Leave it to the French to come up with one word that can describe a project that leaves mere English speakers scrambling for adequate adjectives.

The Paradiso wine auction continued its climb into the ranks of the top wine auctions in the nation when it raised $2 million last Saturday in just four hours.

In just four years Sonoma County’s Paradiso auction has raised $6.5 million and is ranked as one of the top wine auctions in the world — it’s already third — and is moving upward every year. What’s it doing that’s so right?

About seven years ago PlumpJack Winery made an announcement that raised eyebrows throughout the wine world — half of its 1997 reserve cabernet sauvignon reserve was bottled with a traditional cork closure, the other half with … screw caps.