The OC Fair Home Wine Competition
The OC Fair Home Wine Competition, operated by the Orange County Wine Society, will take place on June 8, 2024. Deadline date for entries is May 24th. It is open to all amateur winemakers in California. Wines judged include still, fortified, sparkling, dessert, and other fruit or “country” wines. Since its founding in 1977, this competition has played an important role in the development and support of non-professional winemakers in California. Written evaluations and comments made by the judges are returned to the winemakers to help them improve their wines and understand more about the winemaking process.
Each wine is judged in a “double blind” tasting and evaluated for its faithfulness to the varietal. Award categories include: Double Gold, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Honorable Mention. In addition, there are four Best of Show categories including Varietal Red, Varietal White, Dessert and Fruit.
Professional Judging
Judges are experienced winemakers and wine connoisseurs from the Orange County area.
Entry Requirements
Fee is $20 per entry and only 1 bottle is required. Optional wine label entry fee is $5
Wine Storage
Your entries are kept in a temperature-regulated wine warehouse prior to judging.
Online Entry
Our simple online registration form makes entering the competition fast and easy.
About The Competition
The Home Wine Competition is conducted by the OC Wine Society in conjunction with the OC Fair. Founded in 1976, the OC Wine Society is a non-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code. Proceeds raised from entry fees help fund the competition. Excesses go to our enology and viticulture Scholarship Fund which, since its inception, has awarded over $700,000 to selected colleges and universities throughout California.
Home Winemaker Benefits
The OC Fair Home Wine Competition is an educational event. Each wine is judged “double blind” on a 20-point UC Davis’s 20-point Judging Sheets, and we encourage our judges to make constructive comments. All judging forms are returned to the Winemakers, so you can see what comments were made in evaluating your wines. The cost is just $20 per entry, and only one bottle per entry is required.
Judging
Judging will take place on either the 2nd or 3rd weekend in June and will be performed by panels of experienced wine connoisseurs. Judging is conducted “double-blind.” Neither the judges nor those pouring the wines know the identity of the wine being evaluated. Wine evaluation is done according to the recognized UC Davis 20-point scale.