In this competition french judges were invited to blindtaste top chardonnays and cabernet sauvignons from france and california. The story began with the wedding of peleus and thetis which all the gods had been invited to attend except for eris, goddess of discord. While originally written into the script, mike was cut from the movie because he did not want to be a part of the film. The greek mythological story of the judgment of paris appears briefly in homers iliad 24. Two movies examine judgment of paris wine competition. They are equally keen that there is no association with 2008s bottle shock, starring alan rickman as spurrier and bill pullman as montelenas owner jim barrett. Mike grgich, a croatianamerican winemaker in napa valley, was actually the winemaker of the 1973 chardonnay that won the paris tasting of 1976, known as the judgment of paris. View fullsize the paris wine tasting of 1976 or the judgment of paris was a wine competition held in paris on 24 may 1976 organised by steven spurrier, a british wine merchant. Originally the judgement of paris was probably a judgement of the value of the gifts of the goddesses. The judgement of paris was ultimately a beauty contest between the goddesses aphrodite, hera and athena, but the cause of the beauty contest was due to events at a wedding. More than three decades later, that famous tasting inspired another one.
The marriage of king peleus and thetis also the judgement of paris famousblaze. She was excluded because nobody wanted mischief at a wedding ceremony. Housed in a frenchstyle, ivycovered chateau built in 1882, the estate boasts gorgeous grounds, and the winery continues to produce estate wines today. Juno, minerva and venus started to argue and jupiter decided to give the apple to mercury and let paris be the judge of this dispute.
Three goddesses, hera, athena and aphrodite, claimed that it should belong to them, and the task of choosing between them was delegated to the mortal paris, son of king priam of troy. The napa wines that famously beat frances best in the 1976 judgement of paris tasting have been chosen from among millions of artefacts as one of the 101 items that made america. The judgement of paris many plays and musicals have been inspired by the myth as well. In 1976, steven spurrier, a sommelier in paris, comes to the napa valley to take the best he can. It talks about the history of the industry in france, and how it developed in california. The 1976 judgment of paris one blind tasting in 1976 changed the world of wine forever we take it for granted that california produces some of the worlds best wines, with top critics ranking them alongside the finest vintages from bordeaux, burgundy, and beyond.
Mike grgich filmed as part of upcoming judgment of paris movie. In 1976, steven spurrier, a sommelier in paris, comes to the napa valley to take the best he can find to paris for a blind taste test against french wine. The revolutionary decade that gave the world impressionism by ross king. A visit to chateau montelena allows a glimpse into napa valley history. The judgement of paris occurred about 1200 bce and it has been written about ever since. The judgement of paris in greek mythology greek legends. The mythological story of the judgment of paris begins with the wedding of thetis and peleus, where eris, goddess of discord, challenged the most beautiful goddesses to take a golden apple which she threw among the guests. With chris pine, alan rickman, bill pullman, hal b.
The film, titled judgement of paris, written by hollywood screenwriter robert. The paris wine tasting of 1976, also known as the judgment of paris, was a wine competition organized in paris on 24 may 1976 by steven spurrier, a british. The judgment of paris, wherein paris is selected to determine which of three goddesses is the most beautiful, is a popular theme in art. The movie, coproduced by jonathan rotella, is based on george tabers book, judgment of paris, about the historic 1976 paris tasting that revolutionized the wine world. The event was meant to promote the best of the best in the french wine world, but something totally unexpected happened during the. The judgment of paris npr coverage of the judgment of paris. All of the important gods were there, except for eris, the god of mischief and discord. Bottle shock scoops the judgment of paris, which has not yet started filming. Then, of course, theres the story where the fastrunning atalanta loses a race because hippomenes keeps throwing irresistible golden apples on the. Spurrier threatens action against rival judgement of paris film. All this history leads up to the famous tasting in 1976, when california wines beat out french wines in a blind taste test in paris.
The judgment of paris is definitely not the only myth where a golden apple stirs up some trouble. On may 24, 1976, the judgment of paris pitted some of the finest wines in france against unknown california bottles in a blind taste test. These both show rubens version of idealised feminine beauty, with the goddesses venus, minerva and. The large versions of 1636 london and 1639 madrid are among the best known. B efore 1976, the words judgment of paris called to mind a story in greek mythology. The judgment of paris official movie trailer 2011 macoyjinangfb. With an eclectic cast of characters and magnificent settings, judgment of paris is an illuminating tale and a story of the entrepreneurial spirit of the new world conquering the old. Which says so much in such a short amount of time about ancient greek sexual. Nine of the most respected names in french gastronomy sat in judgment. The film, titled judgement of paris, written by hollywood screenwriter robert mark kamen, will be produced by kamen and italian businessman jonathan rotella. Paris, son of a king, is asked to decide which goddess is the fairest. The event is brief, and only hera and aphrodite offer bribes. A new era of california wine on may 24th, 1976, steven spurrier, an englishman running a wine shop and wine school in paris, organized a tasting of six top california cabernets and chardonnays to celebrate the american bicentennial. This is a trailer of the feeling rotella productions want the movie judgment of paris to exude.
Alan rickman to play steven spurrier in rival paris tasting movie. It all began back in 1976 when british wine merchant steven spurrier organized the first paris wine tasting. Kamen says his script tracks the life of the cabernet winner, stags leap founder warren winiarski and events laid out in judgment of paris, the 2005 book by george taber, the only journalist. Rewriting california wines herstory, from judgment of. The judgement of paris about the 1976 paris wine tasting. Another famous one from greek mythology is the incident where heracles steals the golden apples of the hesperides as one of his twelve labors. A second film judgment of paris, based on george taber s book of the same name was in the works, and there has been controversy between the makers of the two films with allegations of defamation and misrepresentation. The story of the judgement of paris comes from ovids metamorphoses when eris the goddess of strife threw an apple inscribed to the fairest into a banquet held by the gods. The judgement of paris is featured in the 2003 tv miniseries helen of troy. Next week the smithsonian will host the winners for. The producers stress that the movie judgment of paris will be the authorized version of the 1976 events, based on george tabers book of the same name.
For instance, hector emerges as a great fighter, while paris shot on arrow that killed the hero achilles. The story of the early days of california wine making featuring the now infamous, blind paris wine tasting of 1976 that has come to be known as judgment of paris. The judgment of paris on may 24, 1976, a wine tasting took place in paris that changed the worlds view of california wines forever. Olympus when all the gods were gathered for a wedding. Kamen estate wines winemaker and scriptwriter robert kamen is one of the people behind a new movie about the judgment of paris. In an event that would later be dubbed the judgment of paris, the california wines included merely to serve as the. The judgment of paris was designed as a competition between french and american wines. The judgement of paris isnt strong overall but its a fun and easy read i read the whole thing on 2 plane trips. The 1976 judgement of paris left the world in shock and put napa valley on the map. Gore vidals judgment of paris takes the reader on an exotic grand tour of rome, cairo and paris in the company of law school graduate, philip. Judgment of paris movie rotella productions seeking. The tasting was the brainchild of steven spurrier, an english wine merchant who owned an innovative wine shop and adjacent wine school in the center of paris. As usual, gv has a keen eye for the decadent and corrupt and much of the action revolves around gay male sex, though the protagonist is ostensibly straight.
The characters appearing in them are the three contestants, hera sometimes there is a peacock near her, athena usually the most dressed one, sometimes she has a shield or a helmet and aphrodite with god cupid, the shepherd paris who didnt know yet he was a prince and god hermes, with his characteristic winged cap and the caduceus. The judgement of paris, as i assume you are aware, is one of the most popular and also the best themes in classical european painting, because its based on a legend where three supremely powerful goddesses asked a worthless male mortal to rank them in order of attractiveness in order to win a sculpture of a fruit. What is the portrayal of athena in the judgement of paris. That tasting turned out to be big news and an interesting story, which taber told in his 2005 book, judgment of paris, and which was also recounted in the 2008 movie bottle shock. Rewriting california wines herstory, from judgment of paris to today meet joanne depuy and patricia gallaghergastaud, who played as large a role as anyone in the famed 1976 french. The judgement of paris was a contest between the three most beautiful goddesses of olymposaphrodite, hera and athenafor the prize of a golden apple addressed to the fairest. Judgement of paris the movie is being coproduced by jonathan rotella, entrepreneur. American dream stories always resonate with peopleif you work hard, you would succeed, says robert mark kamen, screenwriter for the upcoming movie judgment of paris. The judgement of paris the role of women in the art of. The judgement of paris refers to any of the several paintings of the judgement of paris produced by peter paul rubens, though he did not match the 22 depictions of the subject attributed to lucas cranach the elder. He meets jim barrett, whose chateau montelena is mortgaged to the hilt as jim perfects his chardonnay. The producers of the second film control rights to a 2005 book on the tasting and the life story of englishman. With the help of miljenko mike grgich, the paris tasting changed norther california forever.
The legend of the origins of the trojan war 11th grade paris chooses aphrodite over hera and athena and is awarded with the most beautiful. Youve heard of the 1976 judgment of paris, the competition that proved to the stuffy french establishment that california, too, was capable of. Mike grgich filmed for upcoming judgment of paris movie. On may 24, 1976, steven spurrier, a british wine merchant hoping to stoke sales at his frenchwineonly shop, held a wine competition in paris. Ive been reading the excellent book by george m taber called judgement of paris california vs france and the historic 1976 paris tasting that revolutionised wine. The wedding in question was that of peleus and thetis.
This is the story of american wine coming of age and the men and women on both sides of the atlantic who made it happen. Second judgement of paris film to be made the drinks business. Steven spurrier has accused the producers of a rival judgement of paris. Chefs jeremiah tower and nancy silverton host judgement of paris legends dinner. Peleus was a noted hero of greek mythology, and thetis was a nereid nymph, zeus having married off the nymph to circumvent a dangerous prophecy. Our victory in france can be called the second judgment of paris let us not forget aphrodite and the golden apple which was the first judgment of paris. The judgment of paris in 1976 as the brainchild of british wine enthusiast, steve spurrier, who owned both a small wine shop and a prestigious wine school, lacademie du vin, in the heart of paris, the blind tasting was designed to shine a bright spotlight on the quality of wines coming out of california to the french wine community and as it promptly played out, the wine world at large. Judgement of paris fermented grape the world of wine. Judgment movie finally ready to shoot winesearcher news. While it was being made, spurrier threatened to sue the movies.