OCWS
The Rhone Rangers, a hearty group of “unmasked” West Coast winemakers and wine growers focusing their efforts on Rhone varietals, was formed in the early 1980s. Their goal is to promote the Rhone varietals grown in the U.S. and educate the wine drinking public on the enjoyment of drinking these wines. The American-grown Rhone clones are from grape varietals that have been grown for centuries in France’s Rhone River Valley. Let’s test your knowledge of the Rhone Valley, their grapes and wine.
Last month’s Mini Tasting was designed to pit similar wines from France and Italy head to head to see if there was a clear preference of one country over the other. As the table below shows, the results were inconclusive from a total preference; however, when matched up 1A versus 1B, 2A versus 2B, etc., the Italian wine won four of the five matchups, with only the French Champagne outscoring the Italian Franciacorta by a wide margin.
What the results did show was a clear preference for the red blends as the two outscored the combined total of the other eight wines. In fact, seven of the eight sites selected either 4A or 4B as their highest ranked wine with five of the eight sites selecting 4A or 4B as the 2nd highest ranked. The night’s winner, Tenuta San Jacopo, Orma del Diavolo, from Tuscany, is made up of 50% Sangiovese, 30% Merlot, and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. This is in contrast to our second highest rated wine from Bordeaux, France, Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion, 2016, which is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 8% Cabernet Franc.
For this event, a total of 120 members participated across eight host sites. Hopefully, everyone enjoyed an evening with wines from some of the most famous regions in the world. For our next Mini Tasting on June 28, our expert judges will be comparing wines from the California Coast against wines produced using Inland wineries.
| Round | Wine | Brand | Country | Year | Price | Total |
| 4A | Red Blend | Tenuta San Jacopo Orma del Diavolo – Tuscany | Italy | 2018 | $ 34.00 | 170 |
| 4B | Red Blend | Chateau Larrivet Haut Brion – Bordeaux | France | 2016 | $ 50.00 | 140 |
| 1B | Vermentino | Tenuta Valdifalco | Italy | 2023 | $ 15.00 | 62 |
| 5B | Champagne | Lassalle | France | $ 39.00 | 48 | |
| 1A | Sancerre | Domaine Eric Louis | France | 2023 | $ 23.00 | 40 |
| 3A | Barolo | Tenuta Carretta | Italy | 2019 | $ 36.00 | 36 |
| 3B | Burgundy | Bourgogne Rouge Ch D’Ardhuy | France | 2022 | $ 23.00 | 32 |
| 2B | Falanghina | Campi Valerio Fanna | Italy | 2023 | $ 16.00 | 32 |
| 2A | Chardonnay | Saint Veran, Domaine Poncetys | France | 2021 | $ 27.00 | 10 |
| 5A | Franciacorta | Barone Pizzini – Golf | Italy | $ 38.00 | 10 |
One of the organizational values and goals of the Orange County Wine Society is to provide quality wine education and experiences to its members without marking up the pricing of events to make a “profit” off its members. As a nonprofit organization, we work very hard to fulfill our mission of supporting wine education for our members, the public, and the future generation of winemakers. In the spirit of being transparent, we wanted to share with you the recent challenges for our organization with regard to expenses.
OCWS was able to weather the recent pandemic through a variety of strategies including cutting back on costs and moving programming online. We survived what was a difficult period for many nonprofit organizations. Coming out of the pandemic, we have seen several factors that have led to substantial increases in the cost of doing business, especially those in the following areas:
We are sharing this information with our membership so that there is a clear understanding of the cost increase in dues and events. Please know that the Board of Directors is doing everything in its power to control costs and minimize cost increases for our members. All events are setup to break even, except for The Courtyard and Wine Auction, our two biggest fundraising events during the year. We appreciate your support as we manage the organization through fiscally challenging times and remain committed to the organization’s mission.
—Carolyn Christian, OCWS President
When winemaker Richard Krumwiede opened up the email from the Sunset Magazine International Wine Competition, he thought it was a joke.
He was informed that his 2017 Grenache has taken the top prize in the competition, beating out 2,700 other entries.
Not bad for the recently retired landscape architect whose humble beginnings as a home winemaker winning gold medals at the Orange County Home Wine Competition has budded into running a commercial wine operation that is well regarded among those familiar with Krumwiede’s operation.
Krumwiede owns Sycamore Ranch Vineyard and Winery in Crestline, nestled in the San Bernardino Mountains, just outside Lake Arrowhead. This year marks the winery’s 10th anniversary. Krumwiede admits the accolades that have followed have been somewhat stunning but appreciated.
“It’s been a flight path steadily gaining altitude on confidence,” he said over a glass of wine in his Crestline tasting room. “I think the vintages have improved over the years. No one has been more surprised than my wife and me.”
Long gone are the days when Krumwiede’s knowledge of wine amounted to drinking Boone’s Farm. His introduction to wine came at the hands of his father-in-law who taught wine appreciation classes at Ambassador College in Pasadena.
Krumwiede and his wife, Elizabeth, began going on trips to Santa Barbara wine county; his interest only grew from there.
“I really started to become kind of infatuated with how all these flavors could come from just the grape,” he said. “It was really interesting to me.”
After moving to Crestline, he later bought a 3½ acre lot that was home to 100-year-old apple orchards. He began making cider but saw the potential of planting vineyards on the property – albeit at 4,576 feet above altitude.
He planted 60 vines each of Zinfandel and Syrah and the first vintage was marginal at best (since then his co-fermented red blend aptly named Altitude 4576 is one of the winery’s higher prices wines).
After a chance encounter meeting with Ted Plemons and Steve Cass, owners of Cass Winery in Paso Robles, at a wine pairing dinner in Lake Arrowhead, Krumwiede learned from the pair that co-opting wine might be a good way to broaden his horizon.
Between 2012 and 2014, Krumwiede purchased grapes from Cass and Sculpterra Winery and that sought-after affirmation winemakers seek began trickling in. He received gold medals from the OCWS Home Wine Competition.
He then thought about turning his hobby into a business but knew he needed his wife’s approval.
“I talked to Elizabeth about going commercial and she said, ‘Sure why not?’’’ he quipped. “She told me later she thought I would fail and that I would make terrible wine and that’s why she said OK.”
The goal has always remained the same: to make the best wine possible, and Krumwiede continues to knock it out of the park. Besides earning the “Best of the Best” by Sunset Magazine, his 2019 Mourvedre received the highest score ever – 99 points – at the OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition.
Nearly all of the grapes – save the on-property Zin and Syrah – are from the Santa Ynez Valley, known for its exceptional Rhone varietals. Krumwiede initially made 400 cases of wine and about 100 cases of cider. The 2024 vintage will mean 1,000 cases of wine and 500 cases of cider for release this year.
“I don’t want to get this winery over 2,500 cases a year of wine and cider,” he said. “I want to continue to stay ultra-focused on making the best wine we can versus mass consumer appeal.”
Mother Nature always poses a challenge for winemakers but Krumwiede has a little more to worry about given his location. Frost at the beginning of bud break and freezing temperatures toward the end of harvest in early November are usually the main culprits but there can be unforeseen circumstances.
“Animal control is a big one,” Krumwiede said. “Ten years ago, the bears discovered the vineyards and came bulldozing through the fence every night and ate all the grapes so we put an electrified fence around the two vineyards.”
All of which is to say is that his two biggest lessons he’s learned when making wine is having patience and trust.
“Patience in not overreacting when you think you have a problem,” Krumwiede added. “Trusting that time will be on your side if you treat the grapes right.”
Most of his wines can be found in the bottle shops, grocery stores and restaurants in the mountain communities. However, he’s hoping to make a dent in similar locations in Southern California and finding a home in taprooms with his cider.
For now, those who visit Sycamore Ranch’s tasting room are treated to either an indoor or outdoor experience that is quaint and unrushed. Guests can opt to taste a flight of ciders or five to six wines; the tasting fee is waived if two or more bottles of wine are purchased.
Krumwiede appreciates the recognition his wines have received both from the public and competitions he enters.
“I like the fact that, and most winemakers will tell you whether it’s merited or not, for whatever reason you get treated a little bit like a rock star by the people who come to drink wine and it’s a bit of a mystery to them about the whole process and how you do it,” Krumwiede said. “I’ve looked at this as a pleasurable business because people coming to drink wine are generally celebrating or with friends. They are there to have a nice time.”
By Carolyn Christian
It is hard to believe that we are in the third month of the year already. In my President’s Message this month, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize many of the unsung heroes of the Orange County Wine Society. Most of you are familiar with our nine board members who oversee our events and programming, but there are also many others who work on events and committees, deserving recognition.
In preparation for the Wine Auction coming up next month, a group of dedicated volunteers under the direction of former president and board member Bill Redding, are working each week to pull over 1,000 lots of wine for you to bid on. That’s over 4,000 bottles of wine! Assisting in these efforts is Kevin Coy, who serves as our cellarmaster.
If you are reading this article, then you are experiencing The Wine Press, our monthly newsletter put together expertly by Greg and Cathy Risling. They are continuing a great tradition that began in the 1980s. Hats off to them for wrangling content and articles from the many individuals who contribute to each issue.
A shout out to our photographer Jim Burk, who attends events with his camera in tow. In addition to taking photos of our events, he also chairs the photography committee, which decides the monthly winner for the photo contest. If you haven’t entered any of your wine-related photos yet, you should really consider doing so.
The OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition Committee started work on the 2025 edition a few months ago, and they too put in many hours to make our competition one of the largest in the nation. Fran Gitsham oversees the competition crew, and my heartfelt thanks goes out to her and everyone on her team for the work they do almost year-round to maintain our flagship event.
Another group of warriors who puts in thousands of hours each year are the cataloguing crew under the direction of Teri and John Lane. Without them, we would not have a Commercial Wine Competition.
A few years ago, I started developing a marketing team to help promote our organization and it has grown significantly over the years. Our organization has so many members with years of experience in their respective fields. I call the team the “Marketing Mavens” and this group works behind the scenes drafting e-blasts and social media posts, creating marketing materials like brochures and postcards and developing new ways to promote the OCWS and all that we do. I send a special personal thank you to all of them for helping us promote our brand.
From the membership committee comes the new OCWS Friends Program. Headed by Alice Polser, this program will pair seasoned OCWS members with new members to help them feel more comfortable at events. I am really excited about the possibilities with this program. Look for more information over the next few months.
When I first joined the OCWS in 1986, our office was constantly buzzing with activity. Over the last several years, we have moved online for many of our functions and meetings. But one constant is our office and paid staff who keep the organization running smoothly. A big thank you to our staff: Lynda Edwards and Rochelle Randel, who keep us organized and handle the day-to-day operations; Charles English, who helps keep our finances in order and Wendy Taylor, who manages our website and online presence. A special thank you to Stacey Taylor, who has helped us with website upgrades and special projects over the past few years.
The Winemakers’ Group can be credited with starting the OCWS back in 1976. Thanks to Ed Reyes, who has been heading this group for the past few years. They carry on the great tradition of mentoring new winemakers and making some great wines. If you have any interest in making wine, check out their events and classes, or just reach out to them for information and assistance on making wine.
There are literally hundreds of volunteers and without them we would not exist. I have only mentioned a few here, but please know that I see and appreciate each one of you. I am always thrilled at each event to see the level of commitment and pride each one of you has in this organization. We’ve been going for 49 years, and you, our volunteers, are the reason why.
The number of volunteer opportunities with OCWS is endless. Consider volunteering at one of our events for set-up, check-in, pouring wine or clean-up. We have dozens of volunteer opportunities for our larger events as well. The Wine Auction, OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition, OC Fair Home Wine Competition and The Courtyard at the OC Fair have both active and sedentary volunteer positions. These events provide unique experiences to learn more about wine, meet OCWS members and winemakers and share in the organization’s success.
To volunteer for an event, please check the event articles posted online for instructions on how to volunteer or contact the event chair.
I look forward to seeing you at one of our future events. Cheers to you all!
When you are attending Orange County Wine Society functions, look for the white ribbons on the name tags. The white ribbon will be on the member’s name tags if they joined the OCWS within the last few months. We are using the white ribbon to make it easier for all members to know who is newer. For each event, we will match the attendees to the membership roster and identify the new members. During check-in, these members will be given the white ribbon to adhere to their name tag. The ribbons are easily removed and will not damage the name tag,
When you identify a new member by the white ribbon, please take the opportunity to say hi! So often we want to reach out and welcome new members, but we don’t know who they are. This gives us an easy way to identify and welcome them.
It is always fun to find out why people are interested in the OCWS. Are they Home Winemakers? Have they traveled many places and tasted wines? Do they have a favorite California Winemaker? Does that Winemaker enter our Wine Competition? Did they join during the Fair because we all looked like we enjoyed serving? Or, do they just like to drink wine? Our new members are so varied and interesting. What a wonderful time to learn about them.
Are you a new member who is looking for other new members? The white ribbon makes it easier for to identify them and form new friendships.
So look for for the white ribbons and introduce yourself!
Alice Polser- Membership Member Liaison
There are sparkling wines and still wines. There are red, white and rose wines. There are wines made from North American native grapes, wines made from hybrid grapes and wines made from fruit other than grapes. And there are wines that are made in a style that addresses current-day trends and the subsequent market demand. What follows is by no means a comprehensive description of these wine styles. But if you are interested, you may want to try …
A NATURAL WINE. A wine that is hard to define. In a wide sense it is wine that is made with low levels of intervention in both the vineyard and cellar. The wine ferments naturally using native yeast with a minimal amount of sulfites for preservation (other than the natural sulfites that are in all wine). The winemaker avoids the use of pesticides and herbicides in the vineyard and chemical alteration in the cellar. The low-intervention winemaking method can also mean the skipping of fining and filtration, resulting in a hazy wine. And because there is no verification method for “low level intervention,” an exact definition of natural wine also is hazy. Inevitably the lack of a concrete definition of natural wine can account for the large number of natural wines on the market.
An ORGANIC WINE. A wine that is made from grapes grown in certified organic vineyards and made in certified organic wineries. Organic wines may not be natural wines even though all natural wines are organic. Strict organic wine regulations govern from grape to bottle. The vineyards do not use synthetic fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides. The wine must be made with limited or minimal sulfites and is not supplemented with added sugar but fining the wine may be allowed. The regulations require that all ingredients used in the winemaking be certified organic. Organic certifiers are accredited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and organic certification requires an annual renewal.
A BIODYNAMIC WINE. A wine using biodynamic farming practices that are universally applied around the globe. In the 1920s, Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner developed an all-inclusive farming method based on the connection between humans, animals, plants and the environment. However, all biodynamic wine is neither organic nor natural even though the winemaker uses natural or organically developed products in the winemaking. The winemaker does focus his vineyard management on creating a balance between nature’s processes and the vineyard’s grapes. Winemakers practicing biodynamics often take celestial elements into consideration when harvesting and subsequent winemaking. It is felt that biodynamic farming provides an expression of terroir that is not found elsewhere. Demeter, a global federation of farmers, winemakers, gardeners, researchers and more, provides the certification for biodynamic wines and a Demeter logo can be found on the bottle.
A VEGAN WINE. A wine like all wine, made from yeast fermenting grape juice. Therefore, all wines could be assumed to be vegan wines. However, that is not the case. A vegan winemaker has not used animal products for fining, filtering or stabilizing their wine. A non-vegan winery could use animal products such as egg whites, a milk protein (casein) or isinglass, a fish collagen, to remove the smallest sediment particles that have not been removed by filtration. Vegan winemakers, by not using animal products for fining can let the sediment particles fall naturally to the bottom of a tank or barrel, or they can use a form of clay called bentonite or pea protein to produce a clear wine. As an additional caution, animal products can also be used in the manufacture of agglomerated corks (milk-based glues) or the sealing of bottles with beeswax. Since there are no requirements to list fining agents on labels, finding vegan wine requires asking your retailer or the winemaker.
A NO/LO WINE. A wine that has no or low alcohol. It is also called alcohol-free wine, non-alcoholic wine and dealcoholized wine, while partially dealcoholized wine is called low-alcohol wine. What a no/lo wine is, is not only as different as its several names, but also as different as the many countries’ respective regulations and cultural norms where the wine is either made or consumed. Alcohol-free wine and non-alcoholic wine (terms often interchangeable) in many European countries and the U.S. is not necessarily alcohol free, it just has to have less than 0.5% alcohol by volume (ABV). However, in Great Britain the requirement is for no more than 0.05% ABV. In Canada the limit is 1.1% ABV; in Japan it is up to 1% ABV, while in Islamic counties non-alcoholic wine and alcohol-free wine must be 0.0% ABV. The partially dealcoholized, low-alcohol wine in the E.U. can have an ABV that ranges from 5-6%, while a January 2025 Italian regulation set the limits at greater that 0.5% but less than 8.5-9%. Labeling should be the key to determining your desired selection.
These are all interesting wines to drink and learn about. So, no matter what kind of wine it is, how or why it is was made, just find a bottle, open it and enjoy. Cheers!
—CL Keedy, Wine Education Committee, clkeedy@OCWS.org
OCWS is excited to announce the 2025 scholarship donations in the amount of $49,507. These funds were awarded to the eight programs listed in the table below. This year’s donations raised the total amount awarded since 1981 to over $940,000.
The scholarship funds come from a variety of sources, including tips at The Courtyard, OCWS Wine Auction, the Featured Winery Program, judges’ stipend and member donations. We thank our members for their support and hard work that made the scholarships possible.
| University/College | Program | School Total |
| Allan Hancock (AHC) | Viticulture and Enology | $5,777.00 |
| Cal Poly Pomona | Agricultural Science | $5,725.00 |
| Cal Poly SLO | Wine and Viticulture | $6,225.00 |
| CSU Fresno | Viticulture and Enology | $5,725.00 |
| Orange Coast College | Culinary Arts | $5,825.00 |
| UC Davis | Viticulture and Enology | $8,750.00 |
| Napa Valley College | Viticulture & Winery Technology | $5,725.00 |
| CSU Sonoma/Cunningham | Wine Business | $5,755.00 |
| TOTAL DISBURSEMENTS | $49,507.00 | |
Just a friendly reminder that you can make a donation to the OCWS Scholarship Fund anytime. There are two ways to donate:
—Damian Christian, OCWS Scholarship Chair
It’s hard to believe it’s time for volunteer signups for the 49th OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition. We have signups online this month, same as in previous years.
We try to flexible and ask the same of our volunteers. We can work together to make this another fun event. There are many areas where volunteer help is needed, stewarding, glass washing, drying and bagging a few days before the event.
Continuing the efficiency, the computer room, scoring verification and medals mailing will be assigned. A sign-up form is included on the website that identifies stewarding days, bagging nights and other work parties with times and dates. To qualify for stewarding, you are required to sign up for two additional work parties. We offer bagging, moving of wine to and from the competition site and sorting post competition.
We need your support for our work parties to run a successful competition. The good news is that we have hired help for heavy lifting. No training is necessary as newer members will be teamed with competition veterans.
Carrying trays of glasses is required if you volunteer to steward. It’s physical and can get tiring. Along with stewarding, you need to be prepared to assist your steward captain by opening wine bottles at the required time, preparing glasses for tags and cleaning up the judges’ tables as needed, while listening to your captain for direction. We are expecting to have carts this year, more than we had last year, as we found this increased our effectiveness greatly.
It is imperative that the wines are NOT opened first thing in the morning as has happened in the past. We have been asked to have as much consistency in timing for the opening of the wines per flight, so all are open as close to the same time as possible.
If you have any questions, please feel free to phone me at (562) 822-3382 or email at strompharms@earthlink.net.
We look forward to your participation in this very important event. Thank you.
—Robyn Strom, Volunteer Coordinator