Author: Wendy Taylor

Over the years, many members have asked, what happens to all of those bottles? They are, of course, referring to the wines that are entered into the OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition which is co-hosted by the OCWS. The entries take quite a journey from wineries to a multitude of uses once they arrive at the Orange County Fair & Event Center (OCFEC). Each winery submits six bottles so each step involves a lot of duplicate maneuvers. Last year there were over 2,700 entries with 126 varietals!

The wines are received by the Wine Competition Committee and then cataloged and labeled in preparation for the judging in June. The entry to this competition is free! Bottles are labeled with a unique code for each bottle. The bottles that will be judged are “bagged” and labeled, sorted by sugar level and price categories so that wines are judged fairly to ensure a high priced wine is not judged against a low priced wine. Two of these six bottles are then sorted and put into judging categories, e.g. Cabernet Sauvignon (CS-1) bottles “A” and “B.” The bottles are then judged in a blind tasting by a panel of five judges with the “B” bottle held in reserve in the event the judges wish to re-judge a wine.

After the Competition, the remaining wines are then sorted again by varietal and placed into groups—those that were awarded a medal and those which were not. These wines are put into the OCWS Cellar and are offered to the public at The Courtyard during the annual Orange County Fair. Some are available as “Award” winning wines for taste. Others are used and poured on the “varietal” side for sale by the glass. This is a great opportunity to try many wines in one location, so come on by and tell your family and friends to come to The Courtyard and support the OCWS.

The remaining bottles are then re-sorted by varietal, medal and price and placed into either verbal lots or silent auction lots. This is the second fundraising event that makes the Commercial Wine Competition possible. This year’s Auction is Saturday, April 6; sign up online or even at the door. Cheers!

– Bill Redding, President

We are off to another busy year, and a lot of work is already being done by our member volunteers for the OCWS major events. The Wine Auction group is busy working on getting wines sorted, bagged and ready for our annual Wine Auction, one of only two revenue sources for our organization. The OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition, co-hosted by the OCWS, has begun its work of soliciting entries, arranging for judges, and planning the 2019 Wine Competition. If that isn’t enough, The Courtyard Committee is also hard at work planning to open and operate The Courtyard during this year’s OC Fair. This year’s theme is “Acres of Fun,” and the OC Fair runs from Friday, July 12 through Sunday, August 11.

There are hundreds of members who make the OCWS the successful organization that it is. I am constantly amazed at our members’ willingness to help out, even for events that they may not be able to attend. It is our members who make this organization great!   Many of these people do so in the background contributing hundreds of hours utilizing their skills and their passions to our benefit.

This month I would like to recognize Linda Mihalik who has taken on the responsibility of putting together our superb newsletter,  The Wine Press. Each month she receives numerous articles highlighting our activities. Linda then deftly weaves these together, receives input from our sharp-eyed editors and gets the final edition ready for publication on our website and to be sent to the printer for mailing. Linda, on behalf of the Board of Directors, Committee Chairs and members, thank you for a job appreciated by all. Cheers!

– Bill Redding, President

2019 is now upon us and New Year’s resolutions have been made by many. My New Year’s resolution is to attempt “new” things. I am going to work towards discovering a new wine I haven’t tried, visiting new wineries that I haven’t yet been to, making a wine out of a varietal that is new to me. You get the idea. Fortunately, my membership in the OCWS is going to help make this resolution a reality. I invite you to share in this new journey. There are a host of activities and events to choose from with details of upcoming events in this edition of The Wine Press.

Your OCWS is also working on “new.” Wine Education Chair Irene Scott, along with Director Leslie Hodowanec, are busy working on wine education seminars and articles that will help members to learn, understand, and enjoy wine. With so many new members, some who are new to wine, these seminars will be a great opportunity for something new and even for existing members to expand their wine knowledge and fine-tune their wine palate. Additional details on the seminars can be found in this edition of The Wine Press.

In addition, Leslie Hodowanec along with member Greg Risling, will be working on wine field trips to Orange County wineries. Please stay tuned for more information as these trips develop this year. Any guesses as to how many wineries are located in the OC? 

The first Winery Program for this year was held last month at the Avenue of the Arts Hotel featuring Buttonwood Farm Winery & Vineyard. Winemaker Karen Steinwachs gave an incredible, fun, and informative presentation on the wines with interesting commentary on the Santa Barbara Region, the Santa Ynez Valley, and Los Olivos District AVAs. In keeping with the “new” theme, 19 of our new Members attended this event and were treated to Karen’s humor and love of wine as well as two wines that had their premier at the tasting. Don’t miss out on future Winery Programs this year. Cheers!

– Bill Redding, President