Calling all Volunteers!
The 2024 OC Fair Home Wine Competition will be held on Saturday, June 8 at The Courtyard. This is the largest home wine competition in California. It is organized by the Winemakers Group and run entirely by volunteers from the OCWS. We need your help to make it a success.
Volunteer positions include registration, stewards, data entry/scoring, food service, glass washing and cleanup. There will be a brief orientation before the competition begins to familiarize everyone with their positions. No experience is needed, new volunteers will be paired with competition veterans. It’s a fun day and a great way to meet and mingle with your fellow OCWS members.
The event runs from 7:30 a.m. to about 2 p.m. All volunteers will be treated to breakfast and lunch, courtesy of the OCWS Cooks Caucus. You also will get the opportunity to taste many of the award-winning wines after the judging is complete. Sign up today using the volunteer form on the OCWS website. I hope to see you there.
Calling all Winemakers!
Time is running out to enter your wines into this year’s OC Fair Home Wine Competition. Online entries must be submitted and all wines must be received by May 24, 2024.
Don’t miss the opportunity to compete for bragging rights with your fellow winemakers. Awards include Best of Show, Double Gold, Gold, Silver and Bronze. Last year, OCWS winemakers won numerous awards including one of the four Best of Show categories. Will one of yours win the top prize? You’ll never know unless you enter.
Calling all Aspiring Winemakers!
Here’s your chance to learn how to make wine. John Lane from our Winemakers Group will be conducting a Kit Winemaking Class Saturday, June 29 at the OC Fair and Event Center. This is a great introductory class for new winemakers. It’s basically like following a recipe only you’ll make wine instead of a meal.
Since our first kit winemaking class over 10 years ago, almost 200 OCWS members have taken part. Over half of our new winemakers started as a result. Many members have produced OC Fair medal winning wines from kits. Plus, they are a great springboard to making wine from grapes.
At this class you will learn: kit selection, equipment needed, step-by-step kit instructions, monitoring your wine throughout the process, racking/clarifying, storage/aging and bottling. This is a “hands-on” class.
John will take you through the process using two separate kits. You’ll start a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wine in the first half of the class. In the second half, you’ll finish and bottle a French Bordeaux-style wine, which you’ll get to take home.
Cost to attend is $25 and attendance is extremely limited. The class will last roughly four hours. There will be a short break in the middle with a catered lunch served. Bill Forsch from our Winemakers Group will be serving his homemade sausage sandwiches.
Don’t miss this educational opportunity. Sign up now on the OCWS website to attend. Maybe next year you’ll be entering your wines in the 2025 OC Fair Home Wine Competition.
–Ed Reyes, ed@ocws.org