The OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition
The OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition has been in continuous operation since 1976. This competition, operated by the Orange County Wine Society, is accepted as California’s finest and most meticulously judged California-only wine competition which assesses every wine blind and judges each for its faithfulness to the varietal. Throughout the rigorous judging processes, each medal-winning wine is tasted by at least 4 different judges. Our judges are themselves commercial winemakers or winery principals. Awards include medals Best of Class, Double Gold, Gold, Silver, and Bronze.
Professional Judging
Wines entered are evaluated by over 90 of the most prestigious winemakers in the United States
No Fee
Entry is free, 6 bottles (3 for limited production wineries) for each entry gets you in the competition
Online Results
Winners are published year-round on our competition results site
Award Level
Minimum award level published is selected by YOU
Social Media
Descriptive information on your winery and your award wines are published online
Retailer Support
Major retailers such as Total Wine and Hi-Time Wine Cellars sponsor the event and highlight it to their patrons
About The Competition
- Allan Hancock College, San Luis Obispo
- California Polytechnic University, Pomona
- California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo
- California State University, Fresno
- Orange Coast College
- University of California, Davis
- Napa Valley College
- Sonoma State University
Winery Benefits
Entering your wines into the competition will increase your brands’ awareness and increase sales with our active social media campaigns. Throughout the year, we post tweets about submitted wines, using your content. Our public Facebook page also contains wine-related content. During the OC Fair, wines are poured at the 7,300 square foot Wine Courtyard, exposing your wines to 1.3 million fair attendees. This venue is staffed by the Wine Society’s members that are able to intelligently discuss the wines they are pouring.
Our Judges
The 90 experienced judges are comprised of only qualified winemakers or winery principals. This group is a combination of seasoned professionals representing almost every AVA in the State of California. Ranging in experience from 10 to 40 years, they are extremely qualified to fairly evaluate wines of diverse characteristics.
Testimonials
Ken Volk Dir./Owner of Wine Making, Kenneth Volk Vineyards: It is the only competition that I am aware of that does not charge an entrance fee. Many competitions charge a significant amount of money to just enter the wines into their competition as well as requiring a large number of bottles. These wine competitions are basically moneymakers for individuals.
Enter the OC Fair Wine Competition