The apostrophe
In this piece, I want to tell a true story of the importance of the apostrophe. Indeed, the exact placement of an apostrophe was central to a decision of the California Supreme Court.
The story begins some 50 years ago in Paris at the international wine tasting event, called the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976. As most locals know, the judges were French, and the tasting came to be called the Judgment of Paris. An upstart winery from the Stags Leap District of California won first place for its 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon, dethroning a bevy of prestigious Bordeaux Chateaux wines with vintages from 1970 and 1971. Some say that that win put California wines on the map.
The winner, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, was very near Yountville. The winery was founded in 1970 by Warren Winiarskiwhen he bought some 44 acres and planted Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot vines. The second vintage was in 1973, and Winiarski made the winning wine from grapes from that vintage.
By the way, the win wasn’t a fluke. A re-tasting event, some 20 months later than the Paris tasting, was held in San Francisco, with different judges but the same wines and vintages. In the San Francisco tasting, Winiarski’s same 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon won first place, again beating exactly the same group of Chateaux wines from Bordeaux. Moreover, a 30-year anniversary of the Judgment of Paris tasting was held in Paris with the same wines and vintages; this time Winiarski’s 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon came in second.
Once the news broke, wine connoisseurs from all over the world sought to obtain bottles of the winning California wine. But locating bottles proved more difficult, in part, because of the confusion of the name of another winery called Stags’ Leap Winery (rather than Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars). I guess the lost sales to the other Stags Leap District winery irked Winiarski, so much so that, rather than whine, he sued. (Excuse the pun. I couldn’t resist.)
Stags’ Leap Winery had a more complicated history. The winery was founded in 1883 and changed hands 1913. The winery was impacted by Prohibition, and production was suspended even after Prohibition had ended. Carl Doumanibought the winery in 1971 and began robust wine production right away.
At this point, you might be wondering where the name Stags Leap came from. Well, I’m going to tell you. Atlas Peak is the most prominent point in the Vaca Range, which dominates the eastern side of the Napa Valley. Tucked below Atlas Peak is Stags Leap, whose name derives from the century old legend of a nimble buck looking over a jagged outcropping of sheer rock.
The original lawsuit brought by Winiarski was countered by a suit filed by Doumani. The suits made it up the legal chain, eventually making it to the California Supreme Court in 1986.
That’s where the exact placement of the apostrophe came in. The court ruled that the two wineries were founded the same year and took their names from the Stags Leap area. Therefore, the Court reasoned, they were both allowed to use the Stags Leap name. What’s unique is that the judgment included a provision that the Winiarski winery, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, was to keep the apostrophe before the S, and the Doumani winery, Stags’ Leap Winery, would use an apostrophe after the S.
In the end, Winiarski and Doumani buried the hatchet, so to speak, and together made and released a 1985 Cabernet Sauvignon made up of equal portions from their respective vineyards. The release was called Accord. Clever name, isn’t it?
When I started this story, I thought I knew how to use an apostrophe. I didn’t realize that there is an unbelievable level of criticism out there, some even calling for its brutal elimination, like in an English Journal article named, “Axing the Apostrophe.” Some critics argue that its absence would not be missed, that it’s a waste of time and that context would resolve any ambiguities. To be sure, there are supporters of the apostrophe. Notably, the Apostrophe Protection Societythat was formed in 2001. I swear that I’m not making this up.
Unfortunately, the founder of the society gave up in 2019, stating that the ignorance and laziness in modern times have won. One particular criticism, demonstrating what I believe is an outstanding example of outside the box thinking, was that the apostrophe is not even a form of punctuation: instead, it’s the 27th letter of the alphabet.
To all these linguistic critics, I have this simple piece of advice: get a life!
