June 13, 2025 — Orange County Wine Society (OCWS), in partnership with the OC Fair, is pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 OC Fair Home Wine Competition, which took place on June 7, 2025. The 49th annual competition received 603 entries this year from all over California, and 92 judges awarded 5 Best of Show, 81 Double Gold medals and 91 Gold medals, in addition to other medals.
Join us in congratulating all the medal winners, and most importantly, the Best of Show Winners listed below.
BEST OF SHOW WINNERS
Red Wines
Mark Murray (from Berkeley, CA) – 2021, Red Blend (50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Barbera)
White Wines
Ken McKee (from Soquel, CA) – 2024, Roussanne
Dessert Wines
Robert & Sean Joakimson (from Concord, CA) – 2024, Black Raspberry Port
Fruit Wines
Robert & Sean Joakimson (from Concord, CA) – 2024, Red Raspberry Wine
Label
Walter Hamera (from Temecula) – 2022, Granny’s Magic Nectar, Hamera Cellars
OCWS (a 501(c)3 corporation) has been hosting the OC Fair Home Wine Competition for over four decades. OCWS boasts over 1,000 wine enthusiast members who volunteer their time to present the largest competitions of California Commercial and Home Wines. In addition to running the OC Fair Commercial and Home Wine Competitions, the OCWS has donated over $946,000 in scholarships to eight California institutions with wine-related educational programs. This wine competition is unique because of its double-blind judging.
A complete list of the winning wines from the OC Fair Home Wine Competition can be view at https://hwcr.ocws.org. This year’s OC Fair “Find Your Happy” runs from July 18th through August 17th, Wednesday through Sunday.
