"california wines" news and stories

Tired of spending upwards of $25 for a bottle of wine that ultimately doesn't suit your palate?

Here's a company that gets your frustration. TastingRoom.com sells around 50 different kits containing between four and six tiny (50 mL) bottles of wine samples. Seghesio Family Vineyards, a top Zinfandel producer in Sonoma, was the first winery to participate, in December 2009. Today the site partners with many different wineries -- including Archery Summit (Oregon), Duckhorn Vineyards (Napa, California) and L'Aventure (Paso Robles, California) -- to offer approximately 200 wines. The value of these bottles ranges from $15 to $142, so it's truly a steal to spend between $20 and $50 on a single kit. An evening spent sipping through the kit won't end in disappointment as it might had you blindly chosen a bottle of wine at a local retailer.

It looks like the famous 1976 Paris wine tasting could be made into a movie.  A Los Angeles production firm bought the movie rights to George Taber's book on the blind tasting, in which the California wines Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 1973 and Ridge Montebello 71 beat the favored First Growths Chateau Mouton-Rothschild 70 and Haut Brion 70. The studio says that they plan to focus on the interaction between Steven Spurrier, the wine mastermind who arranged the tasting, and the Californians, who will be portrayed as the underdogs.

The film sounds like it will be an interesting one. The studio has already suggested Jude Law and Hugh Grant for the role of Spurrier, who wanted someone British and young to play him, as he was 34 when he organized the tasting. He objects to both choices of actor, claiming that "they are far too old."

I should note here that Jude Law is actually only 33, so it's not entirely clear if Spurrier knows who the actor is or how young he wants to look in the film. He could always call up Stephen, 24, from Top Chef, if he wants someone really young. I bet he could do a British accent.

[via The Food Section]

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