[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 178 (Friday, October 8, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1070]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING GEORGE M. TABER

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                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 8, 2021

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor 
George M. Taber for his monumental contributions to the California wine 
community.
  Born and raised in Riverside, California, in 1942, Mr. Taber attended 
Loyola High School in Los Angeles where he graduated in 1960. He then 
graduated from Georgetown University in 1964 where he received his BA 
in Political Science. One year later, Mr. Taber attained his Degree in 
European Studies while attending the College of Europe in Bruges, 
Belgium. Although he never moved back to California, he reconnected 
with his Californian roots after writing his article on the 1976 
Judgement of Paris, an event that showcased California's finest wines 
in competition with top wines from France. At this event, Napa Valley 
Wineries took first prize for both their red and white wines. He was 
the only reporter who covered this event that forever changed 
California's standing in the wine community and attracted world-wide 
attention. The influence of Mr. Taber's reporting was so influential 
that the San Francisco Chronicle deemed his article as ``the most 
significant news story ever written about wine.''
  As a hard-working and dedicated journalist, Mr. Taber dedicated 21 
years of his life as a reporter and editor with TIME Magazine based in 
Bonn, Germany; Paris, France; Houston, Texas; and New York. With his 
growing love for wine, he went on to write several books, including 
``Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris 
Tasting That Revolutionized Wine'' and ``To Cork or Not to Cork,'' 
which won the Jane Grigson Award from the International Association of 
Culinary Professionals. This award is given to those who have 
demonstrated distinguished scholarship and research into cookbooks. Mr. 
Taber was also a finalist for the James Beard Award for best book on 
wine and alcohol and the Andrew Simon Award for best wine book.
  Madam Speaker, it is evident that Mr. Taber's exemplary journalism 
has brought great prosperity to California's wine community. Therefore, 
it is fitting and proper that we honor him here today.

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