Odette Kahn (, 1923–1982) was a leading authority on wine and editor of the ''

La Revue du vin de France ''La Revue du vin de France'' is a French magazine on wine published monthly. The publication has been described by wine critic Jancis Robinson as "France's only serious wine magazine". Following the magazine's acquisition by Groupe Marie Claire ...

'' (Review of

French wine French wine is produced throughout all of France in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world. French wine traces its history to th ...

) and of ''Cuisine et Vins de France'' (Food and Wines of France). She was a judge at the historic

Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 The Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, also known as the Judgment of Paris, was a wine competition, to commemorate the United States Bicentennial, organized in Paris on 24 May 1976 by Steven Spurrier (wine), Steven Spurrier, a British wine merchant, and ...

. Kahn was outraged at the results of the tasting, unsuccessfully demanded her ballot back, refused later to speak to organizer Steven Spurrier after the event, claimed fraud, and wrote disparagingly about the

wine competition A wine competition is an organized event in which trained judges or consumers competitively rate different vintages, categories, and/or brands of wine. Wine competitions generally use Blind wine tasting, blind tasting of wine to prevent bias by the ...

. This event was later portrayed in the movie ''

Bottle Shock ''Bottle Shock'' is a 2008 American comedy-drama film based on the 1976 wine competition termed the "Judgment of Paris", when California wine defeated French wine in a blind taste test. It stars Alan Rickman, Chris Pine, and Bill Pullman and is ...

''.

Biography

Kahn was an expert in the field of French gastronomy and wines, for which she was a well-known ambassador throughout the world. After completing studies in business at HEC Jeunes Filles, she became assistant director and later editor-in-chief of two magazines, ' and '' Revue du Vin de France''. In 1968, after the death of Madeleine Decure, Kahn became director of , publisher of and . She was a member of the International Academy of Wine, as well as 40 wine and gastronomy fraternities throughout the world. She is the author of the cookbook , published by Calmann-Lévy in 1977. She also collaborated in the writing of several other books, including (1974) and (1976). Until the early 1980s, she was in charge of the national competition and served as general secretary of the , which she cofounded with . Kahn also founded the association. She participated in numerous radio and television broadcasts, and was a member of the jury in some of the most renowned gastronomic contests. She received many awards, including the Chevalier du Mérite National, Chevalier du Mérite Agricole, and the

Medal of the City of Paris The Medal of the City of Paris (), established in 1911, is an honour in the gift of the Mayor by nomination of members of the Council of Paris and devolved administrations. Awarded in four grades, ''ie.'' bronze, silver, large silver and vermeil ...

. During the 1976

Judgement of Paris The Judgement of Paris is a story from Greek mythology, which was one of the events that led up to the Trojan War, and in later versions to the foundation of Rome. Eris, the goddess of discord, was not invited to the wedding of Peleus and Th ...

wine tasting, she unsuccessfully demanded her scorecard back after rating two Californian wines higher than any French one.

Biography

Published work

See also

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Further reading