Category: Members Corner

Retirement is GREAT!!! If I had known retirement would be this great, I’d have done it sooner. OK, probably not, as there is a reason that we do work.

But I am enjoying it now. And so far I have shared with you, through my submissions to The Wine Press, a few of my experiences traveling that, most importantly, have included the delight of wine from many parts of the world. Allow me to do so again.

On Christmas Eve, now two months ago as I write this, Manuela and I embarked on a venture of a lifetime, to cruise around the world. We left from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, heading south to the Panama Canal, with planned stops in Mexico, Nicaragua, Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica and then to Los Angeles, before heading west to Hawaii and southern Asia. Well, thanks to COVID, we never made it to Nicaragua nor Columbia. And when we got to LA, guess what? We could not leave the ship the three days we were there. More importantly, we were no longer going to go west to Asia. Instead, we were to go back south to sail along the western coast of South America, around Cape Horn, up to Uruguay – sadly, no stops in Argentina – and then over to the Mediterranean where we resumed our original itinerary in Saudi Arabia. We had just spent the day in Cape Verde, a country of ten islands off the coast of Senegal and we were about halfway through the trip.

Enough about our trip though. The good news about the changes and what I want to share with you is the incredible wineries and wines that we experienced in Chile and Uruguay. Plus, there is another little wine adventure I will tell you about.

I am sure most of you know and enjoy Chilean wines. They are extraordinary and becoming very popular in California restaurants and wine circles. On this trip, we got to go more in depth and learn about Chilean winemaking history and what it means to their wines. For one, did you know that Chilean wine is organically grown and processed? There are strict laws in place that require the vineyards to be managed without chemical treatment. And in further support of this condition, Chile also imposes restrictions on any food or plant materials coming into the country. They enjoy a very healthy grape growing environment in Chile, and they strive to keep it that way.

Our first stop in Chile was in the port city of Valparaiso. From here, some of us took an excursion to a winery in the region known as Casablanca. Know that this region is in central Chile and is in the same latitudes south as the wine-growing regions of California, France, Italy and other wine regions of Europe are to the north, between the 30^th the 38^th parallels. Thus, this is an ideal growing region for wine grapes. The winery we visited was called Viñamar. While Chile grows and makes the usual vitis vinifera (old world) reds and whites, Chile is known for its Carmenere. Like Argentina’s Malbec, Carmenere originated in France, transferred to Chile and flourished there. Some of the great wines we had in Chile included Carmenere from Viña Tarapacà (my top pick) and San Pedro Castillo de Molina Pinot Noir Reserva. There were so many more.

After several more days of visiting Chile and sailing around Cape Horn, we stopped in Uruguay. Have you heard of Uruguayan wine? Well, I hadn’t either, but it was fantastic.

From our port stop in Montevideo on the mouth of the Plate River that separates Uruguay and Argentina, we visited a winery inland near a town called Canelones. Some more background, the wine region of Uruguay is between the 30^th and 35^th parallels. It is in the same latitudes as Mendoza, Argentina, and of the Chilean wine region we had just visited a few weeks earlier. That should tell you something!

Once there we were given the grand tour of Familia Deicas Winery. Because we were in the southern hemisphere, it was approaching harvest time, so we observed the field labor teams organizing to hand pick the grapes. In Uruguay, the grape of choice is Tannat, but the usual varietals were grown there as well. One unusual grape was called Lacryma Christi or the Tears of Christ. The fruit was sweet and had a bright red juice. See the picture.

Back in the cellar we enjoyed seven of their wines that included the Tannat, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and another popular white, Albariño. Some were sold under the name Don Pascual. It was a great day and memorable experience!

If you should ever get the opportunity to travel to South America in search of great wine (or otherwise), you will find it in Chile, Argentina and Uruguay, for sure.

After departing Uruguay, we headed for the African coast. Along the nine-day voyage I was given a wonderful opportunity. Some background, while we were in the Port of Los Angeles, though we could not leave the ship, I did arrange for several bottles of my homemade Nebbiolo to be brought onboard.

The day after we departed LA was my birthday. So, we celebrated in style sharing my wine with some of the passengers and crew. Well, somehow, I was asked to make a presentation on home winemaking. “I would love to!”  Not knowing exactly what to do though, I reached out to Kevin Donnelly. Wow, he was great! He provided me with his 110-page PowerPoint presentation on home winemaking!  After a few modifications and including a few photos of my own winemaking experience both at home and in Italy, I made the presentation. Wine was provided by the Viking Bar Manager Andrej and Sommelier Dejan while I made the presentation to a packed theater of about 45 people. It was a great success. I have even been made an honorary sommelier on board the Viking Star, and I have the badge to prove it.

We still have 2½ months to go, and we will be hitting many Mediterranean ports which will include more visits to wineries such as in Malta.

So a follow up to this story just might be in order.

– W. Scott Harral,
Contributing Writer

Fellow OC wine enthusiasts, you bared with me a few issues back as I relayed my anniversary/wine tasting experience in Northern California. Perhaps I can keep your interest as I tell you of Manuela’s and my six-week trip tip through France, Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic and, of course, Manuela’s home country of Italy. It was there that I not only sampled great wine, I got a chance to make it—the old fashioned way!

But that is to come later.

We started off on a river cruise up the Rhône River, from Avignon to Lyon, France, with two other wine-drinking couples. If you are familiar with this region you know we passed through the Rhône Valley appellation. Along the way, we tasted some very good wines such as the Rhône blends, similar to our GSM’s, as well as some Pinots and Syrahs. Among the whites, we found the Viogniers to be excellent. The wines here in France tended to be earthy, dry and subtle in flavor. Very drinkable now but worthy of aging some. Then there is the famous Champagne! We shared quite a bit of that product, I can tell you. My personal favorite was Drappier, Corte d’Or, Brut.

What was to be a highlight of the trip was a stop in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape. We attended a tasting set up by the cruise line. The wines were inexpensive and, to my taste, reflected that. Most of the Americans there did not favor these wines. Not giving up, however, the guys sought out a better experience while the wives went shopping!  In fact, we found the best wine tasting shop – appropriately named “Best Wine Shop.” We enjoyed thoroughly the one-on-one experience with the shop owner and ultimately shipped a case of wine back to the US!  Closer to Lyon, we encountered Burgundy and Beaujolais wines from further north. These were excellent wines that included Gamay, Pinot, Merlot, Chardonnay and a few names I could not possibly pronounce. Not as earthy as the Rhône wines, but excellent to our California pallets. In fact, I would say, they save the best for themselves and export the lesser quality wines abroad!  And these wines were not expensive.

Departing the ship in Lyon, we drove to just past Lausanne, Switzerland, staying at an Airbnb in the home of a winemaker on the mountain slope overlooking Lake Geneva. It was beautiful!   Take a look at the shot from our dining room window. We ate fondue and raclette but also enjoyed some very nice Swiss wine. The grapes grown here were predominately white varietals, but there were some good reds as well. I don’t think I’ve run across Swiss wine in our wine shops. My guess, they just don’t make enough. Although the hillsides were overwhelmingly covered by vines. My friends and I had no qualms about drinking the local product! Of particular note was the 2020 Heida made by Yvonne & Yvo Mathier. I hope to find that here in California.

At the end of our stay in Switzerland, our friends returned home, but Manuela and I drove over the Great St. Bernard Pass and down into the Piemonte region of Italy – where Manuela was born – for a three-week stay in Chiaverano, Italy, near Ivrea. Yeah, you will need to Google those names.  Here we were immersed in Northern Italian wines from Piemonte, Asti and, of course, Tuscany. Some of my personal favorite wines come from these regions such as Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, Montepulciano and little-known, Erbaluce (grown predominately around Ivrea). Sixty-eight percent of these wines are red, and for good reason:  It’s the weather and terroir.

While drinking great wine from the regions we visit is always a pleasure, the true joy  of this trip – and the reason behind my writing this article – was the chance to join one of Manuela’s relatives, Pierluigi, in the winemaking process!   Timing for our trip was just right, and being a home winemaker myself, that when I got invited to see the crush and participate, I was all in.  As is common with the decades-old homes of the area, Pierluigi’s comes equipped with a wine cellar, where he has been making wine all his life.

This was the real thing … well, the real old-world thing. We put several kilograms of grapes and stems in an old wine press. As you can see from the photo, I was an “instrumental” part of the process. When all was done, we opened one of his 40-year-old bottles of wine. OK, it wasn’t that good at that point, but it sure was exciting to know we were drinking something that old and very special.

Toward the end of our three weeks in Italy, my brother and his wife joined us for a few days of Alpine experience, her first. But soon we were flying from Milan to Prague, Czech Republic. The city of Prague is on my personal top ten places that I have been fortunate enough to visit in my lifetime. It has a rich heritage and beautiful buildings, bridges and structures nearly everywhere in its massive old city. And yes, Czech Republic makes wine!  Almost exclusively white wine, but there are a small percentage of reds. And the varietals include many you know and some you most likely do not.

After a few days in Prague, we commenced another river cruise that primarily sailed west along the Main River through southern Germany, part of the Rhine River and finally the Moselle River.  We had stops in wonderful old world cities such as Nurenberg, Bamberg, Wurzburg, Heidelberg, Cochem and Trier. More local wine, predominately white, was to be had everywhere along these rivers. The dry Gewürztraminers and Viogniers were great. Reds were a bit more challenging to our taste. Ultimately we ended our trip with four days in Paris. I treated my brother, his wife, and a former colleague and his wife to a dinner cruise on the Seine River in Paris. We had great local cuisine and fine white wines. In return, he treated us at a very high-end, old world (established in the 1600’s he says) Parisian restaurant that was outstanding. All told, our six weeks in Europe was one for the books!

– W. Scott Harral, Contributing Writer

Calling the recent membership BBQ a raving success is an understatement. It was clear that OCWS members were more than ready to safely re-engage in person when the event sold out in record time online, and attendance was at full capacity. With awesome food provided by our own Cooks Caucus group, terrific live music by the Three 2 Sevens Band, fun games and, needless to say, terrific wines from the OCWS cellar, the event was destined to be a hit from the very start.

Standing ovations go out to our very own Cooks Caucus which reconvened in style after the COVID-19 hiatus to feed 180 hungry attendees with custom homemade fare, with special kudos going to Lynda Edwards, Bob Topham, Rich Skoczylas, Brian McDonald, George Cravens, Zach Anderson, Bonnie Gausewitz, Dan Donati and Peter Schlundt-Bodien. Additional thanks go out to their day-long support system comprised of Frances Cravens, Linda Flemins, Chris & Hank Bruce, and Teri & John Lane, as well as the many other volunteers and Board members who met every other need to run the event from start to finish.

Without all of our amazing volunteers, this event would not have been as incredible as it was. It was truly an event that gave us all something to celebrate—an amazing organization filled with warm-hearted, fun members. Thank you.

– Sara Yeoman & Fran Gitsham, Event Co-Chairs 

While we didn’t hold in-person events for most of the year, we did have many virtual events. Fortunately, we were able to hold our three most volunteer-intensive events in 2021 – The Commercial and Home Wine competitions and The Courtyard. In recognition of the hours of service, the Wine Society rewards its volunteers with gift certificates redeemable for admission to OCWS events. Thank you to the following volunteers for their efforts during the 2020/2021 Board year. Our volunteers make this the successful organization that it is. We encourage you to get involved. It is a great way to see how the OCWS works and meet new friends. Over the year, we had 299 members volunteer, and together they put in over 15,500 hours in total. NOTE:  The volunteer coupons will be posted to each member’s account and can be used for events through October 1, 2022. – George Cravens, Volunteer Program Chair

The OCWS lost long-time member, Charley Owen, who passed away recently. Charley joined the OCWS in 1979, and over the years, he helped shape the Wine Society that we know today.

It is probably impossible to document everything Charley did that benefited the OCWS. He was President and Vice President during numerous years: President—1987, 1997 and Vice President—1990, 1994, 1996.

But, it was his contributions year in and year out that helped the OCWS move forward. Sometimes it was just to get through an event and at other times it was contributing his time and skills to benefit the general needs of the OCWS. For many years, he was integral to preparing and running the Wine Courtyard for the OC Fair, running the Wine Auction, supporting fundraisers by managing the setup and tear down for the Wine Classic and the Wine Extraordinaire, building out the Wine Cellar at The Courtyard or just doing the maintenance needed. And, not the least, supporting many other events too numerous to list.

Charley was many things, husband to Vivien, father to Janet and Charles (a professional brewer), grandfather to Megan and Eric, a devoted member of the OCWS and more. Somehow, he was able to weave his family into his OCWS involvement. His wife, Vivien, was by his side either assisting him or focusing on her own passion, the history of the OCWS. As a grandfather, he involved Megan and Erik at a young age in helping him with the Wine Auction and The Courtyard setup. This eventually brought his son-in-law (Paul Peal) and daughter into the OCWS as members and volunteers. The OCWS is truly a family affair for the Owen clan.

My first memories of Charley were as a volunteer are from the early ‘90s. I don’t recall what I initially thought. It might have been who is this guy that seems to be in charge of so much? Or, it might have been to wonder how he kept that amazing handlebar mustache looking so perfect? Or, at the time, it might have been his love of Zinfandel in those early years. When it came time for volunteers to enjoy wine, Charley looked for the Zinfandel. Of course, as a wine novice, that influenced me to drink a little more Zin. Years later, I learned one of his favorite cocktails away from the OCWS was the Manhattan. He convinced me to drink one or two of those as well. As you can see, he helped me, like many other OCWS members, to develop a fondness for adult beverages. As our friendship grew, my wife, Ronna, and I worked with Charley on many events, whether on committees or just helping with work parties. Through this association, we became friends with Charley and Viv and one time met up with them in Columbus, Ohio, to see the UCLA Bruins versus the Ohio State Buckeyes. Charley was very gracious when the Buckeyes stomped all over the Bruins in victory. I know this because he was still willing to share a few sips from the flask he always took to football games.

The other memory I have is of Charley and his video camera. For many years, he recorded every winemaker tasting that the OCWS hosted at hotels around Orange County. Somewhere in Charley’s archives are videos of California winemakers from the 80’s and 90’s who were celebrated in the industry. Many were winemakers that helped spawn and develop the wine industry in California.

In later years, Charley remained involved in the OCWS. While he might not have been the OCWS member leading an event, he was involved and offered his experience to help the event be a success. Additionally, he became an OCWS Courtyard Ambassador and the Board of Directors honored him with the title of President Emeritus.

So, while Charley has passed, his spirit will live on within the OCWS for many years to come through those he befriended and through his contributions with the OCWS. Somewhere, Charley is patiently waiting for us to join him with a glass of wine in his hand and another sitting on the table for each of us.

Salute, dear friend.

– Craig Rowe, Past President

My wife, Carol, and I joined the Wine Society in 1980 and came to meet Charley and his wife, Vivien, shortly thereafter. For all the years since, we have gotten to know a man who was dedicated to the OCWS and his friends, as well as a good big red wine. Over the years, we were lucky enough to visit Charley at his home and had the privilege of having him make us his favorite cocktail, a Manhattan.

We shared a love of golf, and I remember days on the course with Chuck Howard or John Goodnight, as well as frequent rounds with his grandson, Erik. We came to be friends with his daughter, Janet, and her husband, Paul, and through them we could appreciate the influence Charley and Vivien had on their lives and ultimately ours and all who knew him.

Charley and the family were always kind and generous, which we experienced firsthand during the many days we were involved in Wine Society events. I served on the OCWS Board with Charley and greatly appreciated his support and confidence in me as we developed new programs. Charley was instrumental in the development of the OCWS wine cellar in The Courtyard. Every time I walk in, I think about the days when I was much younger and stronger working with Charley on how to place boxes of wine in respective cubicles. I sat on the ground as he handed me a box to lift overhead and holding it up until he could be sure it was in the right position. My arms would start shaking as he contemplated his next move. In the days before the current sort procedure, Charley, Vivien, my wife and a few others did the sort over about five days. Charley loved the OCWS and always worked to make it better.

As he got older, much of what he did for maintenance at The Courtyard was turned over to his son-in-law, Paul, but Charley was always on a ladder somewhere causing all of us to worry. We eventually got him to come down and enjoy being a symbol of all that was good about the OCWS. Carol and I will always have you in our hearts when we do not have you at a Mini-Tasting or party at our house or as we visit The Courtyard.

– Sam Puzzo

We’ve done it! We completed the 2021 OC Fair, and we did outstanding with our Wine Courtyard. Thanks to all of you who volunteered and spent time (and money!) at The Courtyard. Our results have been more than we ever could have hoped for, since we did not even know if we would have the Fair as late as March. For those of you who volunteered, I hope you had a great time and made some new friends. Again, a big thanks to you all!

Now that we have completed our three big events, the Commercial Wine Competition, the Home Wine Competition, and the Fair, we will be hosting our Annual Business Meeting on September 10 at 7:00 pm via Zoom. You can now sign up for the free members-only event after logging in at the Events tab located on our website at ocws.org. We will tell our members how we did financially through this year and what we have planned for the remainder of 2021 through August 2022. We will also introduce our candidates for the three vacating positions on the OCWS Board of Directors, so you can hear what they want to do if they are elected. I hope you all sign up to see and hear how we have come out from this pandemic, Kicking and Screaming, and Raisin’ the Roof!

Now is the time to re-start our social events! On September 11, we will be having our Gold Medal Mini-Tasting, which will give you all a chance to taste many of the Double Gold and Gold Medal wines from this year’s Commercial Wine Competition. These events are potlucks where we all bring a food dish to share, and they will be held at a variety of private homes across the County. This event is always a sell out, so we hope you signed up to attend!

Our annual election of three new members to the Board of Directors is coming up, so please pay attention to our publications later in September, listen to their presentations at the Annual Business Meeting, and read their Candidate Statements on the OCWS website. I know we are all tired of politics during these trying times, but I guarantee you won’t be disappointed with the great volunteers we have lined up to help run our Society.

In October, we will have our first post-pandemic member BBQ at The Courtyard on October 9, and our Membership Wine Auction on October 16! I will talk about these events in my next newsletter, so mark your calendars to save the dates!

Thank you all, for all you do!

– Kevin Donnelly, President

Here in California, we have wonderful weather and fabulous wine grapes. But as with any good, we also get the bad. We have to deal with earthquakes and lots of fires! In this article, I’ll discuss the fire and smoke impacts on wineries, vineyards, and ultimately our wines. So far this year, the major wine regions have been spared, but as of August 20, 56 fires are now burning in other regions in California including the Caldor, Dixie and Cache fires, with close to 1,000 homes burned thus far.

Fires

Fires are an unfortunate way of life here in the west, and we are in another serious drought season, which will lead to more fires and less water to fight the fires.

The Glass Fire in September to October 2020 was the fourth major fire in three years in the Napa wine country. By October 6, the Glass fire in September scorched over 73 square miles and destroyed about 95 structures. The photo above shows firefighters attempting to battle the blaze at Chateau Boswell.

Moving past the horrible human and animal impact of fires, we can discuss the effects on the wine industry.

Fires don’t usually directly affect vineyards. Vineyards are normally irrigated during our hot summer and fall months, and the grapes are full of water, but they are surrounded by natural forests and hills which are dry and incredibly vulnerable to fire. Vineyards are helpless to defend when fires jump, which happens when wind carries burning material beyond the main fire, igniting spot fires.

The image to the left shows the green vineyards surrounded by burned trees and buildings.

Wineries burn, and a lot of wine being aged and stored in the wineries and warehouses has been lost over the past several years.

Smoke

The damage to vineyards is usually not from the flames, but from the smoke residue that falls down onto the grapes.

“Smoke can drastically affect the quality of wine made from affected grapes. It is called smoke taint and does drastically affect the quality of wine. There has been so much smoke taint, that many wineries have decided not to make a 2020 vintage.” Lewis Perdue, publisher and executive editor of Wine Industry Insight.

Fire and smoke are part of nature. A natural fire wouldn’t be too bad: the smoke would just be carbon, and while it would affect the taste of the grapes, it wouldn’t really contaminate the grapes and vineyard. But, today’s fires have burning buildings, homes, cars, metals: nasty chemicals, raising concerns about heavy metals—from chromium to arsenic in pressure-treated wood to asbestos—that is difficult to wash off the grapes and works its way inside the grape skins. In the long term, those chemicals work their way into the soil for lasting effects.

The Napa region suffered two fires in 2020. The wildfires started when only 10-15% of the grapes had been harvested, while most grapes were still on the vine. Vineyards under smoke plumes were tainted by smoke, and many vineyards chose not to pick grapes last year. Although many wineries chose not to release exact numbers, perhaps only 20% of the Napa crop was bottled.

“We have clients that didn’t vinify any grapes this year, but none have made that public knowledge, mostly out of respect for those who are giving this year their best shot.” Consulting winemaker, Thomas Rivers Brown.

Some wineries chose to bottle their wines, using filtration and reverse osmosis to minimize (but not eliminate) the taint and sell them for bargain prices under cute names like “Old Smokey,” or using phrases like, “the smokey aroma will dissipate quickly, leaving you with a wonderful finish.”

The end result of the 2020 fires was a huge financial impact on the wineries, as well as other vegetable and fruit (and even Cannabis) producers in California. (Question: Why does smoke affect a product that is … ummm …  SMOKED?)

On the Brighter Side

“A lifelong Californian, the word ‘wildfire’ could be synonymous with ‘renewal’.” Bob Knebel, President and CEO of Rombauer Vineyard.

Everything burned by wildfires will turn into ashen fertilizer, which will lead to a beautiful green spring, and the 2022 vintage begins anew. I hope we have a better, fire-free summer and fall!

– Kevin Donnelly, President & Home Winemaker