Stephen Spurrier presided over a blind tasting in Montreal akin to the Paris Tasting of 1976 that pitted American wines against French wines. The Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) organized the event, inviting “Quebec’s top wine writers and sommeliers&# as judges to reenact the Paris tasting. Eegad! NYT ]. MORE >>

Although I also tasted some spectacular wines of Monte Bello , I was looking forward to the tasting of old zinfandels dating back to 1973, including multiple pairs of Geyserville and Lytton Springs–could a Zinfandel age gracefully, I wondered? But back to the tasting table. The lay of the land. MORE >>

So in addition to French producers and California producers today's seminar focus on High Noon winery, established in 1976, by the Noon family of McLaren Vale. Now we taste barrel samples from 2010 wines. Drew Noon takes the podium, showing videos that explain the area's terroir and winemaking techniques. 1 is rose from 2010. alcohol. MORE >>

It loosely depicts the events of the Paris tasting of 1976 when a Chateau Montelena Chardonnay and a Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon surprised the wine world by beating their French peers in a blind tasting. So Ross Schwartz told the assembled group at the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers in Napa last week. MORE >>

Everyone enjoyed the wine, and everyone was surprised when it was revealed to be a California Pinot Noir from 1976, a time when a lot of great wine was being made in California in the gently extracted and low alcohol old-world style. This past weekend I participated in one of the greatest wine events of my life. This was not a business lunch. MORE >>