2018 Wine Awards OC Fair Commercial Competition Co-sponsored by the Orange County Wine Society Copyright 2018 Orange County Wine Society 88 Fair Drive Costa Mesa, CA 92627 714.708.1636 [email protected] ocws.org WineCompetition.com HomeWineCompetition.com Facebook - @OCWineSociety Twitter - @ocwinesociety Instagram - ocwinesociety Purpose This booklet lists the winners of the 42nd Annual OC Fair & Event Center Commercial Wine Competition. The judging took place under rigidly controlled conditions on June 2nd & 3rd, 2018, at the Hilton Hotel, Costa Mesa, California. 2,708 different wines were judged and 2,426 were awarded medals. Scope The competition includes only wines from California grown grapes including still wines, fortified wines, infused wines, and sparkling wines. This year 86 judges tasted 123 varieties and styles in 514 categories classified by price and residual sugar level. The wine samples for judging are submitted by wineries. Wines arrive at the OC Fair & Event Center grounds where they are transferred to an air-conditioned building for unpacking and cataloging. There are no entry fees; however, wineries submit 6 bottles of each wine into the competition. These wines are divided into A, B, C, D, E and F bottles. All entries are verified, comparing the entry form to computer listing to the actual bottle placed in a specific box. The A bottles are bagged and labeled by code, varietal, bottle, price code and sugar level. During the competition, the A and B bottles are moved to the competition site. Just prior to judging all A bottles are verified to ensure they are in the proper serving order. B bottles are used only if a defective A bottle is found by the judges. The judging is performed by professionals; each judge is either a winemaker or winery principal. All judging is performed double blind; neither the stewards nor the judging panels have knowledge of the identity of the individual wines being evaluated. Scoring is done using a 100-point rating system. Each wine is evaluated on such attributes as clarity, depth of color, viscosity, general appeal, fruit aroma, bouquet, sweetness, tannin, acidity, body, length, balance, and overall quality. Each wine is placed in a price grouping identified as low, medium, high and premium. Wines are also grouped in sub-categories by residual sugar level 1 to 6; level 1 being very dry, 2 dry, 3 semi-dry, 4 sweet, 5 very sweet, and 6 extremely sweet. Each grouping is judged individually based on entries in that grouping alone. In each grouping, the older wines are served first. Each class is judged by a panel of judges. The judges arrive at their medal recommendations individually, then discuss with other panel members. This system of judging, and the reporting of results by category, is to assist the consumer in purchasing wines considered by the judges to be the best of their class, within their price range. The remaining bottles from the competition are featured for tastings at the OC Fair & Event Center Courtyard and other events. The resulting income is used to help defray the cost of conducting the Competition. World's Largest The OC Fair & Event Center Commercial Wine Competition is the largest and most comprehensive judging of California Wines in the world. The OC Fair Competition is now renowned worldwide and is considered by many to be one of the country's premier judgings. The first OC Fair & Event Center Competition was held in 1977. The OC Fair & Event Center is the only major competition where all the following apply: • An attempt is made to judge California wines currently available to the Orange County marketplace. • Only wine makers and winery principals act as judges. • Wines are judged by price category. • Wines are judged by residual sugar content. • All varieties grown in California are considered for judging. • No entry fees are charged. The OC Fair & Event Center and the Orange County Wine Society, co-sponsors of this premier competition. hope the results printed in this booklet add to your knowledge and enjoyment of wine. The Reasons for Competition Judging Many market factors combine to make it increasingly difficult for the average wine consumer to knowledgeably select wines of the style and quality that meet his or her expectations. Some of these include: the number of California wineries change dramatically from year-to-year; new ones appear, old ones disappear, and winemakers, ownership and management changes are made. Weather affects the quality and characteristics of the grape crop each year, often differently by region, winemakers must employ different methods to achieve wines, from these varying grapes, that meet their general overall objectives. Additionally, winemaking techniques, production methods and marketing strategies are constantly changing. It would be a mistake to assume that because a certain winery produces an award-winning wine in a varietal, all wines produced by that winery would be equally good. Nor does it mean that next year the winery will automatically produce an award winner of the same variety. The reputation of a winery is a factor for selecting; but not always a good measure of the quality of wines from year to year. OC Fair Wine Steering Committee This group serves at the pleasure of the OC Fair & Event Center Board of Directors to oversee the Commercial Wine Competition. The committee selects the wine varieties to be judged and makes the final selection of award winners based on the judges' scores and medal recommendations. The committee is composed of persons from various professions and considered by their peers to be wine knowledgeable. Orange County Wine Society The Orange County Wine Society is the co-sponsor of the Competition, and is responsible for obtaining and classifying the wines, as well as for staging and conducting the actual Competition. Started in 1976, as a non-profit corporation, the Society's purpose is to promote the knowledge of winemaking, viticulture and Wine appreciation, In addition to co-sponsoring the Commercial Wine Competition of the OC Fair & Event Center, the Society also conducts the Fair's Homewine Competition and staffs the wine booth in The Wine Courtyard at the fair. Throughout the year it is active in programs and projects that contribute to the education and knowledge of wine, including the granting of scholarships to deserving students in enology, culinary arts, and viticulture. Membership is open to adults who are interested in learning more about wine, winemaking and viticulture. The Society has one or two meetings per month and welcomes inquiries from interested potential members at any time. For more information, visit us at ocws.org. The Society is an educational, 501 (c)(3), tax exempt organization. Our efforts are aimed at continuing our support, in the form of scholarships, to deserving students of enology and food sciences at many of California's institutes of higher education. Competition Committee Leslie Brown Chairman of Competition Committee Fran Gitsham Judge Liaison Kevin Coy Director of Judges Jane Goodnight Asst. Director of Judges Sam Puzzo Label and Bottle Competition Greg Hagadorn, George Cravens, Sorting/Bagging/Moving Terry McLean Liz and Lloyd Corbett Cataloging/Wine Administration Stacey Taylor Software Architect & Developer Bill Redding Facilities Linda Mihalik Wine Verification/Scoring Administration Ken and Irene Scott Volunteer Coordinators Ken Scott, Terry McLean and Greg Publicity Risling Price Categories The purpose of judging wines by price category is so that wines of substantially different cost are not judged together - that would neither be fair to the wine nor to the consumer. Therefore, wines are grouped together in price ranges and judged within that group, ensuring that $5.00 Wines are not being compared to $75.00 wines, etc. The actual price ranges can vary from year-to-year and are determined by the total number of entries in a class and the range of suggested retail prices for those wines. Wines will be grouped in one of the following: Low, Medium, High and Premium. Residual Sugar Levels The wines are also separated into six different levels of Residual Sugar and judged within those groups. Residual sugar is the amount of natural grape sugar left in the wine after fermentation. By separating the wines into different classes based on their level of sweetness, the consumer is further aided by knowing whether to expect a dry or sweet wine. The following chart indicates the various levels and shows the relative difference between them. Still (Non-Sparking) Wines Taste Level % Sugar Very Dry 1 0.00 - 0.30 Dry 2 0.31 - 0.70 Semi-Dry 3 0.71 - 1.50 Sweet 4 1.51 - 3.00 Very Sweet 5 3.01 - 8.00 Extremely Sweet 6 8.01 & Up Sparkling Wines Taste Level % Sugar Very Dry 1 0.00 - 0.50 Dry 2 0.51 - 1.40 Semi-Dry 3 1.41 - 2.40 Sweet 4 2.41 & Up Best of Class A "Best of Class" was awarded based on the overall numerical score and medal recommendations of the judges in price levels premium, high, medium and low for the following categories: Red Varietals, White Varietals, Rosé, Sparkling Wines and Dessert Wines. Award Summary Award # Awarded Double Gold 56 Total Gold 462 Total Silver 1,273 Total Bronze 635 Total Awards 2,426 Total Entries 2,708 Best Of Class Red Premium $$$$ Stephen & Walker, 2015 Carignane Alexander Valley High $$$ Pear Valley, 2014 Petite Sirah, Paso Robles, Pear Valley, Pear Valley Vineyard, Estate Medium $$ La Storia by Trentadue, 2016 Zinfandel Alexander Valley, Estate, Block 303, Sonoma County Low $ Caricature, 2015 Zinfandel