OC Fair 2025: Aficionados share their wine tastings, pairings with fairgoers ...Middle East

Ever taken a bite out of a smoked turkey leg and wondered what type of wine it would pair best with?

At the OC Fair, you can find out whether you prefer your funnel cake with sparkling wine or orange muscat — or if corndogs really do go well with Riesling.

Every weekend, the Orange County Wine Society hosts wine seminars where fairgoers can taste a variety of wines and learn about the pairing process for just $30. From fair food to barbecue to types of cheeses, seminars take food offerings from around the fair and pair them with a selection of more than 2,500 wines.

“Anything from sausages to cotton candy to deep-fried Snickers and bacon-wrapped pickles. We pair it with all the wines,” seminar leader Sara Yeoman said, “and people get to come in and learn what wines pair with what flavoring profiles.”

The OC Wine Society is a nonprofit organization that hosts events throughout the year dedicated to wine education. Its members have been a part of the OC Fair for 49 years, volunteering to host a slate of seminars and wine tastings and serving glasses of wines entered into the society’s annual fair competition.

Additionally, the society conducts a Featured Winery program from 3 to 7 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during the fair’s 23-day run where you can meet various winemakers from throughout California.

“A different winemaker comes in and talks about the wine they’ve made,” OC Wine Society Director Fred Heinecke said. “All of them were entered in the competition and we usually have a bunch of high award winners there.”

The wine society hosts two different competitions for the fair each year — commercial and home wines — and serves each entry at its tasting counter. There are 150 different kinds of wine and around 10,000 bottles that the society will serve throughout the fair’s run.

The courtyard hosted by the group is open for tastings and wine by the glass from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. It is open until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Additionally, concertgoers can purchase a bottle of wine that they can take into the fair’s concert venues.

“This year, for the first time, you can by a bottle of our premium wine and we pour that into an inflatable wine bottle,” Heinecke said. “You can take that to the concert, and save the little wine bottle and take it on a picnic.”

The Wine Courtyard is least busy in the morning, usually picking up at night, especially before concerts, Heinecke said. A wine express bar is available daily from 5 to 9 p.m. for guests wanting a quick glass, although the courtyard provides a unique shaded reprieve from the hustle of the fair and the heat of summer.

In the Wine Courtyard, fairgoers may feel like they are transported to a real winery, getting a chance to enjoy the shade while standing at high-top tables or sitting down at picnic tables.

For sisters Sarah Lucey and Susan Hunter, the Wine Courtyard is their first stop each year when they arrive at the fair.

“We’re super into wine,” Yorba Linda resident Lucey said. “All our vacations revolve around wine, and so this is fun for us because it’s affordable.”

The wine society sells wine by the glass for $11 or two 4 o.z. tastes of wine for $5. Featured wineries also sell bottles of their varieties at a discount, which will be shipped directly to your house. Many of the wineries are located throughout California, including Napa Valley, Solvang and Paso Robles.

Lucey and Hunter often visit wineries across California, but the OC Fair gives them the chance to let their tastebuds travel the state while their feet stay planted at the fair.

“It’s based in Orange County, but it has wines from all over,” Lucey said. “It’s fun to get a glass of wine from somewhere far away without having to go far away.”

The courtyard gets thousands of visitors throughout the run of the fair, sometimes even in one day. The OC Wine Society coordinates more than 300 volunteers each year to serve wine and manage the courtyard.

All proceeds of the wine tastings, seminars and featured wineries go back into the OC Wine Society and to its scholarship fund, through which the organization raises money for eight colleges and universities in California with wine and culinary programs.

“We’ve donated over $946,000 so far,” OC Wine Society President Carolyn Christian said. “Next year is our $1 million mark, that’s our goal.”

The wine society hosts events throughout the year for members, including tastings, winery visits and socials. It costs $50 a year to attend member-only events.

“The Orange County Wine Society is a microcosm of what the world should be,” OC Wine Society Vice-President Fran Gitsham said. “We have every age range of members, every race, religion and sexual orientation. We’re all here for each other, and the wine binds us together.”

Find the Wine Courtyard behind the Huntington Beach pavilion, which is housing this year’s special feature VHS revival exhibit. Guests can also access the courtyard through the Plaza Pacifico and the Crafters Village.

Oh, and if you are wondering what wine pairs best with a smoked turkey leg, the OC Wine Society recommends a pinot noir or Rhone red.

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