Mom and I watched this really great movie, Bottle Shock, based on the true story of the 1976 blind wine tasting in Paris, that has come to be known as "Judgment of Paris". A British sommelier collected wines from California, Bordeaux and Burgundy for a blind wine tasting in Paris. The judges for the tasting were mostly French and included sommeliers from some of the finest restaurants in France. The result...shocking, but you have to see the movie to find out!After seeing the movie, I decided it would be fun to take a California wine to our wine tasting class. Our final class was a blind wine tasting of wines from all over France. We were to try and figure out what region the wine came from, which cépages (grape varieties) were used and the year each bottle was produced. The bottles were covered with aluminum foil and served in no particular order.
What we tasted:
- 1999 St Joseph (Syrah)
- 2006 Minervois (Mourvédre)
- 2000 Côtes du Rhone Village
- 2004 Chinon (Cabernet Franc)
- 2006 Beaumes de Venise (Syrah, Cinsault)
- 2003 Cotes de Gascogne (Tannat, Merlot)
- 2005 Côte de Marmandais (Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Merlot)
- 2006 Cline Estates (Petit Mourvedre)
After tasting the wine, without spitting, everyone agreed the wine was delicious and interesting. Then it was revealed to be a Californian wine, and...gasp! Some had already experienced a Californian wine and for others it was their first time. The entire class, including our teacher, were very impressed. At the end of class, we finished off the bottle with French cheese and bread. An shockingly yummy wine tasting!
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That's true! People were wondering where it could come from for a minute, but they knew it came from another country and really loved thesweet and spicy side of the wine, nutmeg, licorice... They all waited for the chocolate cake with strawberries to finish the bottle!
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