselves.

Some of the panels that are represented by some of the most renowned wineries such as Caymus, Silverado, Opus One and Screaming Eagle, are separated by rows of corks. The cellar’s door has bunches of grapes etched onto the glass.

At just 36 square feet, the cellar holds 300 bottles and has enough room to seat two people. A majority of the wine is from Duckhorn and Calcareous vineyards where the couple are wine club members.

“We like to store the Duckhorn for about five years and then drink it,” Tom said. “Both wineries are extremely consistent with what they make and Calcareous produces excellent Syrahs and have great whites like Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc.”

The cellar also has a glass rack and two storage spots for wine accessories. One of those spots is a nook with a marble top. On the back wall is a painting entitled “Perfect Zen” by popular artist Michael Godard.

Like any good cellar, the couple ensured it was temperature controlled and would hold enough wine to make it worth their while.

“I’d recommend finding a place that has drainage built in,” Tom said. “Try to know someone who can do the design. It’s amazing what you can do with a small space.”

Tom said the cellar does serve the main purpose of storing the wine but he and Laureen also make sure they enjoy the wine with family and friends. His prized possessions are a 1994 Harlan Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and a 2011 Perry Moore Cab.

“I don’t think I would change a thing,” Tom said. “I like that it’s not too big so it’s always full. But part of the fun is drinking the wine and refilling the cellar.”