Thursday, June 29, 2017 (4:50 pm)

Let’s go behind the scenes at one of the country’s most exclusive wine-tasting competitions, hosted by OC Wine Society, where professional judges swirl, sip and savor entries from California wineries to determine who will win the gold at the 2017 OC Fair. 

The judging process is a sight to behold. The organized chaos works in a constantly flowing circle: stewards pour bottles of wine into glasses, labeling each with numbers for identification, and then serve the judges. After that round of tasting, the stewards maneuver the trays of glasses around to the washers and the dryers while the results are delivered to a group of volunteers who enter the handwritten scores into a computer. Wine is then poured again and around it goes. 

It’s known as a double-blind tasting. The judges know what the varietal is, but not who made the wine, its price, sugar level or any other information – and stewards are in the dark, too. 

The OC Wine Society enlisted more than 70 judges who put their expertise to work over a weekend this month tasting some 2,500 bottles of wine for the annual commercial wine competition. Lucky Fairgoers will be able to taste the winning entries in The Courtyard during the Fair that runs July 14 through Aug. 13. (See complete list of 4-star, gold, silver and bronze medalists.)

“This is the one of the most prestigious competitions in the country because we do only California wines,” said Fran Gitsham, treasurer of OCWS and one of the competition coordinators. “And we’re known to have the highest caliber of judging because we only allow actual winemakers and winery owners and some wine consultants. It’s the elite of the elite.”

Dennis Esslinger, Director of Judges, pairs up the judges to taste the types of wine they’re best known for, so they are well-versed in what they’re critiquing, Gitsham said.

If you’re picturing a bunch of wine snobs trying to one-up each other, you’re wrong.

“You can tell it’s a very congenial event, which I think leads to more thoughtfulness, and there’s no posturing or posing,” said David Stevens, a consultant for Davon International. “You have a chance to evaluate wines exactly the way they are – there are no politics involved.” 

Stephens has been judging for OCWS for 17 years. Many of the judges have been returning year after year to be a part of the competition.

“I always look forward to coming to this event,” said Norman Yost of Flying Goat Cellars. “For me, it’s a great opportunity to fine-tune my palette, and also to taste wine with my peers, which we only do once a year.”

Yost was in a judging panel with Stephens, along with Paul Ahvenainen of Korbel Champagne Cellars and Chris Ehrenberg of Ehrenberg Cellars. In between friendly banter and jokes, Stephens pointed out that the four men have about 100 combined years of experience. Yost has judged for 11 years, and says one of the reasons he returns is because the event is different than others.

“I think that’s the greatest attraction is they make you feel part of a special clique, and not many events allow that to happen,” Yost said. “Plus you get to taste great wines.”

OCWS actually hosts two major annual wine competitions at the OC Fair. The week after the professional judging, about 100 judges evaluated some 600 home wine entries.

While both competitions are run in essentially the same fashion – and with all volunteers – the judging itself is actually quite different. Most notably, the commercial wines are judged by professionals in the wine business while the home wines are judged by trained volunteers. Kevin Donnelly, competition chairman, says all scoring is based on a modified UC Davis 20-point scale. OCWS hosts judging workshops to help the judges stay consistent. 

Another big difference in the competitions is the Best of the Best award in the home wine competition. This is determined through a consensus by the judging panel. Each judge gives an award based on their individual recommendation, and then the panel of four judges gives a consensus award. If all the judges give a gold in the individual scoring, the wine is labeled a double gold, and these top winners are on display in The Courtyard during the Fair.

Orange County is represented well in the double gold winners, with home winemakers from Orange, Dana Point, Mission Viejo, North Tustin, Yorba Linda, Lake Forest, Irvine, Santa Ana and Costa Mesa. (See a complete list of home wine competition winners.)

Esslinger and his wife, Carol, have spent a lot of time reorganizing the competitions, making them what they are today.

“Everything was manual, not state of the art,” Esslinger said. “When we got involved we started applying engineering principles, using computers to get things organized and automated, and put together a whole sequence of events. There’s tons of reports that get generated to verify bottles and boxes, and a lot of the cross checking from start to finish – most of that didn’t exist when we got started.” 

Now, OC Wine Society, with over 1,000 members and 350 active volunteers, hosts competitions that flow like wine. 

“This organization transcends every gender, every sexual orientation, every culture, every religion, every race,” Gitsham said. “This is the way the world should be.”

Monday, May 22, 2017 (4:41 pm)

A little olive oil goes a long way to enhance food. In California, and specifically Orange County, a bit of olive oil drizzled over a bed of bright green lettuce and fresh, juicy tomatoes with a side of perfectly ripe avocado makes the kind of meal summers are made of.

So with that freshness in mind, the 2017 OC Fair held its inaugural California Olive Oil Competition, and winners will be featured this summer during the Fair. The competition focused on the Fair’s theme of “Farm Fresh Fun” and was open to all California olive oil producers.

Fairgoers will be able to enjoy complimentary tastings of these decadent olive oils, as well as learn a few tricks of the trade at food pairing demos hosted by the olive oil makers. The award-winning products will be available for sale in the OC Promenade.

The olive oils were divided into two divisions for the competition: extra virgin olive oils (EVOO) and flavored olive oils, which could either be co-milled or infused. Gold, Silver and Best of Show medals were awarded.

The four-member OC Fair Olive Oil Tasting Panel tasted 33 olive oils.

Nancy Ash, of Strictly Olive Oil, served as head judge and adviser. As a professional olive oil consultant, she has been a frequent judge at various fairs including the California State Fair, the Big Fresno Fair San Joaquin Valley Olive Oil Competition and the Los Angeles County Fair.

This year’s competition was coordinated by OC Fair & Event Center’s team of Evy Young, agriculture education supervisor; Barbara Gregerson, garden and floral program coordinator; and Pamela Wnuck, culinary arts supervisor.

Meet the OC Fair Olive Oil Tasting Panel

Thom Curry – proprietor, Temecula Olive Oil Company; member, California Olive Oil Council Tasting Panel; professional olive oil taster; sommelier and wine tasting judge
Lawrence Jacobs – conventional and specialty grocery buyer, Oliver’s Markets; member, California Olive Oil Council Tasting Panel
Arden Kremer – organic and biodynamic grape grower in Sonoma County; member, California Olive Oil Council Tasting Panel
Kathryn Tomajan – Oleologist; miller; educator; olive grower; expert taster and trained sensory panel member; and member, California Olive Oil Council Tasting Panel

The OC Fair Olive Oil Tasting Panel received intensive training from members of the California Olive Oil Council pursuant to the guidelines of the International Olive Council.

ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS OF THE 2017 OC FAIR CALIFORNIA OLIVE OIL COMPETITION

Extra Virgin Olive Oils division winners

Best of Show – Lodi Olive Oil’s Ascolano

Silver Medals – Tyler Florence Test Kitchen (Blend), Fandango (Blend), Calivirgin Premium (Arbequina), ENZO Ranch 11 (Arbosana), ENZO Ranch 20 (Arbosana) Fandango (Arbequina), San Miguel Olive Farm Pristine (Italian blend), Macala (Blend), ENZO Ranch 11 (Koroneiki) and ENZO Ranch 20 (Koroneiki)

Gold Medals – Lodi Olive Oil (Ascolano), San Miguel Olive Farm Nectar (Italian Blend), ENZO Ranch 11 (Arbequina) and ENZO Ranch 20 (Arbequina)

Flavored Olive Oils division winners

Best of Show – Calivirgin’s Hot Virgin Jalapeno

Silver Medals – ENZO (Clementine), Calivirgin (Rosemary), Calivirgin (Basil) and ENZO (Basil) and Calivirgin (Garlic)

Gold Medals – Calivirgin (Blood Orange), Calivirgin (Hot Virgin Jalapeño), Calivirgin (Jalapeño-Garlic), Calivirgin (Lemon), Calivirgin (Habañero) and ENZO (Fresno Chili)