Educational Wine Mini-Courses

The core mission of the Orange County Wine Society is to provide wine education. As such, I am putting together a series of mini-education classes to present to our members and have suggested that we start with a 20-minute format to be given before the monthly wine tasting dinners at the DoubleTree Hotel. Courses will be given by members of the OCWS Winemakers’ Group who have a wealth of expertise in the specific topics.
 

The monthly tasting dinners start at 6:30. We will start our classes at 6:00, and advertise the topics prior to the events. If you're interested in attending, come at 6:00; if you're not interested, join us at 6:30. We will restrict entrance into the room until the classes are over and we will not be serving wine during the classes. This will hopefully reduce our number of bored people in the audience making noise and disturbing the discussion.
 
The Winemakers’ Group will be meeting over the next few weeks to discuss topics and presenters. Some of the initial ideas I have include…
 

· AVAs (Appellations) -- Napa, Sonoma, Temecula, Paso Robles, Santa Ynez Valley, Lodi, Anderson Valley, etc. Where they are, and why they produce different wines.

· Vineyards - how vines are managed, when they're picked, how they vary in production. What effect does Terroir (soil and weather) have on grapes, and ultimately on the wine. Different methods of trellising. 

· Oaks - differences between American, French, Hungarian, and blended barrels, oak chips, oak powder, oak cubes, and a few odd-balls like Canadian Oak, Russian Oak, whiskey barrels. Light, Medium and Heavy toast. American and French methods for making and aging wood for barrels.

· The effects of aging on wine. Why reds get better over time. Why American wines really max out around 10 years old, while French wines can age longer. Why whites don't really improve with age, and have a shorter shelf-life.

· Basics of wine chemistry (staying far away from demonstrations). How do SO2, malolactic bacteria, acid, tannins, etc., contribute to the making of wine?

 
We will also expand some of these classes for smaller groups at the OCWS Office.

I also have suggested creating basic wine-making demonstrations at the upcoming Orange County Fair during weekends. I am considering actually setting up a stage in The Courtyard, where we serve the wine.

These demonstrations will be coupled with “Join the OCWS” efforts.

Please contact me with your ideas, topics, or other suggestions!

Kevin Donnelly