Hopefully you are as intrigued as we were by the rather grand title given to this wine and tasting menu experience created by the Vineyard Hotel in Berkshire. First things first, whilst the Vineyard Hotel does not sit amongst its own vines, (surrounded instead by the Berkshire countryside), it does hold some 30,000 bottles in an extraordinary glass cellar that is visible from the floor of the hotel’s reception. In addition, the hotel owner Sir Peter Michael is a rather big name in wine production, having his own vineyard in California, from where many of his award- winning wines have been imported to the hotel. Wine is a huge focus for the hotel, and ‘The Judgement of Paris’ as we found out, was an important event in the wine world that had
such lasting influence, it has been recreated here as a fun and enormously enjoyable challenge to anyone that enjoys a glass of wine – however, lacking in wine knowledge you may be (and we are as it turns out!).
The Judgement of Paris (or the Paris Wine Tasting of May 24 1976) is seen as one of the most pivotal moments in wine history. A blind wine tasting of French and Californian wines, nearly forty years ago, that forever changed the future of winemaking, when unknown Californian wines were chosen over some of France’s finest by some of France’s top wine aficionados. Organised by British wine merchant Steven Spurrier, excellent Californian Chardonnays and Cabernet Sauvignons were tasted alongside white Burgundies and Bordeaux reds. For Californian winemakers, and for winemakers around the world, the event transformed the industry.
Those in attendance included journalists Odette Kahn: the editor of ‘La Revue du Vin de France’, and George M. Taber from Time Magazine who later wrote a book about the event. Years later, in 2008, a comedy drama film; Bottle Shock starring Alan Rickman, was released which tells the story of The Judgement of Paris. Indeed, the final result of this event was so shocking that some of the judges withdrew their ballots.
From then on Sir Peter Michael, owner of The Vineyard, was inspired. The Paris tasting set him on a journey to California in search of a suitable vineyard location, which he found in 1982 starting the Peter Michael Winery in Knights Valley, Sonoma. In 1998, he opened the five-star Vineyard hotel in Berkshire, now established as the UK’s leading wine hotel. Here, amongst some 3,000 bins in the Vineyard’s wine cellar, are over 800 Californian wines including a unique collection from Peter Michael’s own vineyard. The story of the Paris tasting lives on at the Vineyard. The hotel’s impressive art collection includes a huge canvas of the legendary 1976 ‘Judgement of Paris’ (not to be confused with the 17th century works of Art by Rubens of the same name) commissioned by Sir Peter in honour of the event. Steven Spurrier himself (the organiser of the original Paris tasting) was invited to The Vineyard to unveil the extraordinary work of art in May 2012.
The ‘Judgement of Paris’ wine tasting experience invites guests to recreate their very own blind tasting with wines matched to each of seven delicious courses prepared by British chef Robby Jenks. Traditionally, a French and Californian glass are served with each course and the diner decides which they prefer, along with a few guessing games. The tasting also includes two blind taste tests served in blackened glasses, the diners’ task being to guess the variety of grape, along with the origin - California or France? You’ll pick up clues and tips from the Sommelier along the way, helping you to make your best educated guesses - although where we were concerned we still only managed to successfully guess the origin of two of the wines! At the end of the dinner, guests raise a glass to California or to France. Which one gets your vote?
With so many delicious wines to taste you may think that the food would be overshadowed, but you would be quite wrong. The tasting menus are carefully constructed with each new season, using the highest quality, locally sourced ingredients. Chef Jenks aims to provide a ‘gastronomic experience’ and in our humble opinion, succeeds in doing just this. The food we were served was so memorable, it had us reminiscing for days afterwards. You may feel, as I have done in the past, a certain wariness when approaching a tasting menu - the element of choice has been all but removed, and the decisions are in someone else’s hands, which results in sampling dishes you may never have otherwise discovered. This can go one of two ways: you will either end up cleaning your plate and wanting more, or being glad that the portion is small! The menu we sampled on a wet, cold late November evening included such dishes as Loch Duart Salmon with beetroots, walnut and wasabi, Pan-fried Foie Gras with grape, hazelnut and pain d’epices and Venison Loin with blackberries, parsnip and cabbage and bacon. Each of these dishes was impeccably presented. The quality of the ingredients and high standard of cuisine was consistently apparent across all the dishes - with the result that our plates were clean after each and every course. My personal favourite was the Venison Loin, which definitely fell into the category of a dish I would never have otherwise discovered. The meat was perfectly tender and beautifully complemented by the flavour combination of blackberry, parsnip and bacon - it really was a delight to eat, and a complete surprise to me, as I have never particularly enjoyed venison in the past. My partner’s dish of choice was the Pan- Fried Foie Gras which he couldn’t help making satisfied noises over for the (short) duration of eating. He kept urging me to sample it, as I had chosen to substitute this dish for the hand- dived scallop with celeriac, truffle and apple.
The pre-dessert served as a palate cleanser, but was so much more than that with its classic combination of lime, coconut, pineapple and basil. The dessert itself made quite an impression with its decoration of long shards of spun sugar adorning the salted caramel, manjari (Madagascan chocolate) tonka bean and coffee concoction. A delicious way to finish a wonderful meal. Of course, the flavour and texture of the food is enhanced at every course by the wine pairings served alongside, and it must be this fusion of good wine, good food and good fun that makes ‘The Judgement of Paris’ a memorable experience rather than simply a great meal in a nice hotel. You may even come away having learnt a thing or two about wine - here’s hoping!
The Vineyard is a destination, and not just for the wine buffs among you. The hotel’s facilities include an award-winning spa, 49 suites and rooms and an impressive private art collection - so there is every reason to make the journey to Berkshire to experience it for yourself - if the promise of award winning wines and 3AA rosette standard food were not enough.
The Vineyard
Stockcross, Newbury, Berkshire RG20 8JU Telephone: 01635 897589 Website: The Vineyard
