Avid oenophiles know what happened at the “Judgment of Paris” wine competition of 1976, where wines from Northern California’s Napa Valley triumphed over French wines in both white (first place: Chateau Montelena) and red (winner: Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars) blind tastings.

And cult film fans know that this historical moment, at least in the world of wines, was the subject of the 2008 comedy-drama “Bottle Shock,” directed by Randall Miller and starring Alan Rickman, Chris Pine, Bill Pullman and Rachael Taylor.

With the arrival of the world-premiere production “Bottle Shock! The Musical” from CCAE Theatricals, the tale lives again.

James D. Sasser and Charles Vincent Burwell — who have written half a dozen shows together — have carried on from the film’s creators and are aiming to tell more about a story that, Sasser said, “is shrouded a little in myth and legend.”

They’ve also written new, original songs for “Bottle Shock! The Musical.”

The film’s memorable soundtrack included ‘70s-heavy hits like the Doobie Brothers’ “China Grove” and “Listen to the Music,” Foghat’s “Drivin’ Wheel” and Bad Company’s “Rock Steady.” How do you write a new ‘70s tune?

“Take a really beautiful song, add some cynicism and guitar. There you go,” said Burwell, the musical’s lead composer.

“Bottle Shock!” closes CCAE Theatricals’ 2022-23 season and is directed by J. Scott Lapp, the company’s artistic director.

Sasser, who wrote the musical’s book, said the show has been almost 10 years in the making. A planned production in the Bay Area five years ago was waylaid by the devastating wildfires of of 2018. Then along came the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was during the pandemic years that Lapp got hold of the show.

“Immediately I was like, this is a no-doubter for where we are in Escondido,” he said. “A lot of the actors who’ve been involved with the piece for a number of years have come on board.”

Some of the actors who participated in a reading of “Bottle Shock! The Musical” last year for CCAE board members and wine enthusiasts are in this production, which has a cast of 15.

Sasser, who went to high school in Napa wine country, and Burwell, who’s from San Francisco, first met while students in the graduate musical theater writing program at New York University.

“When we were looking for another story to musicalize we came across this quirky little film from 2008,” Sasser recalled. “It spoke to so many different facets. I was in a rock band and grew up with ‘70s rock ‘n’ roll.”

Like other works the two have created together, “This is a show that centers largely on music and culture,” said Burwell, adding with a smile: “The research for this show was brutal because it focuses on wine. We had to consume some impossibly good wine.”

Lapp says that’s as much a selling point as the ‘70s-sounding music.

“We just happen to live in ‘southern wine country’ as I call it,” he said. “People come together over good wine. That’s something we’re trying to do, too — to create wine-tasting experiences around the show.”

This could bode well for “Bottle Shock! The Musical’s” possible life after Escondido.

“I would love to see this show travel,” said Sasser. “There are some exciting possibilities for food and wine festivals, more immersive settings, outdoor versions of the story.”

Burwell agreed.

“It could tour. We believe the story can go anywhere that there’s a deep affection for food, which is virtually everywhere.”

For food and wine and rock ‘n’ roll, that is.

‘Bottle Shock! The Musical’

When: Preview, 7:30 p.m. Friday. Opens Saturday and runs through July 23. Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. 2 p.m. Sundays

Where: Center Theater at California Center for the Arts, Escondido, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido

Tickets: $40-$85

Phone: (760) 839-4138

Online: artcenter.org

Coddon is a freelance writer.