By Carolyn Christian

This past month was, like most Junes, an incredibly busy month filled with our two flagship events, the OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition and the OC Fair Home Wine Competition.  As hosts of these competitions, we have hundreds of volunteers working thousands and thousands of hours to make them a success. In an era when other wine competitions are seeing a decline in submissions, our competitions continue to grow.

OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition

This year, the Commercial Competition was held on June 1 and 2, and hosted 88 judges from the wine industry who judged 2,518 California wines (an increase of several hundred over last year). I can’t say enough about the committee members and volunteers, led by Fran Gitsham, who make this incredibly complex event go flawlessly. Results from the competition can be found at WineCompetition.com – this site is a great resource for you to search for your favorite varietals and wine regions at the price point you desire.

OC Fair Home Wine Competition

The Home Wine Competition received 521 entries this year. The judging took place on June 8^t and 78 judges enjoyed not only some incredible home wines, but a fantastic breakfast and lunch prepared by our own Cooks’ Caucus. Kevin Donnelly led the Home Wine Competition committee and volunteers in another successful year. Results from this competition can be viewed at hwcr.ocws.org and an article with more details can be found in this issue.

Wine Defect Identification Workshop

While stewarding at the Commercial Competition, OCWS Member Don Mayer came up with an idea to learn more about wine tasting by comparing the bad bottles identified by the judges from the competition with their good bottle counterpart. Nearly 40 OCWS enjoyed the educational experience, and we hope to make it an annual one. A BIG thank you to Don Mayer and his committee, who put on an amazing event. See his article in this issue about the event for more details.

Courtyard at the OC Fair

With the competitions behind us, it is now time to ramp up for the OC Fair. For decades, OCWS has hosted a booth at the annual fair. Our current location, The Courtyard, allows us to serve award-winning wine, wine by the glass, featured wineries, and wine seminars. Fred Heinecke and Fran Gitsham lead the committee that puts together these marvelous events in The Courtyard. More details on The Courtyard activities is available in this month’s newsletter, including information on volunteering to help with the setup. Also check out Jane Goodnight’s article (Part 1) on the history of the OCWS at the OC Fair.

You Can Help!

So now it is your turn!  In addition to volunteering for our events, there are many ways that you can help support the OCWS and its educational mission.

• Check out WineCompetition.com and use the site to help you purchase wines that won medals at our competition. And share the website with your friends and family as a great resource to find award-winning wines. It is a great way to thank wineries for participating!
• Visit wineries that have won medals and congratulate them! You will probably see their OC Fair medals proudly displayed.
• Come to The Courtyard at the OC Fair. Even if you are not signed up to volunteer, coming to The Courtyard for a glass of wine or tasting award-winning wines is a great way to support the organization. Make sure you check out the Featured Wineries on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and the Wine Seminars on Saturdays and Sundays!

We are so fortunate to have over 1,000 members who help us run so many successful wine events. I hope you will join me in thanking all the committee chairs and members and volunteers who make this organization what it is today. Celebrating 48 amazing years of doing what we do makes us a truly unique organization that I am proud to lead. Thank you for all that you do for the organization. I hope to see you in July and August at the OC Fair so we can raise a toast and share more wine experiences together!

Cheers to you all!

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 48^th 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 50^th 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!

By Carolyn Christian

Spring is finally here and April kicks off our busy season as we host our flagship events. This year we have a particularly busy April, with 10 events to choose from this month alone.

Make sure you read our newsletter and website and review the weekly reminders for details on all the diverse events coming up in the next few months so you don’t miss out!

New starting this month

• Membership Information Verification: You will be receiving an email from us with the information listed in our membership database. Please take a moment to check that the information is correct (your email, name and co-member name, address, join date, whether you are interested in home wine activities, etc. Feel free to reach out to Rochelle or Lynda in the office if you have difficulty updating your profile information.
• New Member Badges: The OCWS is rolling out a new member badge—same logo and look but with the addition of the year you joined. This is part of our effort to showcase and recognize our members and the number of years they have dedicated to our organization.

Thank you to our volunteers!

This organization is run by our volunteers. Each year hundreds of you participate on committees and at events. It warms my heart to see so many people take interest in the well-being of our organization, which is now in its 48^th year! This month, I would like to highlight just a few of those who dedicate their time to running this organization.

First, the Spring Social Committee, chaired by Alice Polser and Betty Jo Newell, is putting together a fun-filled day of food and wine April 6 featuring the incredible cooking of our own Cooks’ Caucus. The Wine Auction team has also been hard at work putting together an amazing event. You will be able to see the fruits of their labor April 20.

Fran Gitsham is heading up the OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition June 1-2 again this year. This event is run by a group of dedicated individuals who work year-round to put on one of our flagship events. Kevin Donnelly is heading up the OC Fair Home Wine Competition June 8, run by another group of volunteers who make another one of our flagship events a huge success.

Fred Heinecke and Fran Gitsham are co-chairing this year’s Wine Courtyard at the OC Fair July 19 to Aug. 18, supported by another team of amazing volunteers.

Hats off to Ed Reyes for heading up the Winemakers Group and a whole series of events to help those interested in learning how to make wine.

And finally, a big shout out to Greg and Cathy Risling – for putting together this amazing newsletter and organizing some great outings at local wineries.

Thank you to all who volunteer for OCWS and make it such an amazing organization!

Future Volunteer Opportunities

All our events require volunteers to keep them running smoothly. If you haven’t already signed up, I highly recommend volunteering for the Commercial and Home Wine Competitions in June and the Wine Courtyard in July and August. These are volunteer opportunities that you can’t find anywhere else. All involve a variety of volunteer positions and provide you with a unique opportunity to meet winemakers and try new wines.

In addition, we invite you to become ambassadors for OCWS and spread the word to all your favorite California wineries about the 2024 OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition. You should have already received an email with four ways you can help get the word out by forwarding our email announcement, taking a copy of the brochure to wineries when you visit them, volunteering to call wineries about entering and tagging us on social media when you visit your favorite wineries or open a bottle of their wine. For more details, about becoming an Ambassador.

I look forward to seeing you all at our many upcoming events! Cheers and Happy Spring!

“Wine and friends are a great blend.” – Ernest Hemingway

 As we roll into March, I am reminded how truly lucky we are as an organization, built on and by volunteers and bound together by our love of wine (and food)! On the one hand, we enjoy wine with loved ones and friends, and on the other hand, we feel strongly about educating people about wine and supporting the California wine industry. They are but two sides of the same lucky coin for us. And this is what makes our organization so unique.

The OC Wine Society has so many types of events, from small gatherings at members’ homes or on Zoom, to larger events such as tastings at hotels, social functions at The Courtyard and wine auctions, to larger public events like the Wine Courtyard at the OC Fair. Each of these events provides us great opportunities to learn about wine, support our scholarship fund, drink and buy wines, and most importantly spend time together!

Volunteers are what make our organization work. It is not easy running an organization with over 1,000 members. And although I proudly lead this organization, I do not do it alone. Behind the scenes are groups of volunteers who keep things running smoothly, from our nine-member board of directors, to official committees that run events, to teams who help with year-round work. There are so many people to thank for their tireless commitment to our organization. Although I don’t have the space to name each and every person, as you read through the newsletter, you will see many of their names and images. You can also find the names of our top volunteers on our website. And next time you are at one of our events, please thank the volunteers you see there.

I invite all of you to volunteer for one or more of our upcoming events.  Doing so will help you get to know other members better, learn more about wine, and even rub elbows with some amazing winemakers.

Here’s a preview of what coming up in the next few months…

Winery Programs –  your chance to meet the winemaker or winery owner and enjoy dinner and a wine tasting at a local hotel – Double Bond Wine (March), San Pasqual Winery (April), San Simeon Wines (April).

Varietal Hours (Every other Monday evening through July) – educational and fun wine tastings via Zoom with informative topics, knowledgeable hosts, and a chance for everyone to share information on what they are drinking. This event goes on hiatus during the OC Fair.

Wine Auction (April) – a great event for a great cause, where you can purchase wine at a fraction of retail.  Tickets include wine and food throughout the event and a chance to bid on great California wines.  Volunteers are needed for this event as well.

Spring Social Event “Let The Good Times Roll” (April) – a celebratory member event with wine, food, music and dancing.

 Pinot Noir Mini-Tasting (April) – an exciting potluck event at members’ homes throughout the OC

 Winemakers’ Events – informative events to help hone your own winemaking skills – Wine Blending Seminar (April), and Kit Wine Class (May).

Bubbles ‘n’ Brunch at the OC Mining Company (May) – a Sunday brunch gathering where members share their favorite bubbly.

OC Fair Commercial and Home Wine Competitions (June) – Our flagship events that make the OCWS such a prestigious organization known throughout California! Please don’t miss your opportunity to volunteer for these amazing competitions!  You won’t regret it.  Preparations begin early for these events.  Watch for eblasts, newsletter announcements and postings on how to get involved!

 Wine Courtyard at the OC Fair (July & August) – Our other claim to fame running the Wine Courtyard for the entire length of the OC Fair with hundreds of volunteers! Make sure you get your RBS certification now and join us behind the counter at the Wine Courtyard!  Volunteering at the Wine Courtyard is one of the best perks of being a member of the OCWS! More information is in this newsletter.

Details for all the events mentioned above can be found in this newsletter and on our website at ocws.org (logon required).  Trouble logging on?  Please contact our office for assistance.

We look forward to seeing you at one of our future events!  Wishing you all the luck in the world this March!

Sláinte (Cheers)!

Carolyn Christian

“Luck is believing you’re lucky!” – Tennessee Williams

Happy New Year to all of you! It’s hard to believe that it is 2024! As we begin another amazing year, I am reminded how truly fortunate we all are. This year promises to be an exceptional year for our organization, as we continue to embrace our traditions and look for ways to improve on what we already do so well. Last year, we welcomed over 300 new members to the organization, including 252 during the OC Fair, and a new steady stream of additions each month thanks to our outreach efforts. And thanks to our New Member Mixers, hosted by Linda Flemins, these new members are volunteering and participating from the start.

Events in 2024

Our first event of the year is part of the Varietal Hour series, now being co-chaired by Don Phillips and George Cravens. This fun-filled happy hour via Zoom began during COVID and has survived with a great group of people attending and sharing their wine knowledge. Regardless of where you are on your wine enthusiast journey, everyone has something to contribute.

We are kicking off the new year with the return of our winery programs, which take place each month, January through May. Rich Skoczylas has done an outstanding job bringing in award-winning wineries from the OC Fair Competition such as Once & Future Wine Company, Bella Grace Vineyards, and more. These events are truly unique to our organization and provide members with an opportunity to hear directly from winemakers and winery owners.

Bubbles ‘n’ Brunch events also begin in January with a visit to Citrus City Grille, an OCWS favorite. This event always sells out and Rochelle Randel has done a great job finding locations for us to enjoy an amazing brunch with our favorite sparkling wines.

In 2023 we started organizing outings at local wineries in the OC, which will continue this year with a visit to DeFalco Family Wine in February and March. Space for these events is limited and the events sell out, so sign up early!

Mini-Tastings are also an OCWS favorite, with culinary delights from our own members, and a special curated wine selection, expertly organized by George Cravens, all hosted at members’ homes, for a truly intimate and amazing experience. George has already scheduled a tasting for February to compare old world and new world wines.

Don’t forget to mark your calendars for April 20, our annual Wine Auction, featuring entries from the 2023 OC Fair Commercial Competition. Wine can be purchased for a fraction of the retail price, and the event is a fun way to spend the day with your OCWS friends! This is one of our major fund-raisers for the year and supports our educational programs and scholarship program.

The OC Fair Commercial and Home Wine competitions are our two flagship events. 2024 will be our 48^th year hosting the events! Fran Gitsham and Kevin Donnelly, respectively, will be leading dedicated teams that run these events like well-oiled machines. Watch the newsletter and emails for your opportunity to volunteer and participate in these events. If you have never volunteered for the competitions, I highly recommend doing so. Both competitions are unique experiences that will deepen your wine knowledge while having fun!

On the heels of the wine competitions is the Wine Courtyard at the OC Fair, our top fundraiser of the year. The Courtyard is the place where a majority of our members learned about the OCWS, and it continues to be a great place to do outreach. Fran Gitsham and Fred Heinecke will be chairing the Courtyard, with Rich Skoczylas handling volunteers. We always need hundreds of volunteers to pull off this event, so please sign-up when you see the information posted.

The Winemakers’ Group has been an integral part of the OCWS since its inception. Watch for articles on upcoming events such as their Quarterly Potluck or Winemaking Classes. Ed Reyes chairs this group that loves to share their winemaking knowledge and home wines with others.

OCWS has its share of social events, including the Spring and Fall Socials and Holiday Dinner Dance (already scheduled for December 6th). These events bring together what OCWS does best, food, wine, music, and dancing! Alice Polser and Betty Jo Newell will be co-chairing the socials.

We also will continue to participate in public wine events in the OC area, under the coordination of Sue England and Kevin Donnelly. If you hear of upcoming wine events, feel free to let them know.

New in 2024, we are working on a volunteer recognition event to show appreciation for all of the hours our members donate to the organization. Stay tuned for more information in the near future.

Call to Action

So what does all of this mean for you?  Check the newsletter, website and weekly 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.

I look forward to working with you all in 2024 to continue this organization’s amazing journey on our way to our 50th anniversary!

As I reflect back on this remarkable year, I am reminded of just how amazing this organization is, not just because of the astounding things we accomplish as an all-volunteer organization, but because of the wonderful people who make it happen.

We are an organization of over 1,000 individuals who are drawn together by our love and appreciation of wine. I am truly honored to be at the helm of such an amazing group of people who are so dedicated to this organization and help steer it in the right direction. After more than three decades of being an OCWS member, it warms my heart to see the ongoing commitment of so many to this incredibly unique nonprofit.

Magnitude of our Impact

Our organization has donated over $780,000 to college and universities that are training the next generation of enologists, viticulturalists and culinary professionals. There is still an opportunity to donate to our scholarship fund before the end of the year (donations are eligible for tax deductions). You can bring your check to one of our holiday events or go online to donate and generate a receipt.

Success of OCWS Events

This was our 47^th year hosting the OC Fair Commercial and Home Wine competitions. The Commercial Competition judged 2,260 California wines, while the Home Wine Competition judged 598 California wines. We also sold over 1,200 lots of wine at our annual wine auction. Over 360 volunteers made this year’s competitions and auction successful with a record number of new members volunteering.

We also have touched the lives and shared our wine knowledge with tens of thousands of people at the OC Fair and brought in over 250 new members to the OCWS. The Courtyard continues to be an incredibly successful venture for the organization.

New this Year

We started doing OCWS Outings events at our local wineries in the OC with great success. Our events have included the continuation of an incredible array of wineries showcasing their wines at the Winery Programs, Featured Winery Program, Mini-Tastings and Varietal Hours.

Thanks to our Volunteers

I am so thankful to our Board of Directors, whose leadership of our many events make my job so rewarding. We have a number of new faces this year taking on leadership roles for our many events and committees (see the Responsibilities List on our website).

As you enjoy the various holiday events that the OCWS has planned for December, please take time to look around at the attendees who also volunteer their time to put together events. It is our members who make us what we are today.

Looking Forward to 2024

We have so many exciting things in store, including starting off the year with a Bubbles n’ Brunch at  Citrus City Grille in Orange and a winery program featuring Once & Future Wine Company run by Joel Peterson, a longtime supporter of our organization. I urge you to look at the newsletter and emails announcing our various events and sign up early, as they often sell out.

Celebrating OCWS History

We have launched a new project to gather and archive the organization’s history as we approach our 50^th anniversary within the next few years. Please help us in preserving our amazing history by donating requested items such as old newsletters prior to 2000, photos and video, event programs, wine award books and other memorabilia (we will be putting out calls for specific items in the newsletter).

I encourage all of you to volunteer for upcoming events and be part of the magic-making that occurs with the OCWS.

Grateful for All Members

I wish all of you a most joyous holiday season, whatever holidays you, your family and your friends celebrate. We have much to be grateful for. I find it no coincidence that when people toast, it is usually with a glass of wine, and for the OCWS, wine is truly the elixir that brings us together in one amazing organization. Happy holidays and Happy New Year to all!

As I begin my term as your new president, I am thankful for the many OCWS leaders who have come before me and I am humbled by the dedication and determination of so many who have helped maintain the OCWS as a viable and active organization.

In my first President’s Message, I would like to outline my goals for this next year. They are an extension of my marketing work with the organization and serving as vice president this past year.

First, I would like to continue the vision of my predecessor, Fran Gitsham, for a cohesive and kind organization focused on wine as a shared interest. With so much negativity and divisiveness in the world, I believe it is more important than ever to focus on what we have in common, and for the OCWS, it is the enthusiasm for wine and sharing our knowledge and appreciation that brings us together.

My second goal is to continue to keep the organization financially successful. I am very proud of how our organization pulled together and weathered a period that other organizations found so challenging. We have come out of it stronger and more resilient.

Next, I would like to increase our member involvement and engagement with more volunteers to share the work that we do and higher event attendance. I would also like to see our new members become more involved during their first year. We have already started to engage new members and you will see several new names on the List of Responsibilities this year. You also will see more opportunities to provide us with feedback in the months to come.

As someone who joined the OCWS in my 20s, I know the importance of attracting younger members to keep the organization vibrant and resilient. You will see some new ideas added to our existing offerings to help attract a new generation of wine enthusiasts. We will continue to participate in community events and bring in new members throughout the year, in addition to our annual recruitment during the OC Fair.

Another focus for me this year will be highlighting the Winemakers’ Group. You probably have already heard that our organization began with the home winemakers in the 1970s and they have grown with the organization over our 45+ year history. It is my hope that all OCWS members will be exposed to the incredible wines that our Winemakers’ Group members are making and that the group will find new students to mentor within the organization at large.

As marketing chair, I have been working to communicate with wineries about our amazing wine competition. Over the next year, you will see a concerted effort from the marketing committee to develop a comprehensive package of benefits for wineries entering the competition including added exposure to our members and the Southern California wine market.

Finally, as we near the 50^th anniversary of the OCWS and the 50^th Commercial Wine Competition, my goal this year is to begin plans for these celebrations with anniversary events and souvenir items.

In addition to my goals, I would also like to share exciting news about the 2023-24 OCWS Board of Directors. Last month, the Board announced a one-year appointment opportunity. After carefully considering the qualifications of seven amazing candidates who applied, the board chose Sue England to fill the open vacancy. We are all thrilled to welcome Sue to the board and I hope you will join us in congratulating her on her new role within the organization. She brings many years of experience in nonprofit management and has worked on several committees and in many volunteer positions with the OCWS.

I am so enthusiastic about the upcoming year and hope that you will join me in promoting the OCWS to prospective members and wineries. This year’s List of Responsibilities has been posted on our website and I invite you to review the list and contact the committee chairs if you are interested in participating. I am grateful to be able to share my vision and lead this organization that has been part of my life for over 37 years. I welcome your input and feedback and hope you will renew your commitment to this amazing all-volunteer organization that brings us all together in the name of wine and wine education.

Cheers to you all!

Carolyn Christian

I’m so very proud to have been your president for a third term this past year and, although I am no longer the president, I will continue to be as engaged in volunteering for the OCWS as I’ve ever been. My heartfelt thanks go out to all of you who had confidence and trust in me leading the organization, for all your kind words of encouragement and appreciation and the smiles and hugs that sustained me.

On September 8^th, I had the honor to help present the state of the organization by way of our annual business meeting on Zoom. For those of you who tuned in, thank you for your interest in the workings and for wanting to know where we have been and where we have now come to over the past two years.  If you were unable to join us, a recording of the meeting can be found on our website for your viewing.

One of the honors the president has annually is to present the President’s Award to an outstanding volunteer who has gone over and above during that year. This was, hands down, the hardest decision I had to make this year, and after much internal deliberation and debate, I just couldn’t decide between two people. Hence, at the end of my final term as president, I broke with precedence and awarded the President’s Award to two people who both gave so much of themselves during the 2022-23 board year and the years leading up to this past year.

Teri Lane undertook, what is considered, one of the most challenging, detailed, time-consuming and important roles in the workings of the Commercial Wine Competition, that of heading the wine cataloging. She, in addition, worked with hundreds of volunteers to assure their RBS certification and approval by the fair board to work at the 2023 Courtyard at the OC Fair.

Leslie Hodowanec, for the past five years, has been our scholarship chairperson, which is no small feat. Additionally, she devotes an extraordinary amount of time spearheading the set-up and tear-down of the Courtyard for the fair and, in her spare time, undertook leading the cleaning, purging and organizing of the society’s two 40’ storage containers.

It has been my pleasure to work with both Leslie and Teri and my honor to have awarded each of them the 2023 President’s Award.

I am but one of many presidents who have led the OCWS over the last 48 years and will always be proud to be associated with each and every person who has lent their hands to make us what we are today — a dedicated, talented, heartwarming, caring group of individuals that, as a whole, continue to move to successes and heights never imagined. THANK YOU all for giving me the opportunity to have the fortunate of being among the leaders of the OCWS!  I look forward to many more years of volunteering and crossing paths with all of you.

Fran Gitsham

As a three-time president of the OCWS, chair of The Courtyard for the past 12 years and now chair of the Commercial Wine Competition, among other things, one might think I am anything from passionate and committed to a workaholic to someone who should have her head examined. Although I am, in many ways, all of these things, the one description that comes to my mind is selfish.

Selfish because it makes me so happy to have been blessed with the opportunities this organization has afforded me.

I have been a member for 23 years, nine of which I have spent on the Board of Directors. I have crossed paths with hundreds of people I otherwise would never have met in life. I have laughed, cried, argued and worked side by side with the most amazing people from every walk of life, ages 20s through 90s; every race, religion, political affiliation and anything else you can think of; people whose hands and hearts I have had the pleasure and honor to hold and, in turn, they held mine. I have met people with whom I have spent only time volunteering with at OCWS events and people who have now become my dearest friends for, what I pray, is the rest of my life.

If the entire world could only be what this organization is—comprised of caring, loving, compassionate and dedicated people—the world would be a much kinder and happier place. This is what makes the OCWS a success. You, our members are what makes the OCWS a success in so many ways.

Although I am not going anywhere soon (that I am aware of!), my presidency is coming to an end and this is my chance to be selfish again and stand on a soapbox to express my heartfelt love and sincere appreciation for the wine society, all of you, and the opportunity to be so very fulfilled and happy.

THANK YOU for all your support and your confidence in me. And, please, don’t ever forget, I selfishly still love hugs.

—Fran Gitsham

Another One For The Record Books

The 47^th Annual OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition was held June 3 and 4 at the Hilton Hotel in Costa Mesa. The amazing weekend found upward of 90 professional winemakers and winery principals judging 2,260 wines.

The Competition Committee worked tirelessly for the prior nine months to make this happen and will now have just enough time to take a deep breath before beginning again this September in anticipation of the 2024 competition.

As the competition chair, as well as the current organization president, THANK YOUs from me are not worthy enough words to express my appreciation, coupled with my awe and respect for the following committee members who put their hearts, sweat and tears into making this competition a reality and a raving success:

• Kevin Coy, Director of Judges
• Rochelle Randel, Judges’ Liaison
• Teri & John Lane, Wine Cataloging Leads
• Bill Redding, Facilities Coordinator
• Robyn & Dean Strom, Volunteer Coordinators
• Chris Bruce, Scoring Verification Supervisor
• Dave Stancil, Data Entry Supervisor
• Stacey Taylor, Competition Software and Results Website Creator and Mentor
• Greg Hagadorn, Wine Sort and Move Coordinator
• Dave White, Wine Bagging Coordinator
• Carol Frank & Sam Puzzo, Label/Bottle Competition Coordinators
• Carolyn Christian, Marketing
• George Cravens, Assistant Extraordinaire in Everything

Although, not technically on the committee roster, I would be remiss if I did not give a shout out to:

• Helga Hrowel, Judges’ Scoring Coordinator
• Jane Goodnight, Assistant to Director of Judges

And to the hundreds of volunteers who stewarded, manned the kitchen, dried glasses, verified scores, verified and entered data, coordinated judges’ food, etc., etc.

Every year I continue to be amazed at what a cohesive, accommodating and hard-working committee we have and one that makes me feel great about what we accomplish as a team. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to everyone who had anything to do with the resounding success of the competition and for personally holding mine and each other’s hands and hearts!

For competition results check out WineCompetition.com and look to enjoy the fruits of the winemakers’ labors.

—Fran Gitsham, President & 2023 Commercial Wine Competition Chair