Category: Members Corner

September 2024 By Carolyn Christian

It is hard to believe that summer is officially coming to an end this month. As I close this year as president, I am reminded of what an amazing group of people we have in this organization. Whatever our backgrounds or beliefs, we all share a common love of wine and the willingness to share our wine journey experiences with each other. 

It always astonishes me (and others) that this organization is made up of over 1,000 volunteers who come together to put on such amazing events. For those who joined at the OC Fair, I welcome you to this organization that has been a part of my life since the OC Fair in 1986!

Website Upgrade

We have recently gone through a major website software update. A big thank you to Stacey and Wendy Taylor for their dedication to making this transition go smoothly and polishing up the look of the website.

The Courtyard

With the OC Fair behind us, we owe many thanks to Fred Heinecke, Fran Gitsham and all of those who helped make The Courtyard at the OC Fair happen. We broke records this year and had an incredibly successful fundraiser and membership event. 

Annual Business Meeting

For more details on our successes throughout the year, including the Courtyard, please attend the Annual Business Meeting Sept. 6 via Zoom. The OCWS board has found that this format works well for this annual review of the organization’s finances and activities.  Please note that we are adding a new event in October to replace the social aspect of past business meetings.

Board Elections

Each September, we have board elections to replace three outgoing board members.  Candidate statements are posted on our website, and you will have an opportunity to hear them speak at the Annual Business Meeting Sept. 6. Ballots will be emailed in September.  Now is a good time to log on to your account to confirm your email address.

Volunteer Recognition Reception

This Oct. 20, we will hold our first Volunteer Recognition Reception. Please note this is a date change from Sept. 29 to allow us to hold this event in The Courtyard and be able to present the new 2024-2025 Board of Directors. This event replaces the volunteer recognition portion of the Annual Business Meeting. In addition to enjoying appetizers and wine, we will recognize the volunteers who have dedicated so many hours to the organization. Invitations will be sent mid-September to those receiving awards.

Vintage Member Luncheons

We continue to move forward in time with our Vintage Member Luncheons as we prepare for our 50^th Anniversary celebration in 2026. Invitations have been sent out through a join date of 2000. If you joined after 2000, look for your invitation in the future as we work through the list. Invitees are helping us gather stories and information about the organization we are compiling into a book.

Other Events

We have a host of other events for you to attend; Hocus Pocus Fall Social, Bubbles and Brunch at The Cannery, Winemakers’ Group Quarterly Meeting and OCWS Outing at Laguna Canyon Winery coming up.

Closing

To all of you who have contributed to this organization this year, I send my heartfelt thanks.  There are too many to mention here, but I look forward to recognizing you Oct. 20. To those who are new to the organization, thank you for joining us. I welcome you to this incredible organization that will bring you new friends and great memories on your wine journey.  Cheers to all!

Merchandise will be available for sale at the upcoming Fall Social event in October, as well as the New Member Mixer. Aprons and hats (four standard colors) are always available online as they are one size fits most.

But did you know the OCWS logo can 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 off in
the OCWS office. Merchandise also will be available at the upcoming winemaker dinners, January through May.

—Courtney, Merchandise Maven

Pear Tart and Kumquat Cheesecake

Pear Tart

Ingredients

• Crust
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• Filling
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 4 cups peeled pears, sliced thin
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds (This tops the torte beautifully, but I have omitted it often, and it’s still delicious.)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Mix butter, sugar, vanilla, and flour.
2. Press into bottom of a 10-inch-deep dish pie pan.
3. Mix cream cheese, egg, sugar, and vanilla.
4. Pour into pastry-lined pan.
5. Toss together pear, sugar and cinnamon.
6. Arrange over cream cheese mixture as desired.
7. Sprinkle almonds on top.
8. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes and 350 degrees for 25 more minutes. Allow to cool before removing from pan.

—Recipe courtesy Mary Anne & Eberhard Neutz

Kumquat Cheesecake

Crust:

5 1/2 oz graham crackers

2 1/2 oz sugar

4 oz butter

Cheesecake:

1 lb cream cheese

8 oz mascarpone 

6 1/2 oz sugar

3 1/2 oz sour cream

4 eggs

3 oz heavy cream

8 oz slightly warmed kumquat marmalade

Ganache:

8 oz chocolate

6 oz heavy cream

candied kumquat slices

Mix the crumbed graham crackers with the sugar and warm butter until it forms a ball. Spray a 10” cake pan and put parchment paper circle in the bottom. Apply the crumbs firmly and evenly over the bottom. Pre-bake for 5 minutes at 325.

Mix the cream cheese, mascarpone and sugar with a paddle until completely smooth. Scrape sides often. Add sour cream and blend. Add the eggs one at a time, blending well between each egg. Add cream and marmalade and blend thoroughly.

Spray the sides of the cake pan and coat with sugar. Pour onto the prepared crust and place in a water bath. Bake in a 325 oven until set, about 1 1/4 hour. Check with a toothpick in the center until it is clean when removed.  When completely done, let cool completely and remove from the pan. Chill overnight. 

For the ganache, heat the cream in a saucepan almost to a simmer. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Cool slightly and pour over the cheesecake, allowing decorative drips down the side. Place the candied cumquats over the top.

—Recipe courtesy Jim Burk

By Damian J. Christian

OCWS funds scholarships for eight California colleges and universities, including California State University, Fresno, which offers bachelor of science degrees in viticulture and enology. Fresno State has the largest commercial winery on a university campus in the United States with their on-campus estate vineyards, crush facility, barrel and bottling rooms. Fresno State has approximately 150 viticulture and enology students per year and many make wine from grapes grown on campus and also from donated grapes from all over the state. Additionally, Fresno State offers a group of courses covering wine appreciation, beverage marketing and salesmanship under their Hospitality Management degree at  Collins College. Fresno State students are very appreciative of the OCWS support, as many of them work several jobs to make financial ends meet during their studies.

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, 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.

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 66^th 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

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