"It was a complete game changer," says Mark Andrew, a wine expert and co-founder of wine magazine Noble Rot, "and it catapulted California wine to the top of the fine wine conversation." A trip to CaliforniaUK wine expert Steven Spurrier, right, came up with idea for a blind tasting contest. WATFORD/Mirrorpix/Getty ImagesThe tasting was the brainchild of British wine merchant Steven Spurrier, who passed away in March 2021 aged 79. In the early 1970s, Spurrier owned a wine shop in Paris and a wine school right next to it, called L'Academie du Vin. Among the French wines Spurrier picked were Batard-Montrachet, Chateau Mouton-Rothschild and Chateau Haut-Brion -- the elite of fine wine.

Source: CNN May 10, 2021 12:11 UTC