Freedom fries may be old hat, but American lawmakers have found another way to badger the French.
While French fries are no longer called freedom fries and there are no longer calls for a boycott of French wine, Congress has now decided to rib France with an official recognition of the 30th anniversary of the 'victory of United States winemakers at the 1976 Paris Wine Tasting.'
The eight-sentence resolution, sponsored by 150 members of the House of Representatives praises American wineries against the best France had to offer, 'judged in a blind taste test by leading French wine experts.'
Under review in the US Senate since last week, the resolution, entitled 'Recognizing the 30th Anniversary of the victory of United States winemakers at the 1976 Paris Wine Tasting' mentions the 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars SLV Napa Valley Cabernet as the 'winning red wine' and the 1973 Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Chardonnay as the 'winning white wine' – bottles of which were recently placed at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC.
Last month's anniversary tastings, held in the Napa Valley and in London, 'yielded the same result,' observed the official news organ of the US Congress, The Hill, in an article over the weekend.
'So take that, Monsieur Chirac,' it read.
The resolution's sponsor, California Democrat Mike Thompson, is a grape grower and a lifelong resident of the Napa Valley.
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This is all good fun, but really, there is one ongoing error that must be corrected: The Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that "won" the white-wine section of the 1976 tasting was not a Napa Valley wine. The winery itself is indeed in the Napa Valley, but 90% of the grapes came from the Alexander Valley in Sonoma--it's time overdue credit was given to another of California's great wine regions. Brian St Pierre
This article is a bit misleading - even if it is the report you are quoting which is incorrect. It is saying that the recent US vs France tasting yielded 'the same result', but there was not, to my knowledge, any tasting of the old white wines from the first tasting. It was only the reds that
yielded the same result. Beverley Blanning
I am proud that American wines have gained and sustained worldwide recognition as a leader in the industry/art. But I am dismayed that we chose to praise our wine champions by insulting the other competitors. After all, I do not believe that winemakers (French or American) set foreign policy. L T Hammack
The Paris tasting was never conceived with the idea of showing superiority of Californian over French wines, or vice versa, but to introduce the Californians wines to the world. In that aspect they succeeded. Statistically , the samples are too small to declare a great winner .This could be only 'an accident'. Joao R. Silva, Brasil
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This is all good fun, but really, there is one ongoing error that must be corrected: The Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that "won" the white-wine section of the 1976 tasting was not a Napa Valley wine. The winery itself is indeed in the Napa Valley, but 90% of the grapes came from the Alexander Valley in Sonoma--it's time overdue credit was given to another of California's great wine regions. Brian St Pierre
