While our most volunteer-intensive events weren’t held this year, there were still a number of members who put in significant time helping plan and run the events that we did have. As the organization has only part-time employees, it relies on our volunteers for everything from guiding and managing our organization to planning and running our events. Most volunteer work is done “behind the scenes” and unnoticed by many.
In recognition of the hours of service, the Wine Society rewards its volunteers with gift certificates redeemable for admission to OCWS events.
Thank you to the following volunteers for their efforts during the 2019-2020 Board year. Our volunteers make this the successful organization that it is. We encourage you to get involved. It is a great way to see how the OCWS works and meet new friends. NOTE: The volunteer coupons will be posted to each member’s account by the end of September, and can be used for events through the end of September 2021. The Board has also agreed to extend the expiration of unused volunteer coupons from 2018-2019 so they will be useable for events through the end of September 2021.
– George Cravens, Volunteer Recognition Chair
Award Coupon Recipients
$50 Discount Coupon
$25 Discount Coupon
$10 Discount Coupon
Leslie Brown Chris & Hank Bruce Carolyn Christian Liz & Lloyd Corbett Kevin Coy Kevin Donnelly Bill Forsch Fran Gitsham Terry McLean Betty Jo & Jay Newell Karyl Newton Bruce & Jeannine Powers Rochelle Randel Ed Reyes Germaine & Rob Romano Peter Schlundt Bodien Stacey Taylor Barb & Dave White
Lynda Edwards Carol Esslinger Jane Goodnight Larry Graham Greg Hagadorn Dawn Iglesias Virginia Kawai Jim Kerins Linda McLean Irene Scott Dave & Tami Stancil Richard Ward Dave Wiegand
Damian Christian Michael Del Medico Jerry Guerin Shelly Jayne Karl Kawai Ken Knapp John Lane Kevin Lite Sam Puzzo Dana Rutledge Bob Topham
$50 Discount Coupon
Leslie Brown Chris & Hank Bruce Carolyn Christian Liz & Lloyd Corbett Kevin Coy Kevin Donnelly Bill Forsch Fran Gitsham Terry McLean Betty Jo & Jay Newell Karyl Newton Bruce & Jeannine Powers Rochelle Randel Ed Reyes Germaine & Rob Romano Peter Schlundt Bodien Stacey Taylor Barb & Dave White
Scholarships are important to the core of the OCWS, especially to the dedicated students we support. Due to COVID-19 and the cancellation of scholarship fundraising sources, the scholarship account has only 10% of what we funded last year at this time. We have lost the top three and more of five sources that account for Undesignated (shared) and Designated (specific) Scholarship funds. We need the help of our generous OCWS members to Wine-Up Scholarships this fall.
Every new OCWS membership and renewal provides $12.50 into our Scholarship Fund. This past year, the BOD twice suspended expiring memberships, for a total of 8 months of no incoming undesignated funds.
Judges’ donations from our Commercial Wine Competition are combined and rotated in an annual order to one of our seven colleges and universities. There was no designated 2020 Judges’ donation. The Courtyard at the OC Fair generates funds in two areas. Donations awarded from the onsite Featured Winery Program and winemakers serving at the Express Bar are divided between colleges that officially enter our competition. There was no 2020 designation.
The largest incoming annual source of almost half of the total OCWS scholarship funds every year are the tips/gratuity donations our fabulous volunteers generate over The Courtyard counter during the OC Fair. There are no undesignated sources this year from The Courtyard either.
Ways to Wine-Up. For this 2020 tax year, the CARES Act allows tax benefits in the form of a universal deduction up to $300 toward 501(c)(3) organizations for those that do not itemize their deductions. As an alternative, you can make contributions directly from your IRA or 401(K) and avoid additional income on your individual return. Always check with your tax professional as how it applies to you.
On our OCWS website, click on Scholarship Program and Donations. You may designate your contribution toward a specific college. An undesignated option is to divide your contribution to be equally distributed between seven colleges. After you make your donation, you will be able to print your receipt for your tax records. The Cunningham Endowment is specifically designated to Sonoma State University and you must contribute separately to that account. With unprecedented disappointments this year, let’s show that the OCWS can Wine-Up as a scholarship organization with benefits toward grateful recipients for 2021.
These past months have been challenging for all of us in the Orange County Wine Society. This has caused the OCWS to rely more heavily on our older methods and get creative with new ways to keep in touch with our members. Our last in-person Quarterly Meeting was held in February, and we all miss them dearly.
The Winemakers’ Group has leaned in to use all tools available to communicate with both our new winemakers as well as our more experienced (notice I’m not saying “OLD”) members. We collaborated with Sara Yeoman and her team to provide additional content to be included in the virtual Summer Sunday Seminar series under topics titled “Winemaking for Mere Mortals” and twice-featured “Filtering, Fining and Bottling.”
Adapting to this “2020 norm” (hoping it’s not the NEW norm), we have conducted our Group Bottle and Group Cork Purchases, and now that we are in grape picking season, we are conducting our Group Grape Purchase over email and Constant Contact.
The Winemakers’ Group continues to conduct its programs, and for that, we have also turned to video conferencing over the Zoom platform. Thus far, under our group training program, we presented a 5-session class on “Kit Wine Making” where viewers followed along with their kit wines while instructor, Karyl Newton, made a kit wine on camera. We just conducted a lecture to support the Group Grape Purchase, discussing “How to Order Grapes,” and “How to Pick Up the Grapes” in which Bill Forsch discussed procedures, and Bruce Powers did some crushing and destemming of his estate Sangiovese grapes over the Zoom virtual platform.
We conducted our “Pre-Fermentation” seminar for both red and white wines, and will be hosting a “Post Crush” seminar in a virtual setting. In spring, we will repeat the “Filtering, Fining and Bottling” seminar as we get ready to finish up our 2020 vintage wines and start all over with 2021. We are also brainstorming with the idea of having a Winemakers’ Group meeting in a virtual platform where everyone has their video turned on so that we may see dozens of “newer and older” faces.
While utilizing a virtual platform is not an ideal substitute for in-person meetings, it offers us a new way to snub our noses at the quarantine, while staying safe and keeping a safe distance. Continuing to build close, strong relationships can be challenging when communicating and connecting in a virtual setting with our remote members in order to engage, educate, and entertain – meeting that challenge is top of mind.
We all hope and look forward to when we can return to our “pre-2020 norm,” but in the meantime, keep a bottle of (maybe homemade?) wine close, and I look forward to seeing you all, for the time being, in a virtual setting soon!
I want to express my sincere gratitude for selecting me to receive the Orange County Wine Society, Inc scholarship. I was excited to be chosen and I am deeply grateful for your support, especially because I took a great class Fall 2019, Bar Management with Professor Yates, and I learned quite a bit about wine, there is still so much more to learn but I’ve got a great start.
I have been continuing my culinary degree even with all the madness going on today, I am happy to report that I passed Spring 2020 with another 4.0 semester. I could not have done it without all of the resources that Orange Coast College has given me. Your donation will allow me to have less financial stress this coming quarter and I cannot express to you how much it means to me. My current career plan is to open my own small meal prep/meals to go business once i complete my schooling this coming year.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your gracious generosity and support me in my education. You have inspired me to help others and give back to the community one day. I promise to work hard and hope I will be able to help other students achieve their goals just as you have helped me.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for selecting me for the Orange County Wine Society scholarship. I am grateful to you and your organization for selecting me.
I am currently enrolled in the advanced baking and pastry program at Orange Coast College. I have one more semester left until I earn my degree and the opportunity you have given me will allow me to reach the finish line. I cannot express to you how much this means to me and to have your support. I plan to be in the food industry in some way so I can feed people and make them happy.
Thank you again for all of the support you have given me. I hope one day I may be able to do the same for others.
It is my sincere hope that everyone is staying safe, staying busy, and drinking great wines!
I am pleased to report that at the August BOD meeting, it was unanimously approved to extend all memberships an additional four months.
In last month’s issue of The Wine Press, I highlighted some of our virtual seminar offerings. We hope you have enjoyed the offerings during July and August which have been produced by our members: Ed Reyes, Carolyn Christian, Ken Knapp, Sara Yeoman, and Kevin Donnelly. Thank you all for such an outstanding job!
If you missed attending a virtual seminar, they have been uploaded on our website, and you can locate them after signing in and clicking Zoom Seminars. Simply locate the seminar you missed, click on the name of the seminar, and watch the ones you missed . . . or watch them again!
The OCWS Winery Program is also making plans to conduct programs virtually. On September 20, we will be featuring ZD Wines. More details are provided in this month’s newsletter. Thanks to Rich Skoczylas and Leslie Hodowanec for your efforts.
I am very pleased to see that as I am writing this article we have five members who have submitted their intent to run for the Board of Directors. You can find their candidate statements on our website.
The candidates will also be providing a brief statement at the “Annual Business Meeting” as required per Article 6 of our By-laws. The 2020 Annual Business Meeting will be held on Friday, September 11. Due to gathering restrictions currently in place, the meeting will be held “virtually.” The announcement for signups for this meeting was sent out via email and posted on the ocws.org website. As a reminder, for those with a dual membership only one individual needs to sign up to attend this meeting.
According to our By-laws, the Board of Director election must be held three weeks from the Annual Business Meeting. This year, we will be conducting the election electronically. A ballot will be sent out to members after the September 11 meeting.
Please be sure to update your email address to a current and valid email address using the edit profile feature on the OCWS website. More information on the electronic voting process and what you can expect can be found under the Electronic Voting article contained in this newsletter.
As everyone is aware, due to COVID-19, the OCWS has been restricted from hosting any in-person membership events since our February monthly meeting. While we have adapted to hosting weekly wine education seminars virtually during the summer months and will continue to do so going into the fall and winter, the Board understands and appreciates […]
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As we have anticipated to be the case, the 2020 OCWS Annual Business Meeting will take place in a virtual Zoom platform this year. The Annual Business Meeting will take place on Friday, September 11, beginning promptly at 7 pm and lasting approximately one hour. There is no limitation on the number of members who may attend; however, the meeting is strictly for members only. Sign-up for the Annual Business Meeting will be available through the OCWS website or by “email invitation” utilizing Constant Contact. To accommodate all OCWS members, please remember sign-ups should be limited to a single household.
This is the most important member meeting of the OCWS year. The Agenda will offer an overview of the year’s activities, the financial summary of the 2019/2020 Board year, and looking ahead in these unprecedented times.
Speakers scheduled to present will be: Bill Redding, President; Mel Jay, Treasurer; Charles English, OCWS Accountant; Kevin Donnelly, Winemakers’ Group Chair; and Greg Hagadorn, 2020 Election Chair.
After the presentation, Greg will introduce the individuals who have declared their Board candidacy. Each candidate will have a brief opportunity to introduce themselves and present their interests and objectives for the next Board term – 2020-2023.
Member attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions through the “chat” option on the Zoom platform. At the end of the presentation, all member questions will be directed to the presenters to read and answer.
The 2019/2020 OCWS Board of Directors look forward to seeing you as we review our 44th year and look forward to the 2020/2021 calendar year.
The meeting is conducted in accordance with OCWS Bylaws and government regulations for 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations.
The Board of Directors approved electronic voting for a contested Board of Director election using an online election platform. This year we will be utilizing electionrunner.com as our voting software program.
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Most often, we open a bottle of wine and are greeted with wonderful aromas and flavors that delight our senses and taste buds. However, on a rare occasion, and sometimes in home winemaking, we encounter less than pleasant aromas and tastes. Are these considered wine flaws or wine faults – and what is the difference? What we would most like to know is how to identify these and what causes them.
To start with, let’s understand the difference between a wine flaw and a wine fault. A wine flaw is an imperfection in the wine, such as a slight off-odor, minor cloudiness, bubbles or small particles in the wine. A wine flaw might also include an imbalance with acidity/sweetness, short finish, lack of exceptional aroma or flavor, or color that is slightly off from expectations for that varietal. These are all considered wine flaws because they are not considered normal for the wine type but they are minor enough that the wine is stilldrinkable.
On the other hand, a wine fault is a major deviance from the normal characteristic of the wine and causes it to be undrinkable. A wine that has developed cork taint is usually so pungent that the wine is undrinkable. Likewise, a wine that has developed high volatile acidity (VA) will be so sharp and acidic that it too is undrinkable. These are both examples of wine faults.
The majority of wine flaws and faults can be grouped into: oxidation, sulfur compounds, microbiological, and environment. These are often the result of poor winemaking practices or decisions.
Oxidation is the most common cause of wine faults, with oxygen being both a friend and foe in the winemaking process. During fermentation, oxygen is our friend as it is vital for the yeasts to thrive and perform their job of converting sugar into alcohol. After primary fermentation, oxygen often becomes more of a foe as it can become the catalyst for numerous reactions including a rise involatile acidity.
Other common wine faults fall into the Sulfur Compounds category. Negative sulfur compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S), are often associated with the olfactory flaw known as “reduced” notes. This means that you have a high amount of negative sulfur-based compounds and not enough available oxygen in the wine to mitigate these compounds. In winemaking, there is a fine balance between a “reductive” environment (“low redox potential”) where H2S will persist, and an “oxidative” environment (“high redox potential”) where sulfurs will often precipitate out.
Microbiologicalfaults are often the result of contamination with bacteria or yeasts that have not been inhibited by sufficient sulfur dioxide (SO2), which serves as an antimicrobial and antioxidant agent in winemaking.
Environmental faults are the easiest faults to avoid by simply ensuring that winemaking and storage facilities follow best practices in environmental controls such as temperature and light.
Below is a description of some of the common wine flaws (if minor) or faults (if excessive):
Oxidation Faults
Flaw/Fault
Sensory Description
Cause
Acetaldehyde
Smells like sherry, nutty, bruised apple or dried out straw.
Wine is exposed to too much air during winemaking/bottling. Also result of film bacteria (Acetobacter) on surface of wine. Low SO2 also contributes to this development.
Surface Yeast Contamination (Candida)
Smells like musty wet cardboard, acrid, sherry.
Too much headspace in container and oxygen is touching the wine surface. Low SO2 contributes to this development.
Acetic Acid / VA (Volatile Acidity)
Smells sharp like vinegar or pickles.
Typically caused by acetic acid bacteria (Acetobacter) but can also be lactic acid bacteria. Excess oxygen in the headspace of tanks, barrels or carboys. Low SO2 levels in wine.
Ethyl Acetate / VA (Volatile Acidity)
Smells sweet or fruity at low levels. Sharp, acetone or nail polish remover at high levels.
Oxidation of wine along with microbial spoilage such as Acetobacter.
Sulfur Faults
Flaw/Fault
Sensory Description
Cause
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
Smells like a burnt match head; sharp/acrid, nose burn sensation.
Sulfur dioxide is often added to wine as an antioxidant or antimicrobial agent. But too much added can cause this sulfur flaw.
Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S)
Smells like rotten egg. Very pungent and offensive but can dissipate with aeration.
Reduction of elemental sulfur residue (from fungicide sprays on grapes, soil). Yeast stress from lack of nitrogen/nutrients or temperature stress. Lack of oxygen during fermentation.
Ethyl Mercaptan
Smells like garlic/onion, cabbage, vegetal, skunk. Very pungent and offensive.
Existing H2S reacts with ethane to form mercaptans. Yeast metabolizing sulfur in the lees (during fermentation) or during aging from H2S that was not removed earlier.
Thiols & Disulfides
Smells like burnt rubber, garlic/onion, canned corn, cooked cabbage. Very pungent and offensive.
Further oxidation and development of ethyl mercaptan (ethane or methane thiols). Difficult to treat at this advancement.
Microbiological Faults
Flaw/Fault
Sensory Description
Cause
Brettanomyces 4-Ethyl-guaiacol (4EG)
Smells of smoky, spicy, cloves.
Contamination of Brettanomyces (spoilage yeast) due to improper sanitation and inadequate SO2 levels.
Brettanomyces 4-Ethyl-phenol (4EP)
Smells like stables, horsey, sweaty-saddles.
Contamination of Brettanomyces (spoilage yeast) due to improper sanitation and inadequate SO2 levels.
Brettanomyces 4-Vinyl-phenol
Smells medicinal like plastic Band-aid bandages.
Combination of both 4EG and 4EP also due to improper sanitation and inadequate SO2 levels.
Yeast / Ongoing Fermentation
Smells yeasty with visible cloudiness and fizziness.
Residual sugar is left remaining in the wine with insufficient SO2 to inhibit and/or lack of sterile bottling.
Lactic Acid Bacteria
Smells like a swampy, stale dishcloth or sauerkraut. Wine may appear turbid and slightly effervescent.
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are used to convert malic acid to lactic acid during malolactic fermentation (MLF). Caution must be taken to ensure that MLF is complete before bottling or that MLF has been properly inhibited, followed by sterile filtration.
Diacetyl
Smells like rancid butter, buttery, butterscotch.
Diacetyl is produced by the metabolism of citric acid in the wine during malolactic fermentation (MLF). Can be considered nice when this aroma is desired, but is usually not desired in red wines.
Geraniol
Smells like crushed geranium leaves, floral, sweet, bubblegum.
This fault occurs when lactic acid bacteria reacts with excessive amounts of potassium sorbate (sorbic acid) during malolactic fermentation.
Environmental / Other Faults
Flaw/Fault
Sensory Description
Cause
Cork Taint (Trichloranisole / TCA)
Smells moldy, musty (wet newspapers), and earthy like decayed wood. Fruit aromas are masked.
Caused by a reaction between chlorine (cleaners) or bromophenols (fungicides) with fungus often found in corks.
Heat Damage
Smells like cooked fruits or maderized wine.
Excessive storage temperatures for prolonged periods or excessive temperature fluctuations
Lightstrike
Delicate white wines may take on a wet wool or wet cardboard characteristic.
Caused by excessive exposure of white wines to light. Wine bottles should be dark glass and/or stored in dark environments.
Excessive Oak
Overly oaky and loss of fruit characters.
Wine spent too much time on oak.
Acid Imbalance
Wine tastes flabby.
Too low TA (tartaric acid) and too high pH in wine.
Sediments
Wine smells fine but there are visual sediments in the wine.
Crystals may be due to tartrate instability; small sediments may be due to unfiltered wine; dark sediments in red wine may be due to unstable color (anthocyanin-tannin bonding).
Plastic
Wine smells like plastic or kerosene.
The use of non-food grade plastic containers in winemaking.
Many of these wine flaws/faults can be avoided altogether by:
Start with clean grapes and sanitized winery equipment in appropriate environment.
Make sure that you maintain adequate SO2 levels in the wine.
Maintain a low pH (higher acidity) which is more resistant to microbial activity.
Monitor fermentations (primary, MLF) to completion.
Let’s hope that all your wine tasting experiences will be pleasant without experiencing any of these wine flaws or faults!
