It is Wednesday again and it is time for another installment of Wine Trivia Wednesday. Before we get to this week’s quiz, I wanted to thank all of those who participated in last week’s “quiz”: talkavino, foodwineclick, armchairsommelier, cupcaketravels, vintagedirect, traceyleekarner and Chris Larkin (do you have a website Chris?). Thanks all for playing, those that played have been added to my blogroll. I ended up (as you can see from yesterday’s tasting notes) taking Talk-a-Vino’s and the Armchair Somm’s advice. This is not to say that the other suggestions were not great!
Well, the trial that “inspired” last week’s quiz is now over. the defendant was found not guilty on drug and firearms charges. I was an alternate on the jury, so while I had to sit through all of the testimony, I was not involved in the deliberation for the verdict. Had I been, I would have pushed for a guilty verdict on the drug charges since he was clearly a part of the operation. But that is a post for another time on another blog.
Keeping with the theme of “judgment” though, this week’s quiz will focus on perhaps the most famous “judgment” in American wine circles, the Judgment of Paris.
- What was the Judgment of Paris?
- When and where did it take place?
- Which wines won competition (there are two answers)?
- Which wines came in last in the competition (again, two answers)?
Have fun with the quiz–answers next week!
the drunken cyclist 
Assuming this is not a trick question about Greek mythology, the Judgement of Paris of the wine world took place in Paris in 1976 and it was organized by the British wine merchant. It was a competition, where French wines were pitted against California wines. This was a blind tasting, judged by the French wine critics, and many California wines came on top of French wines, which ( at that time) was a big surprise.
Two winning wines were Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars and Chateau Montelena, and seems that two wines which finished last were also from US – Freemark Abbey and David Bruce winery.
Of course there is a lot of controversy around the results, different statistical interpretations etc,
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As always, solid responses!
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Agreed. Although I had no idea on the last place wines. I second bottle shock. I love seeing Sonoma.
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I’ve never had jury duty, but being an alternate sounds like the worst possible job on the jury. What a waste of time!
1. The Judgement of Paris was a wine competition with blind tasting for red (Bordeaux and Cabernet Sauvignon) and white (Chardonnay) wines. French judges chose California wines as the winners. French people were sad.
2. The Judgement took place on May 24, 1976 in Paris, France.
3. Stag’s Leap 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon and Chateau Montelana 1973 were scored the highest.
4. Freemark Abbey 1969 Cabernet Sauvignon and David Bruce 1973 Chardonnay were scored the lowest. America won, and America lost.
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She Wines Sometimes comes in with a very strong effort!
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Will go Google free again. It was a blind wine tasting that pitted Cali wines (which were still telatively up and coming) vs Bordeaux. Took place in… France. Cali wines ch. montelena and Stgs leap won. Cold Duck and Almaden lost, I think. Tho it could’ve been Blue Nun.
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Sadly, Blue Nun was not at the competition since it was only France and the US that were invited….
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Have you seen the movie, “Bottle Shock”? Any move that stars wine AND Severus Snape is a winner in my book! It’s about Steven Spurrier, Jim & Bo Barrett of Chateau Montelena, and the drama of the Judgement of Paris. Anyway . . .
1. The Judgement of Paris was a wine competition that pitted American (California) wines against French wines, specifically Chardonnay and Bordeaux/Cabernet Sauvignon. The tasting was blind. And the results were unexpected . . . I wish I could have been a fly on that wall!
2. May 24, 1976 in Paris, France.
3. Blue Ribbons: Chateau Montelena Chardonnay 1973, and Stag’s Leap Cabernet 1973.
4. Participant Ribbons: David Bruce Chardonnay 1973, and Freemark Abbey Cabernet 1969.
Salud!
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I have not seen the movie yet, but have planned to for some time now. My wife is out of town this week, so perhaps I will this weekend!
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Do it! Do it!! Let me know what you think . . . Salud!
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Without Google (or reading the above answers) would have got as far as that the Judgement of Paris was a blind tasting pitting red wines of Bordeaux and White wines of Burgundy vs their equivalents in California – and that it was set up by Steven Spurrier in 1976 – and that Stag’s Leap won. The French claimed that the American wines would not stand the test of time. However, there was a repeat tasting some years later (can’t remember how many) and the American wines still came out on top. And that it took place in Paris (the clue being in the name). I do have a blog btw – you’re following it! It’s here – http://chrislarkinsgoodgrogblog.wordpress.com/
cheers!
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Thanks for the link Chris! I always get confused when the blog is not linked up to the avatar!
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Oh I know why–if you click on the “chrislarkin70” hyperlink above, it says that the blog is no longer available….
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ah I’m a bit of a newbie I will try to fix that!
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PS @ armchairsommellier I will look out for that film ta!
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And great answers by the way!
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You won’t regret it . . . Alan Rickman is wonderful in his role as Steven Spurrier! Salud!!
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Instead of reading the answers above or doing a search, I want to see how many I can get right (which don’t be all).
1. A competition sponsored by a British wine merchant featuring French and California wines
2. 1976, somewhere in Paris
3. Chateau Montelena (white) and Stag’s Leap (red)
4. Hmmmm … Freemark Abbey and ?
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Solid effort for no research!
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🙂
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