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During the mid to late 80s, the Orange County Wine Society continued to grow and began to offer new types of events to its members in addition to the public grand tastings in the spring and summer. The Wine Society membership grew to over 500 members and the Board of Directors stabilized at nine members with each director serving three-year terms. Additionally, multiple wine booths and displays were built and staffed at the Wine Garden and Flower and Garden Building during the Orange County Fair. The Commercial Wine Competition entries averaged 2,500 and about 50 different varietals and styles of wine were judged each year. In 1986, John Hardman served as President and Barbara Perez as Vice President. In 1987, Charley Owen assumed the presidency with John Hardman as Vice President. In 1988 and 1989, John Goodnight served as President with Barbara Perez as Vice President. Finally in 1990, Barbara Perez was elected President with Lloyd Corbett Jr. serving as Vice President. Treasurers during this period included Terry Fyffe, John Goodnight, and Arthur Croisette for three years. Many of these early officers are now retired and have left the area but still maintain membership in the OCWS. Charley Owen, Lloyd Corbett Jr., and John Goodnight continue to take active roles in the Wine Society. The OCWS office was permanently relocated to the Fair Grounds on March 1, 1986. During 1988, the OCWS Office started accepting credit cards and John Goodnight was instrumental in converting our “cigar box” paper accounting system with the introduction of a new computerized accounting program for the OCWS. In April 1986, the OCWS published its second volume of the newsletter titled Free Run to inform its membership on the meetings, activities, and accomplishments of the Society. It was published by Jane Goodnight and edited by Ronnie Johnson. This issue described the 10th Anniversary of the OCWS and highlighted plans for the Orange County Fair exhibit in the Flower and Garden Building. Also featured, were plans for the Commercial and Homewine Competitions. Finally, the newsletter reported on the award of fourteen scholarships to California State University at Fresno and the University of California at Davis over the previous five years. Another issue of the Free Run was published in May 1987 and reported on the history of the Home Winemaking Group and highlighted the background and activities of the current Board of Directors. With the Presidency of John Goodnight, the OCWS started publishing monthly the OCWS Newsletter with Sharon Spaulding as the Editor. The Newsletter contained a schedule of events, a President’s Column, articles on the activities of the Wine Society, and sign-up forms for upcoming events. Starting with the October 1988 issue, the Newsletter became a multiple-page professionally-prepared monthly publication edited by John Goodnight who was also serving as the OCWS President. A contest was held to name the newsletter and the winner, Diane Block, was recognized in January 1989 for her prize-winning name, The Wine Press. This name remains and John Goodnight continues today after eighteen years as editor and publisher of The Wine Press. Two grand tastings were continued by the Society; the Spring Wine Extraordinaire and the Summer Wine Extravaganza, both held at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim. The Extraordinaire was still limited to small wineries producing less than 10,000 cases annually. The limit was subsequently raised to 20,000 cases in 1990. Over 50 wineries were invited to pour their wines and attendance was limited to 500 persons. Additionally, food purveyors were invited to complement the wines. Over the years Barbara Perez, Lynn Pawlak, Lloyd Corbett Jr., and Sam Puzzo chaired the event. The Summer Wine Extravaganza was held in 1986 and 1987 during the Commercial Wine Competition at the Disneyland Hotel. Starting in 1987, the event was moved to July and was renamed the Wine Classic as it continues today. Over 100 wineries participated in these tastings. The Classics were chaired by Lynn Pawlak with the assistance of Ronnie Johnson and Paul Johnson. The annual Orange County Fair expanded from ten to eleven and then twelve days and the Wine Society sponsored wine tastings at the Wine Garden and wine exhibits and a wine booth in the Flower and Garden Building. That building was subsequently replaced and the space is today occupied by the Fine Arts Building. The Wine Garden and other booths were eventually abandoned and a new serving area and cellar area was designed in 1990 by a committee chaired by David Hirstein and was to be called the “Wine Pavilion.” The three-day Commercial Wine Competitions were reduced to two days in 1990 and entries stabilized at 2,400 entries with about 50 varietals and styles. The host hotel for 1986 through 1989 was the Disneyland Hotel. The Competition moved in 1990 to the Anaheim Marriott. During this period, coolers and non-alcoholic wines were first judged. While these types of wines faded in the late 1980s, Meritage wines were added. In 1988, the “Chairman Awards” notation was added to the Award Book to recognize those wines receiving three gold medal and one silver medal recommendations from the judges. The number of judges averaged 80 and included such notables as Jim Clendenen, Norm DeLeuze, Alison Green, Scott Harvey, Ed Sbragia, Ted Bennett, John Culbertson, Petros Lolonis, Chuck Ortman, John Scharffenberger, Victor Roberts, Daryl Groom, Peter Seghesio, Randall Grahm, and Dick Sherwin. New participants who are still judging today included Chuck Devlin, Larry Levin, Dan Lewis, Fred Weibel, Richard Longoria, Bruce McGuire, Barry Lawrence, Ken Volk, Stillman Brown, and Steve Rasmussen. The Orange County Fair’s Wine Steering Committee continued during this period with Jerry Mead as Chair and long-term participation from Chuck Hanson, Jane Goodnight, and Jerry Wilson. The Homewine Competitions continued throughout this period and were typically held on the Fair Grounds in June prior to the start of the Orange County Fair. In addition to the above major events, the Wine Society Board of Directors introduced several new events to the membership. In 1986, Jim Graver held the first Wine Auction using wine from the Wine Competition to raise funds to help pay for the Competitions and fund OCWS Scholarships. Subsequent Auctions were planned and conducted by Charley Owen with auction revenues reaching over $9,000 in 1989. Charley still works in support of these annual auctions today. Both Chili Cook-offs and Annual Barbecues were held annually at Kiwanis Land in Garden Grove. The first wine cruise was held in November 1987 and included a seven-day visit to the Mexican Riviera. In 1988, the first Sparkling Elegance was held at the Holiday Inn, Bristol Plaza and was chaired by Sharon Spaulding and Barbara Perez. During 1989, many of our annual events moved from Kiwanis Land or other locations to the Fair Grounds. Also in 1989, the first Champagne Brunch was held under the aegis of Sam Puzzo and Diane Block. In 1990, Sparkling Elegance II was held with Sharon Spaulding and Jan Beale as Co-chairs and the second Wine Cruise was held with John Goodnight as Chair. Also during this period, Sam Puzzo introduced the concept of monthly Mini-Tastings which were held for the first six months of the year at either member homes or alternatively, at various restaurants in Orange County. The Chili Cook-offs, Barbecues, Champagne Brunches, and Mini-Tastings continue today as popular OCWS events. Future articles will continue to highlight the history of the OCWS. I would like to thank past Historians such as Vivien Owen and John Hardman and John Goodnight for providing information in preparing this article. Larry Graham |
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Orange County Wine Society, PO Box 11059
Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Office Ph: 714.708.1636
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