The 2008 film, Bottle Shock,
depicts the 1976 French-American wine competition, known as the “Judgment of
Paris.” Based on a true story, at this wine competition, California wines made
in French styles shockingly defeated French wine in the blind taste test. From
that point on, wines made in California began to rival France’s position as the
world’s top wine producer. The film is primarily set at Chateau Montelena, but
actually filmed at Buena Vista Vineyards in Sonoma, California.
Chateau Montelena is a Napa
Valley winery, made famous by the “Judgment of Paris” wine competition.
Established in 1882, the Chateau bounced from owner to owner, eventually
landing in the hands of James (Jim) Barrett in 1968.
As noted above, Chateau
Montelena is located in Napa Valley. Napa Valley is roughly thirty miles long
on a northwest-southeast axis on the northern end of San Francisco Bay.
Vineyards in Napa are typically continuous on the cooler, wetter, west-side
foothills stretching from Carneros to Calistoga. Napa’s climate changes subtly,
but significantly, from north to south, east to west, and between the valley
floor and mountainsides. This affects grape flavor development, acid balances,
and tannic structure. Soil also plays a major role in the terroir of Napa.
Porous, well-drained soils in the upper valley generally produce riper, firmer,
more tannic wines as opposed to the more dense, slow-training, clay-dominated
soils of the southern valley.
The movie opened in
Calistoga, California in 1976. Jim was at the bank, requesting a third loan for
the Chateau Montelena. According to Jim, the old grape press was bruising the
grapes. Their goal was to make the best possible wine.
This scene immediately
sets the tone for how Jim and his son, Bo, are struggling financially to keep
the Chateau open. As we learned in class, the winemaking process and running a
vineyard is extremely expensive.
The movie next switched over
to Paris and introduced a wine shop belonging to Steven Spurrier. Spurrier was
alone in a well-stocked winery with his typical customer, Maurice. Maurice claims to be an enthusiastic
advocate of the wine shop, not a customer. Maurice visited the shop often,
giving his opinion of the bouquet of different wines to Spurrier. During this
particular visit, Spurrier had the realization that he needed to actually sell
wines. Maurice suggested looking at the wine offerings of the shop on a more
global level. Maurice told Spurrier about his recent readings concerning
California. Maurice shared with Spurrier that California was anticipated to
produce wines that would rival the finest of the French. Maurice also began to
emphasize the importance of promotion of the business to Spurrier. At this
moment, Spurrier cames up with his brilliant idea - he would hold a wine
competition. Spurrier’s wine tasting would entail a group of 8 judges. A friend
of Maurice, George, was assigned to bring some publicity to this event.
Spurrier also decided to travel to California to find some respectable competition.
George warned Spurrier of the possibility of these wines experiencing “bottle
shock.”
Spurrier arrived in
California and began his quest to find competitors for the wine competition.
Upon suffering from a flat tire and being stuck on the side of road, Spurrier experiences
a bit of serendipity. Jim pulled off to the side of the road and offered
Spurrier a hand. Spurrier informed Jim of his plan for a wine competition.
Initially, Jim was uninterested in such a competition. Spurrier was bit more
resilient, however, and travelled to Chateau Montelena where he discovered Jim
was a producer of Chardonnay, which he kept in oak barrels. Spurrier tasted the
Chardonnay and described it as “rich, round, layers of tangerine, and peach” on
the nose. Spurrier noted additionally that there was “a kiss of oak” with its
taste.
As the movie continued, a
scene was shown where Jim was taking their intern, Sam, around the vineyard.
During this scene, Jim noted the best fertilizer was the owner’s footsteps. The
soil itself was dry. Jim noted that this was done intentionally because he
wanted to limit the irrigation – “it makes the vines struggle and intensifies
the flavor.” Jim also noted a “comfortable grape, a well-watered and fertilizer
grape” – was likely to grow into a lazy wine.
After visiting many
vineyards and trying many wines, Spurrier finally admitted all of the California
wines were “so good,” much to the contrast to his initial assumptions about
California wines. Spurrier returned back home to Paris after purchasing 2
bottles from each vineyard he enjoyed. Without his father’s permission, Bo had
brought 2 bottles of their 1973 Chardonnay to Spurrier before his flight left.
Bo and his father received a telegram later announcing they had been chosen for
the contest.
Trouble struck, however, back
home for Bo and Steve. Steve discovered all the wines they had bottled had
turned brown. Every single bottle had turned brown, but still tasted fine. Back
in Paris, the competition was being advertised and preparations were well
underway. It was soon discovered that the wines had also turned brown. The
Chardonnay bottles were experiencing a phenomena known as “bottle shock.”
“Bottle shock” is a reaction
occurring in wine immediately following corking. Essentially, a wine, in this
case Chardonnay, kept initially free from contact with oxygen, tends to absorb
oxygen during the bottling process. Though this amount of oxygen does not
oxidize or ruin the wine, it actually helps in the maturation process. Bottle
shock is a temporary condition – all the wine needs is a little time to get
over the “shock” of being transferred from the barrel to the bottle. The amount
of time necessary for the wine to overcome this oxygen “shock” can vary,
depending on the variety of grape(s) used in the production of the wine. Other
factors that determine the amount of time needed for the wine to rest include
the venting process, cellar conditions, and the size of the bottle.
Despite thinking all of the
Chardonnay had been taken away and thrown out because of its discoloration, Bo
and his friends soon learned that was not true when a bartender served them the
Chardonnay from the Chateau. She saved all of the Chardonnay from being thrown
out. The color had returned to its normal golden hue. The Chardonnay was over
its case of “bottle shock” and proved to taste just as Bo and his father had
crafted.
Bo was sent to Paris as a
representative for all of the California wine makers. He was immediately welcomed
by Maurice. Spurrier introduced
himself and the purpose of the challenge, which was to introduce the
viniculture of the United States. He noted he was surprised by the quality and
originality of wines in California. He also noted Napa’s experimentation with
new methods of production. As we have learned in class, various wine regions of
the world are more open to experimentation in the wine world than others.
Americans, and also Australians, are powerhouses when it comes to
experimentation with wine. In a more general sense, as noted in class, New
World wine makers are more open to experimentation than Old World wine makers,
such as the French.
Spurrier selected the best
California wines made in the French style along with some of his preferred
French wines. In order to be objective, the tasting was blind. There were 8
judges in total. It was clear from the start that the judges were unable to
tell which wines were the French wines, and which were the California wines in
the case of the white wines.
After tallying the votes, Spurrier realized Bo had
won. First place with a total of 132 points went to Chateau Montelena of Napa
Valley, California. Once the news broke, Chateau Montelena instantly grew in
popularity. All across the country, everyone kept asking for the 1973
Chardonnay from the Chateau Montelena.
At the end of the movie,
Spurrier noted how they would now be drinking wines from all over the world.
This was just the beginning of a new opened minded approach to wines from all
over the world – like South America, Australia, and New Zealand. This theory
has become a reality, as has been noted in class.
The movie ends with the note
that “at the 1976 Paris tasting, it was Napa’s Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars that
won the competition of the reds.” Also, the movie notes “on June 5, 2006, Bill #ACR-153 was
adopted by the State of California Legislature proclaiming the 1976 Paris
tasting an official historical event. A bottle of Chateau Montelena Chardonnay
and a bottle of Stag’s Leap Cabernet were admitted into the permanent
collection of the Smithsonian Institute.” The movie additionally noted that “in 2006,
Steven Spurrier organized a 30-year anniversary rematch convinced that this
time the French wines would triumph…California won again.”
Overall, I would recommend
this movie to a wine audience. This movie is based on the true story of the
1976 Paris Tasting and can therefore be educational for movie audiences. The 1976 Paris Tasting was a pivotal turning
point for the Napa Valley. I believe it is important for young wine drinkers,
such as myself, to begin having a better sense of how the wine industry came to
be what it is today – and this movie provides a great starting point for how
California came to be as dominant and well respected as it is in the wine
industry.
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