The New York Wine Tasting of 1973 was organized by pioneering wine journalist

Robert Lawrence Balzer Robert Lawrence Balzer (June 25, 1912 – December 2, 2011) has been called the first serious wine journalist in the United States. He was born in Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa. At the age of 24, he was put in charge of the wine department of ...

. He assembled 14 leading wine experts including France's

Alexis Lichine Alexis Lichine (December 3, 1913 – June 1, 1989) was a Russian wine writer and entrepreneur. He played a key role in promoting varietal labelling of wine, was a masterful salesman of wine, and owned Château Prieuré-Lichine and a share of Chât ...

, who owned two chateaux in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

, a manager of the Four Seasons restaurant in New York City, and

Sam Aaron Sam Aaron (October 7, 1911 – July 21, 1996) was a wine merchant and co-founder, with his brother Jack, of Sherry-Lehmann Wines and Spirits. At the end of Prohibition in 1934, Jack Aaron purchased the liquor store in the old Louis Sherry building. ...

, a prominent New York wine merchant. They evaluated 23

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...

s from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in a

blind tasting Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onward. Modern, professional w ...

before an assemblage of 250 members of the New York Food and Wine Society. California Chardonnays received the top four scores. Fifth place went to the 1969

Beaune Clos des Mouches Joseph Drouhin Maison Joseph Drouhin is a French wine producer based in Burgundy that was founded in 1880. The estate owns vineyards in Chablis, the Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune and Côte Chalonnaise, as well as in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Drouhin is ...

. Other French wines in the competition were the 1970

Corton-Charlemagne Corton-Charlemagne is an ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) and Grand Cru vineyard for white wine in Côte de Beaune subregion of Burgundy. It is located in the communes of Aloxe-Corton, Pernand-Vergelesses and Ladoix-Serrigny with Cha ...

Louis Latour, the 1971 Pouilly-Fuisse

Louis Jadot Maison Louis Jadot (or Louis Jadot) is a winery that was founded by Louis Henry Denis Jadot in 1859. The first vineyard bought by the Jadot family is the Beaune vineyard, Clos des Ursules, in 1826. The family wine company produces and markets ...

, and the 1970

Chassagne-Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche Chassagne-Montrachet () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. It used to be known under the name Chassagne-le-Haut, but the name was changed to Chassagne-Montrachet by a decree on November 27 ...

Joseph Drouhin. Three years later, in the notable Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, American and French wines were once again compared in a blind tasting.

See also

References

Further reading