Winebits 427: Judgment of Paris, grocery store wine

? 40th anniversary: One of the most important moments in the history of wine will be commemorated in May, when the Smithsonian — yes, that Smithsonian — will hold several events on the 40th anniversary of the Judgment of Paris. The judgment, a blind tasting in Paris between the best French and California wines and where the latter won, was the first time the wine world realized that California wine could be as good as it has become. The festivities include a winemakers’ dinner featuring several of the winning California wines, which I’m told by one of the winemakers are still pretty good.

? Supermarket influence: How much do grocery stores affect what wines we buy and what other retailers sell? Quite a bit, says this story by Liza Zimmerman on Wine-Searcher.com. The story is notable for several reasons, not the least of which is that an editor at Wine-Searcher once told me her readers weren’t interested in that kind of reporting. How times have changed, as supermarkets get closer to selling 50 percent of the wine sold in the U.S. The story talks about why grocery stores only carry the biggest brands (because they’re the only ones who have enough product), and how they can afford to sell wine more cheaply than independents. It’s well worth reading and shows that the Winestream Media does have an idea that the world is changing.

? If it works in Canada? The Canadian province of Ontario has decided to allow wine to be sold in 150 grocery stores, a significant move given how tightly booze sales are regulated in Ontario. But, reports the Business News Network, the provincial government is broke and needs the revenue from grocery store sales. The new system is still quite restrictive, though, and includes rules that require the retailers to sell Ontario wines and probably isn’t a model for the 18 or so U.S. states that don’t allow supermarket wine sales.