This year, the Orange County Wine Society donated $49,507 in scholarships to the eight academic institutions listed below. This years’ donations raised the total amount of OCWS scholarships awarded since 1981 to over $946,000.
The scholarship funds come from a variety of sources, including tips at The Courtyard, OCWS Wine Auction, the featured winery program, and judges’ stipend and member donation. The judges’ stipend donations from the 2024 OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition totaled $3,000, which was given to UC Davis in addition to the standard donation. In 2026, the judges’ stipend donations will go to Napa Valley College. We thank the judges and our members for their support and hard work that made this year’s scholarship funding possible.
We will be attending the scholarship award presentations for Orange Coast College, Napa Valley College, and Allan Hancock College. Look for photos of the awards ceremonies and our scholarship recipients in a future issue.
| University/College | Program | School Total |
| Allan Hancock College | Viticulture and Enology | $5,777 |
| Cal Poly Pomona | Agricultural Science | $5,725 |
| Cal Poly SLO | Wine and Viticulture | $6,225 |
| CSU Fresno | Viticulture and Enology | $5,725 |
| Orange Coast College | Culinary Arts | $5,825 |
| UC Davis | Viticulture and Enology | $8,750 |
| Napa Valley College | Viticulture & Winery Technology | $5,725 |
| CSU Sonoma/Cunningham | Wine Business | $5,755 |
| TOTAL DISBURSEMENTS | $49,507 | |
Just a friendly reminder that you can make a donation to the OCWS Scholarship Fund anytime. There are two ways to donate:
- 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.
- 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.