The Judgement of Paris!

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I'm still in shock from something I had to do last night!

But let me back up a moment to explain.

Not all of us in this world (including me) are wine connoisseurs, right?

In fact when I do buy a bottle of wine the only thing I rely upon is anything labeled "Chateau So-'n-So" --  whether a Chardonnay or a Cabernet Sauvignon or any other kind.

The simple and naive assumption on my part being the word "Chateau" (meaning a country house  for nobility, where wine might be produced) involves family pride in the wine making process! 

And Chateaux always have such beautiful drawings and old-world type labels, don't they?

So how could you go wrong? Right?

Even if it only costs ten bucks, it's still a Chateau! (ha!) .

But last evening my employers opened a bottle of 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay from Napa Valley, which gave me quite a shock in the first place..

You see, this famous and amazing wine won the wine-tasting contest at the Judgement of Paris in 1976, which caused a great scandal at the time!

But it proved once and for all that American wines, such as those in Sonoma and Napa Valley in California, are every bit as good as their world-famous French counterparts! (And I'm very much aware of the still-raging dispute of the French. lol!)

This forty-year-old wine, of course, is no longer available for sale, and can only be purchased at private auctions.

And I have no idea if my employer bought it when it was first produced back in 1973 for about fifteen bucks, or if he paid one of the escalating auction rates over the years - valued at $2,000 some  decades ago, and  up to $10,000 today.

But whatever the case, this world-famous wine, when opened last night, had turned to vinegar!!!

Poor storage, no doubt, over the last forty years at uneven temperatures, or not tilted downward to keep the cork moist. And the cork, in fact, was brittle and crumbled when opened, and the wine had to be strained and decanted.

But still, it had gone sour!

And my nerve-shattering task last night was to pour it down the drain!

Oh! My! God!

Ten thousand dollars down the drain!

And being tired after the cocktail party and not thinking clearly, I set the empty bottle along side the plastics and papers for the recycle container.

But waking up late today I realized even the empty bottle had value. And heading straight to the recycle bin I discovered it too had already been picked up and sent down the drain!

So good by Chardonnay Montelena.

Good by ten grand! 

Such is life around here.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for any sympathy you might send my way! (lol!)

Good night,
Andrew