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.

Jaam Moynihan (left) and Robert Huff take a break from production of their Joseph-Jibril Wines.

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

Congratulations everyone!  Generated during our events, activities and our members volunteering during 2021, the 2022 OCWS Scholarship Fund disbursed $29,202 to eight California colleges and universities. Since 1996, $741,713 has been contributed toward wine education and appreciation.

Thank you for your special donations, and our gratitude to the BOD and committees for being very supportive by promoting college logos at our events everywhere you look. More recently, college students staffed our Wine Auction. The recent An American Picnic Wine Wall generated funds as well. The Featured Winery Program returns to the OC Fair Courtyard, and we know our servers will proudly pour for scholarships, which is the best way you can volunteer.

The Scholarship Committee is expanding with member Colette Hadley who will soon be socially linking you to “our” colleges in connection with their research and upcoming events. This is scholarship season, and we are waiting to hear who our 2022 student recipients will be.

The OCWS celebrates the achievements of the Class of 2022 with cheers for a successful future!

– Leslie Hodowanec, 2022 Scholarship Chair

After enjoying serving on the Scholarship Committee for the past two years, I would like to thank the Board for allowing me to continue into 2022, and I welcome those ideas from our generous members who are becoming creative with expanding the Scholarship Committee.

The CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act) from 2020 has been extended to 2021 and allows for an additional “above the line” tax deduction for 501(c)(3) charitable gifts made in cash up to $300 for those filing single/separately and up to $600 for those filing jointly.

To the member who was at the Fall BBQ while in the food serving line who told me she worked on another scholarship committee, please get ahold of me. I would like to talk to you. I was wearing gloves and couldn’t write down any information. We have another member who has also volunteered to get involved on the scholarship committee. I can be reached at Les@ocws.org.

$12.50 of each membership goes into the scholarship fund, however dual memberships remain at only $12.50. For those members with dual memberships, you may consider donating your dual $12.50 to the OCWS scholarship fund.

Long-time OCWS members have donated wine. We picked up a collector series of Marilyn Merlot wines, and Roadrunner Ridge Winery donated 150+ cases of wine for our Auction, where the funds raised go specifically toward the scholarship account. We are grateful to those who purchased the lots.

Mira Laguna Winery made a contribution from the Willy and Eileen Ma Foundation to the OCWS scholarship foundations, thank you!

Endeared member, Marjorie Trout, who is an established artist and exhibitor also helped raise scholarship funds at our Auction.

Two months until 2022 and we’re wrapping up the OCWS scholarship year. You can see how many ways there are to creatively contribute!  Go to ocws.org/scholarship program, choose your own personal scholarship donation amount and print a receipt for your records (please contact your tax professional for advice).

Enjoy and Happy Holidays everyone!

– Leslie Hodowanec,
Scholarship Chair