Recognizing the 30th Anniversary of the victory of United States winemakers at the 1976 Paris Wine Tasting.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 399) recognizing the 30th anniversary of the victory of United States winemakers at the 1976 Paris Wine Tasting.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I appreciate that this resolution is being taken out of order, but one might say it is being taken in the correct order. One might even say that it is being taken one after its correct order.

As a Member from California, with my colleague from California on the other side of the aisle, it is important to note that California wines are, in fact, the finest in the world; that they enjoy a special place and a personal honor around the world. So although we came after beer tonight, I would certainly say not far after beer this evening.

Mr. Speaker, until 1976, France was generally regarded as having an unchallenged reputation as the foremost producer of the world's best wines. In that year, a wine merchant in Paris, Steven Spurrier, organized a prestigious wine tasting, now known as the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976.

The blind tasting contest was judged by eight of France's top wine tasting experts. In the white wine as well as red wine consumption, California wines took first place, ending the French wine domination of that industry.

Mr. Speaker, I will include the rest of my statement for the Record. I respect so much the co-chairman of the Wine Caucus that I do not want to take the thunder that likely belongs to him and all of the good work my colleague from California has done.

Time Magazine's Paris correspondent was on hand for the tasting and broke the news to the world. Less might have been made of the contest had the renowned French tasters been less disdainful toward the California selections as they tasted. The French tasters were stunned when the names of the wines were revealed. The impact of the tasting for California wines was immediate, showing people everywhere that exceptional wines could come from somewhere other than France. The 1976 Paris tasting has been duplicated over the years with many times the same result. Today, California wines continue to demand respect and admiration of wine experts all over the world.

I urge all members to come together to support adoption of this resolution on the 30th anniversary of that historic tasting.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time, and I might remind the gentleman from Illinois that wine tasting is a full- participation sport available to all over the age of 21.

Mr. Speaker, I would just close by noting that many, many times California's superiority as the grape wine capital of the world has been repeated in Paris. With that, I close by saying I eat French fries and drink California wine.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such time as he may consume to the champion of wine tasting in the House and the sponsor of this legislation, the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Let me just say that Californians, whether Democrat or Republican, take their politics seriously. They do not always agree on all things, but I think they do agree and I think all of us can agree with them that California does in fact have some of the finest wines known to humankind. I am pleased to join with them in passing this resolution, and perhaps one of these days Representative Thompson might even make me an honorary member of that tasting club.

Mr. Speaker, until 1976, France was generally regarded as having an unchallenged reputation as the foremost producer of the world's best wines. In that year, a wine merchant in Paris, Steven Spurrier, organized the prestigious wine tasting competition now known as the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976. Spurrier sold only French wines and later said ``I thought I had it rigged for the French wines to win.''

The jury of nine testers in the wine competition included eight of France's top wine tasting experts. Blind tasting was performed so that none of the judges knew the identity of the wines that were tasted. First to be tasted were white wines. The comparison included Chardonnays and matched the very best French Chardonnays from Burgundy against California Chardonnays. The winner was a California Chardonnay that was from Chateau Montelena and made by winemaker Mike Grgich. Third and fourth places also went to California Chardonnays. All nine judges awarded their top scores to either Chalone Winery or Chateau Montelena, both of California. The red wines then were tasted. A Cabernet Sauvignon from California's Stag's Leap Wine Cellars and produced by winemaker Warren Winiarski was chosen as the top wine of that type.

The tasting results were surprising to the judges and wine connoisseurs worldwide. The lone reporter who attended the competition was from Time magazine, and that reporter's story promptly revealed the results to the world. Leaders in the French wine industry banned Spurrier from the nation's prestigious wine-tasting tour for a year, apparently as punishment for the damage his tasting had done to France's image of superiority. And as recently as 2005, some of the judges still refused to discuss the tasting, saying that to do so would have been ``too painful.''

This resolution recognizes and honors the 30th anniversary of the California victory at the 1976 Paris Wine Tasting and recognizes the historical significance of this event to the United States wine industry.

I urge my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 399.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois and my colleague from California, and I concur that this is an important resolution. Although the beer measure was taken up first; as someone who has lived in the wine industry my entire life, someone who grows wine grapes and someone who has worked in many different jobs in the wine industry, I can tell you firsthand that there is truth in the old saying that it takes a lot of beer to make good wine. So it is probably appropriate that both of these measures are taken up tonight.

Mr. Speaker, I have the distinct honor and pleasure of representing California's 1st Congressional District, home to over 500 wineries, I believe and I think everyone would agree, the heart and soul of the American wine industry. So you might ask why it is that I would have introduced a resolution honoring a French wine tasting.

As my colleague from California said, the fact of the matter is the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 is the seminal event in the history of the U.S. wine industry. At that event, some of Europe's greatest wine critics, those from within the European wine community, chose U.S. wines as the winners of that tasting in a blind test. That is why that wine tasting is known even today as the tasting heard around the world.

The Paris tasting was proof that American wine makers could compete with the best in the world, that wine makers like Warren Winiarski of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars and Mike Grgich of Chateau Montelena, he now owns his own winery, but at the time he was the wine maker at Chateau Montelena, were in fact making some of the best wines in the world.

Robert Parker, the world-renowned wine critic, put it best when he said, ``The Paris tasting destroyed the myth of French supremacy and marked the democratization of the wine world. It was a watershed in the history of wine.''

The tasting served as a launching pad for an industry that has grown to become a major contributor to our national economy, now totaling over $50 billion a year. There are over 4,000 commercial wineries throughout all 50 States. Many of them are small family-owned businesses. The number has grown by 30 percent in the last 4 years, and the wine industry and the tourism that it generates employs over 250,000 tax-paying Americans.

It is, in fact, a great industry, and our wines are in fact the best. It is appropriate that we take this time to commend those who participated in and the industry that has grown out of the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976. I urge all of my colleagues to vote in favor of this. I thank you for the courtesy of bringing this measure up tonight, both out of order and on the floor, recognizing the 30th anniversary of this famous wine tasting.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Agriculture Committee be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now proceed to H. Con. Res. 399.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.