#steven spurrier

[muiitoloko]

Alan Rickman as Steven Spurrier

Movie: Bottle Shock (2008)

[random-brushstrokes]

Steven Spurrier - Nocturne (1910)

[smilingformoney]

Rickmas 2023: Day 12. Giver of Gifts | Steven/Reader

AN: I thought twice about writing for Steven as he was a real person but I read that the real Steven said the character was nothing like him, so this is entirely based on the fictional character played by Alan and is nothing to do with the real Steven Spurrier or his real wife at all.

Read now on Ao3 or below the cut:

Being married to a world-renowned wine connoisseur wasn’t always as fun as it sounded. Of course, you loved being married to Steven, but as far as his status in the wine industry went, there were some downsides. Other people, mainly.

Some people - and these were the types to always order the cheapest white on the menu at any restaurant they went to - couldn’t fathom how Steven made a living out of his passion for wine. “I wish I could get paid for drinking wine!” they’d laugh, as if they were the first to make that joke. “Do you get free wine?” Yes, you’d say, sometimes he brought home a bottle or two of his favourites from whatever wine competition he’d been off judging. “What’s the difference between a £5 bottle and a £500 bottle?” Ask him, not me, and be prepared to listen to the answer for a long time.

And Christmas… well, your family and friends had their hearts in the right places. But when you sat down to open the presents under your tree on Christmas Day, you did sometimes wish for a bit more variety than endless bottles of wine as gifts - especially as the wines were usually generic supermarket-shelf bottles.

They were usually nice wines, and before meeting Steven you’d have loved to be given a year’s supply of free wine every Christmas. You liked Moët, and to the average person £50 was a lot for a bottle of wine. And at least Steven let you drink it - the higher the price of a bottle he brought home, the less likely it was he’d ever actually open it. His wine cellar was like a dragon’s cave, rows and rows of unopened fancy wines that were made to be drunk but he’d never dream of opening them because they were so fancy.

But there was more to Steven than just wine. And there was more to you than the wife of a man who loves wine. But whenever anyone thought of the Spurriers, they thought of wine, and so that was what you got.

And you couldn’t complain really - not since you’d actually bought him wine too. But you’d gone all out on this one. You were fortunate enough to earn a healthy amount of money in your own career, so although it stretched the budget a bit, it didn’t break the bank for you to buy him a £4,500 bottle of JS Terrantez.

Steven opened your present last, and his eyes lit up when he pulled the 200-year-old bottle from the bag you’d presented it in.

“[Y/n]!” he exclaimed with a gasp, turning over the bottle in his hand carefully, as if worried it might explode. “What on earth has gotten into you? You can’t give me this, it’s too much!”

“Don’t be silly, Steve,” you replied, nudging him. “I know how irritated you get at how many Barefoots and Echo Falls we get every year. I thought it was about time someone got you a good wine.”

“Good? This is the sixth most expensive wine in the world, [Y/n].”

“And it’s not even French, would you believe it?”

Steven rolled his eyes at you. His famous 1976 wine tasting had taken place years before you’d met, but you still liked to tease him about it.

“This is such a thoughtful gift, [Y/n]. Thank you.”

He kissed you on the cheek, and you blushed. He wasn’t the most affectionate man in the world, and you’d come to terms with that a long time ago - it just meant that when he did show affection, it meant all that much more to you.

“Can I open my present now?” you asked, eyeing up the one single gift under the tree that wasn’t in a wine bag.

“Alright, but I wish you’d opened it earlier, it pales in comparison to this.”

Steven carefully set aside the bottle to take down into the cellar later, and retrieved the last present from under the tree for you. You pulled back the wrapping paper to reveal a framed photo of the two of you from your wedding.

“Oh, Steve, I love it!” you exclaimed. You wrapped your arms around him, surprising him, and kissed him on the cheek.

“You do? I know we don’t have a lot of photos of us, so I thought it’d be nice to have something to put on the mantelpiece.”

“You mean other than the photos of you with important wine people?”

“Precisely. You’re far more important than any of them. But I feel bad now, it’s nothing compared to that Terrantez —”

“Well, I think it’s my favourite present this year. I’m going to put it right here on the mantel, and we can look at it while we drink these cheap wines and you tell me all about why they’re so terrible even though they taste fine.”

Steven smiled, your enthusiasm infectious, and he was grateful to have a wife so loving as you, who understood his passion - even if you didn’t quite understand the difference between a Merlot and a Shiraz.

[monkeyssalad-blog]

1937 illustration by Steven Spurrier by totallymystified Via Flickr: Inside Westminster Abbey at the coronation of George VI. From The Sketch magazine.

[galbalmuhet]

❤️

[pwlanier]

Steven Spurrier

Dazzle Ship on the Clyde

signed and dated 19.

charcoal, watercolour and wash

Sotheby’s

[rabbitcruiser]

Freemark Abbey Winery, St. Helena (No. 6)

A ST. HELENA TASTING ROOM

At the onset of Prohibition in 1929, the successful Forni was forced to cease Lombarda Cellars’ operations, except for the production of sacramental wine for the Catholic Church. Josephine, in the meantime, had moved to a little white house across the road from the stone winery and was often seen riding her horse around the estate.

Forni, who never fully recovered from Prohibition, sold the winery and vineyard to three southern California real estate developers, Charles Freeman, Mark Foster, and Abbey Ahern, in 1939. The partners combined parts of each of their names to form “Freemark Abbey,” the name of the property ever since. Through the 1940s and 50s, until Ahern’s death in 1959, Freemark Abbey was an established winery in the valley, attracting visitors to an early St. Helena tasting room, which they called a “sampling room.”

NAPA VALLEY CABERNET: A BOOKEND

The lights at Freemark Abbey went out in 1959—and stayed out until 1966. That year, a new partnership of seven businessmen led by Charles “Chuck” Carpy, purchased the old Freemark Abbey property and immediately ramped up both its production and reputation, via its Napa Valley Cabernet. The partners’ first vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon, the ’67, is a prized museum piece today in the Freemark Abbey wine library.

Just two vintages later, another legendary Freemark Abbey wine would come along: the ’69 Cabernet Sauvignon that Steven Spurrier eventually selected as part of his California lineup to take on the grands vins of Bordeaux in Paris in 1976.

In a century bookended by the arrival of Josephine Tychson in St. Helena and the arrival of California wine on an international stage at The Judgment of Paris—followed soon thereafter by the arrival of a young assistant winemaker named Ted Edwards— Freemark Abbey has been party to its share of Napa Valley history. Going strong at 135 years, there’s lots more of it to be written.

Source

[venusinsilk]

"Olney sat at the dinner with the editor of CVF, Odette Kahn, by now a good friend of his. Kahn was a dynamo, a bona fide member of the French food establishment. (A few years later, in 1976, Kahn would sit on the infamous wine-tasting jury in Paris organized by Steven Spurrier, at which California Cabernets and Chardonnays were shockingly declared superior to their French counterparts in a blind test. When the results were announced, Kahn demanded to have her ballot back.)"

Luke Barr, Provence, 1970: M. F. K. Fisher, Julia Child, James Beard, and the Reinvention of American Taste

[wineacademynapa]

In Episode 21, we sit down with one of the wine industry’s most storied and accomplished figures, Steven Spurrier, perhaps best known for organizing the 1976 Paris Testing that helped catapult Napa Valley onto the world wine stage.

[randallmillermovies]

Randall Miller’s Bottle Shock Turns 15

In 2008, the earth was introduced to “Bottle Shock,” a movie that showcased the true story at the rear of how California winemakers at last became acknowledged for high quality that rivaled the French. The film starred the late Alan Rickman, Monthly bill Pullman, and Chris Pine, and showcased a glimpse into 1970s California - while using the best tracks on the 10 years because the soundtrack besides.

Around the fifteenth anniversary of “Bottle Shock,” it is critical to take a look at its legacy. This vital and commercial results cataloged early winemaking in California like no other movie. It is crucial observing for wine connoisseurs and individuals.

“It was an honor to become able to point out this part of yank and California historical past on film, in addition to to do it with such an excellent forged,” mentioned writer and director Randall Miller. “It’s a tale with regard to the little male giving it his all and popping out on top. It is a true American aspiration tale.”

In “Bottle Shock,” Rickman performed Steven Spurrier, a Paris-based, British sommelier who travels to Napa Valley to uncover wine capable of competing head-to-head with French wine in a very blind flavor check. The percentages are in opposition to the California winemakers, Jim Barrett (Pullman) and his hippie son Bo (Pine) - everyone thinks they can be hicks who don’t determine what they may be carrying out.

Nevertheless, the heartwarming story incorporates a twist: it seems that California wine is delectable, plus the Barretts clearly show absolutely everyone that the things they are undertaking in Napa is pure magic. They paved just how for generations of winemakers to return, solidifying California’s put in the environment of wine.

There are many humorous times within the movie, particularly from Rickman. In a single memorable scene, Jim Barrett asks Rickman’s character Spurrier, “Why do I loathe you?”

“Because you think that I’m an asshole,” Spurrier suggests. “Actually, I’m not an asshole. It’s just that I’m British, and, perfectly … you’re not.”

Rickman, who died just 8 years soon after “Bottle Shock” arrived out, was in fantastic kind to be a snooty Brit, a personality he played so nicely irrespective of his real particular warmth and generosity. “Alan,” suggests Jody Savin, the co-writer and producer, “was an excellent mate and we skip him dearly.” Within the movie, he was each easy to hate and easy to love, as he proved when he stood up for that battling California winemakers when it mattered essentially the most. Despite the fact that he was pompous, he could understand greatness when he observed it.

“Alan Rickman was an unbelievable actor who introduced everyday living to each single character he played,” mentioned Miller. “It was an honor to operate with him as well as a privilege to generally be his pal.”

Now, the legacy of “Bottle Shock” is going to live on: the center Theatre at the California Center with the Arts in Escondido is placing on “Bottle Shock! The Musical” from July 7-23, 2023. The musical is going to remain correct into the story, incorporating love, fermentation, dance, as well as the spirit of rock ‘n roll.

No matter whether you enjoy “Bottle Shock,” begin to see the new musical, or the two, you are going to have a very fantastic time understanding concerning the historical past of California winemaking though observing several of the finest on-screen performances on the previous fifteen several years.

[thisdaywinehistory]

Napa Valley Wine Chronicles: A Captivating Saga of Winemaking Heritage

Northern California's Napa Valley is widely recognized as one of the world's best wine-producing areas, with a remarkable wine history stretching back more than 150 years. Napa Valley's beautiful vineyards and reputation for producing world-class wines have made it a popular tourist destination. Let's look into the fascinating tale of Napa Valley's rise to prominence as a winemaking mecca.

European immigrants, mainly those from Italy and Germany, began cultivating grapes in Napa wine history during the middle of the nineteenth century because of the region's ideal temperature and soil. It wasn't until the 1860s, however, that Napa Valley saw the opening of its first commercial wineries. German immigrant Charles Krug established the region's first commercial winery in 1861; he is widely recognized as the "Father of Napa Valley Wine." The quality of wines made in Napa Valley has greatly increased because of Krug's dedication to the craft and his implementation of modern processes like cool fermentation.

Many early pioneers, like Gustave Niebaum of Inglenook Winery and Jacob Beringer of Beringer Vineyards, helped build wineries in Napa Valley in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The various microclimates and volcanic soils of Napa Valley were immediately recognized as excellent for cultivating high-quality wine grapes by these pioneers. They helped put Napa Valley on the map by creating world-class wines and striving for excellence at all costs.

The development of Napa Valley's wine industry has, however, not been without obstacles. When Prohibition began in 1920, it inflicted a devastating blow to the wine business, prompting many Napa Valley vineyards to either shut down or shift their focus to making sacramental and medicinal wines. The wine industry in Napa Valley would not begin to recover until Prohibition was repealed in 1933, after a 13-year hiatus.

Napa Valley's wine business flourished again after Prohibition, this time with an emphasis on producing high-quality wines. Napa Valley's grasp of viticulture and winemaking has been bolstered by the development of the University of California, Davis as a prominent centre for wine research and instruction. Improvements in wine quality have resulted from winemakers' ongoing experimentation with new grape types, vineyard management, and winemaking methods.

An important turning point in Napa Valley's wine history occurred in the '60s and '70s, a time period known as the "Judgment of Paris." A blind tasting event comparing California wines against French wines took place in Paris in 1976, and it was organized by British wine trader Steven Spurrier. Chardonnay from Chateau Montelena and Cabernet Sauvignon from Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, both from Napa Valley, shocked the wine industry by besting illustrious French wines to earn top honours. The quality of Napa Valley wines was on display during this landmark event, solidifying the region's reputation as a top producer of vino.

The wine business in Napa Valley wine history has thrived ever since, drawing in resources and inspiring new ideas. There are currently several well-known wine estates, vineyards run by families, and boutique wineries in the area.

[thesimplyluxuriouslife]

Bottle Shock, a film: petit plaisir #349

Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008, Bottle Shock tells the true story of how Californian wines put their name on the map of wines to drink. The wine blind tasting that shocked the world, in 1976, set up by  Steven Spurrier, played exquisitely by Alan Rickman, is a British expatriate living in Paris. Convinced wines from California can rival the beloved French wines, he sets the…

[smilingformoney]

Alan Rickman filmography >> Bottle Shock (dir. Randall Miller, 2008) as Steven Spurrier

[dionarastart]

Es una bodega que habla por si sola... hablemos resumidamente de uno de los acontecimientos más importantes en el mundo del vino. Se trata del evento conocido como: Judgment of Paris de 1976 que fue la primera degustación comparativa y a ciegas entre vinos franceses y californianos organizada por Steven Spurrier, un #winelover que nunca hubiese imaginado el revuelo que este acontecimiento en el mundo del vino ocacionaría. El jurado se conformaba en su mayoría de franceses, y degustaron dos cepas cabernet sauvignon y #chardonnay cuyos ganadores (sorpresa para el jurado) fueron: Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (cosecha 1973) en tintos y @chmontelena (cosecha 1973) en blancos, ambas bodegas de USA. Recomiendo ver la película “Bottle Shock” para más información. Fue una REVOLUCIÓN en esa época que sirvió para que la cultura del vino observe con otros ojos los vinos del nuevo mundo, y así fué... #wineaddict #winelovers #wineoclock #winetime #winelife #wineaddict #winegeek #lovewine #winephotographer #wineinstagram #winegram #instawine #winetasting #wineblogger #wineblog #sommelier #topwine #drinkit #wine #winery #wineenthusiast #winewinewine #winecountry #whitewinelover #whitewine #酒 #ワイン #NapaValley (en Chateau Montelena Winery) https://www.instagram.com/p/CkO-8Ferlfy/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[wdwnbabo]

Bottle Shock (2008) (1/?)

Alan Rickman as Steven Spurrier

It all begins with the soil, the vine, the grape. The smell of the vineyard—like inhaling birth. It awakens some ancestral, some primordial...anyway, some deeply imprinted, and probably subconscious place in my soul.

[sommeliersims]

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but Chateau Montelena of Napa Valley changed how the world views California (and US) wines. Back in 2014 when I was studying to become a sommelier I had to write a paper, we were free to choose the subject as long as it had to do with wine (obviously...duh). So since I love my Cali wine, I chose the history of Napa Valley leading up the famous blind tasting in Paris 1976, AKA 1976 Judgement of Paris. Long story short, Steven Spurrier organized a blind wine tasting between California and French wines. Shockingly the Chateau Montelena chardonnay won the white wine category, beating some of Burgundy’s finest wines. Anyhoo, Chateau Montelena just became available here in Norway, though very limitedly - and I was so happy to finally taste one of their wines, their red Cabernet Sauvignon. Their infamous chardonnay who beat the french in 1976 is still on my bucket list - but now there is hope!

Also, if you want a very light hearted and fun movie about said events starring the great late Alan Rickman and Chris Pine in a bad wig check out Bottle Shock