Bottle Shock

Well, this is not a food movie; yet equally significant, because it left France with an indelible BLACK EYE. In all fairness, I love French food and French wine. I am actually treated well when I travel to France; however, the culture is a bit hostile towards America. In this day and age, France has to admit that good food and wine production exist in many other places. But the time period of this piece (I would be hard pressed to say) does not depict such an attractive attitude on the part of France.

The story is how (California vineyard) Chateau Montelena’s 1973 vintage Chardonnay obtained entry into a Paris blind tasting-AND WON! The wine world-as we knew it-changed (for the good)… as the rough and tumble Cali-Chard beats out the French…thus,, opening the doors of viticulture to the world at large.

That being said, Napa Valley has become obnoxious and overpriced in every way. I would take a 10 dollar bottle of most French table wines over a 10 dollar equivalent from the USA, because there is no equivalent. American wines (with the help of Wine Spectator) have become so inflated that they are not worth the money.

I know, I know…unleash the onslaught of comments…..at the end of the day, I just want to drink the best wine and eat the best food that I can afford, without pretense or ego. If that happens in San Francisco (laugh) or in Chiang Mai-so be it. Thanks to many years of tasting and traveling I no longer am a food snob and think the term foodie should be banished.