Category: Scholarship News

OCWS funds scholarships for eight California colleges and universities, including California State Polytechnic University, Pomona or CalPoly Pomona. CalPoly Pomona (CPP) supports California wine making with a beverage program that spans three colleges and includes a campus vineyard, called Horsehill Vineyard, which is a collaborative wine project between CPP and South Coast Winery. The vineyard was planted with clippings provided in 2001 by the late Don Galleon, who served as one of our commercial wine competition judges for many years. Growing and harvesting campus grapes are part of the College of Ag’s plant and soil science majors. The label design for the wine made from these grapes is part of the visual arts in the College of Environmental Design. CPP also teaches wine appreciation, beverage marketing and salesmanship in a group of courses in the Hospitality Management degree at the Collins College. The CPP students are very appreciative of the OCWS support to help 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  PO 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.

Each year, the OCWS donates thousands of dollars to eight California educational institutions that have enology, viticulture, wine marketing and culinary arts programs. To date, we have donated over $828,000 over the last several decades.

Scholarship funds come from various sources. Since we are in the midst of the OC Fair, I wanted to highlight how our volunteer work in The Courtyard helps the scholarship fund. First, any tips received at The Courtyard counter go directly to the OCWS Scholarship Fund. Additionally, the proceeds from the Featured Winery Program also go to the Scholarship Fund.

The Featured Winery Program was started several years ago by Liz and Lloyd Corbett and has taken off over the past few years, with representatives from numerous award-winning wineries enthusiastically sharing their wines for this worthy cause. In 2023, the program brought in approximately $16,000 for the Scholarship Fund.

In addition to funds from The Courtyard at the OC Fair, we also accept individual donations for the scholarship fund. There is still time to donate to the OCWS Scholarship Fund for 2024, and there are two ways to donate:

Donate Today

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 – Log on to your account at ocws.org, and go to the scholarship donation page: ocws.org/product/scholarship-donations/ or click here. You can make your donation online and print a receipt for tax purposes at the same time.

— By Damian J. Christian

OCWS funds scholarships for eight California colleges and universities, including Allan Hancock College (AHC), which offers multiple degrees and certificates in viticulture, enology, wine and food pairing, and wine business. AHC’s viticulture & enology programs typically has about 120 students per year and has a four-acre “practice” vineyard in Santa Maria. Recently, AHC Winery won Best of Class in the 2024 OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition for their 2022 Pinot Noir Rosé (90 points).

In May, I had the good fortune to attend the 2024 Scholarship Awards Ceremony at AHC. The OCWS scholarship was distributed to three students. and we met with one of them, Jacob Tobin. Jacob became very interested in winemaking after reading the books his mother had from an online wine course during the pandemic and he has graduated with his degree in enology this year. He shared with us that he helped make the 2021 Malbec that earned a Double Gold at last year’s OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition. Jacob (shown in photo) will continue his studies at Fresno State this fall and greatly appreciated the OCWS support.

The 2024 recipients for the OCWS Scholarships at AHC are:

• Paul Heald
• Scott Melton
• Jacob Tobin (pictured)

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 Christian, OCWS Scholarship Chair

OCWS funds scholarships for eight California colleges and universities including Napa Valley College. Napa Valley College has two locations, one in Napa and a second upper campus in St. Helena. As a community college, they offer the standard two-year associates degree and a one-year wine production certificate. Their Viticulture and Winery Technology (VWT) program is one of the largest in the country with an annual enrollment of 800 to 1,000 students, a five-acre vineyard and a commercial winery.

The certificates in viticulture and winery technology consist of production-oriented courses in viticulture and winemaking. Many of the students at Napa Valley actively work in the wine industry while taking classes. This month students in the wine program are getting ready to bottle their 2023 Sauvignon Blanc. All the wine produced is made from grapes grown on their five-acre vineyard located on the Napa Valley College campus. They produce between 500 and 700 cases annually. You can even join their wine club featuring student-made wines.

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 Christian, Scholarship Chair

OCWS funds scholarships for eight California colleges and universities, including Sonoma State University in Santa Rosa. Unlike some of the other institutions we support that focus on viticulture and enology, Sonoma State University focuses on the business side of the wine industry with its Wine Business Institute.

The Wine Business Institute was formed in 1996 as a partnership between the wine industry and the School of Business and Economics at Sonoma State University. WBI offers undergraduate degrees, an MBA and an Executive MBA. The program currently has 85 undergraduate and 55 graduate students. It also offers industry certifications in such areas wine industry finance and accounting, wine business management and wine entrepreneurship.

The program awards about 350 professional certificates each year. For all its degrees, WBI aims to give students real world experience in the wine industry. It also is an official member of the Viticulture and Enology Science and Technology Alliance National Center of Excellence. VESTA consists of 17 university and two-year programs across the country with the goal of VESTA of providing students with a foundation of the science, mathematics and technology skills needed for a productive career in the grape and wine industry.

WBI is very excited and appreciative of the OCWS scholarship contributions to their program. They recently invited several OCWS board members to their alumni gathering at Brewery X in Anaheim.

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 – Complete your check using the same instructions as above, 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 J. Christian, Scholarship Chair

 California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo has a wine and viticulture program in their College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. This program is the largest in the nation and combines the study of cultivating wine grapes with the study of wines, winemaking and the wine business.

 The campus has a 14-acre vineyard for students to practice successful strategies needed to understand all aspects of winemaking in the fertile California coastal region. Students also learn about beverage compliance and understanding the many complex rules and regulations of the industry.

 Many of Cal Poly’s students have gone on to work as winery founders and owners, viticulturists, enologists, production assistants and cellar workers, as well as, many other areas of management and marketing associates.

 The OCWS support of the Cal Poly Program is greatly appreciated and in 2023 the OCWS contributed $5100 to their general scholarship fund in the wine and viticulture program.

 Each month we will be highlighting one of the colleges or universities supported by the OCWS scholarship fund.

Just a friendly reminder there is always time to make a donation to the OCWS Scholarship Fund for 2024. There are two ways to donate:

1.     Mail a check – Complete your check using the same instructions as above, 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 J. Christian, OCWS Scholarship Chair

Just a friendly reminder that it is not too late to make a donation to the OCWS Scholarship Fund in 2023.  There are several ways to donate:

1. Bring a check to a holiday event – Make your check out to OCWS (please write Scholarship Donation on the memo line and add the name of a specific school, if you want it to go to only one of the schools supported). I will be in attendance at the holiday events and will be happy to accept your donation check. A donation letter will be sent to you.
2. Mail a check – Complete your check using the same instructions as above 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.
3. 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 Christian, OCWS Scholarship Chair

Scholarship Success – Story by Greg Risling

In a state overflowing with an abundance of wine, who doesn’t dream of dipping their toes in the world of winemaking?

For Robert Huff, that aspiration became reality thanks, in some small measure, to a $1,200 scholarship from the Orange County Wine Society.

Huff, 39, was studying at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, trying to cover his tuition and other expenses while splitting his time between school and working part time at a restaurant. Fortunately, he was awarded an OCWS scholarship that helped him graduate in 2017 with a degree in wine and viticulture.

“I was willing to learn whatever I could,” Huff says. “At Cal Poly SLO, I built a good base of wine research and how to solve problems, which has been helpful in my career. I learned in the winemaking industry there is no one size that fits all.”

Every year, OCWS awards scholarships at eight California colleges to aspiring students studying enology, viticulture, wine marketing or culinary arts.

The Santa Rosa native went on to work at esteemed Pinot Noir producer Kosta Browne, where he landed one of two prized internship positions out of a pool of 17 applicants. There, he learned the tools of the trade, eventually becoming cellar master, where he dabbled with high-end fruit and had the freedom to experiment.

For the past two years, Huff has been with Marine Layer Wines, a Sonoma winery that focuses on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. He now serves as assistant winemaker, running a 350-ton production facility.

Huff also has been afforded a side project: Joseph-Jibril Wines. Using both Huff and partner’s Jaam Moynihan’s middle names, they have been blessed to make their own wine. Their first vintage was a 2021 carbonic Pinot Noir and a 2021 Rose of Pinot Noir.

This year they plan to add an organic Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc to their portfolio.

Huff realizes he is fortunate to do what he loves the most and has some parting advice for those who want to be part of a flourishing industry and may need to rely on scholarships like the ones OCWS provides.

“Do your research and find the curriculum that has the most to offer,” he says. “Exploring all your options is helpful and putting in that little bit of extra work – especially finding available scholarships – will help you in the long run.”

To date, OCWS has awarded more than $740,000 through its scholarship program. In 2022, OCWS gave nearly $30,000 to eight institutions.

Although funds for the Scholarship Account come from several sources all year long, the funds I know you want to hear about are what “you” our members generated at The Courtyard this year! It was due to all our members who volunteered at the Fair that took the time to explain to the public about our colleges and universities while pouring with a smile that made this a very special year.

The OCWS was fortunate this year because we hung extra signage as reminders to all who entered The Courtyard, and we were able to place “tip” jars visible on the counters for the first very time.

Another huge reason was because of Liz and Lloyd Corbett and Betty Jo and Jay Newell who staffed and served at the new Featured Winery bar over countless hours, and managed all the participating wineries with those funds going toward the Scholarship Account. To them and to each of the wineries that supported this program, THANK YOU for your wine appreciation and education, and your excellent contributions!

Over $19,000 was donated from our “tip” jars on the counters alone, and over $15,000 was generated from the Featured Winery  Program.The total scholarship funds generated from The Courtyard at the 2022 OC Fair exceeded $34,500.

Thank you to The Courtyard Committee, to the Board of Directors and to Charles English for the extra help. The 2023 scholarship distribution proposal will be submitted to the Board for approval early next year.

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO DONATE!!  Go to our ocws.org Scholarship page and you can choose any amount to donate to your choice of college or university, and you can print a receipt for your records. 35,000 thanks!

 – Leslie Hodowanec, 2022 Scholarship Committee Chair