LOS ANGELES — One day Caroline Debbané was riding her horse Fuego on the ranch where she boards him in Tujunga when a truck pulled up alongside.

"Hey, aren't you the wine girl?" asked the driver.

"I am," said Debbané, who is a reputable sommelier and importer of expensive and rare wines and spirits.

The driver, who owned a house on the ranch, explained that when he bought the property it came with a dank basement. Along one wall was a rack full of old liquor, and he wanted Debbané to appraise the collection for a possible sale.

The 650-acre property, the same one were Debbané stables her horse, was once owned by Cecil B. DeMille. It was his hideaway.

When DeMille was not making epic films, the famed director would entertain his Hollywood friend at the property. Hidden away in DeMille’s hideaway was a treasure waiting to be discovered in the basement of a nondescript ranch house.

"The basement cellar [was] full of old, vintage, dusty bottles of wine and spirits," said Debbané, who spent days going through the collection, bottle by bottle.

Some of the wine and liquor were no longer palatable.

A few of the corks had dried out, spoiling the wine. In some cases, the alcohol had evaporated out of the whiskey bottles. The collection also included cheap dessert wines like "Blue Nun." Nevertheless, some were still drinkable and a valuable vintage.

Debbané found a rare 1947 Chateau Brion bottle.

"I'd love to try it, but I have to hold back!" she said.

Debbané's mission was two-fold: First, she was hired to establish the value of the stash to see if it was salable, and secondly, she wanted to ascertain if the collection did, indeed, belong to DeMille.

Debbané succeeded on the first.

"The highest bidder walked off with the collection," Debbané said.

It apparently sold for a good sum, but, to protect the buyer's privacy, Debbané would not say how much.

She also found a priceless bottle, one that was earmarked to be thrown away. It was not even full of wine. It was a 118-year-old empty bottle of sherry. This find was, perhaps, a clue to realizing her second mission: Did the basement booze belong to DeMille's?

Affixed to the bottle was a mailing label with a handwritten note. It said, in part, "This bottle of sherry was bought in New York City, the day Constance and I were married, Aug. 16, 1902." 

Could it be DeMille's handwriting? Debbané did some research.

Cecil B. DeMille was in fact married to his wife Constance in 1902 in New York City, years before he moved to Hollywood and became a famous filmmaker.

Still, Debbané was not 100% sure of the bottle's provenance. She proceeded to contact a woman in Orange County named Cecilia DeMille Presley, Cecil B. DeMille's granddaughter.

The bottle was sold by the time Debbané showed up at Cecilia's front door, but she was able to show Cecilia a cell phone picture of the bottle and the attached note. Cecilia knew her grandfather well. She often accompanied him to the studio. She was on the set of The Ten Commandments. She even dined with him at the renowned "Brown Derby" restaurant in Hollywood. (The famed director was part owner of the Derby. Its co-owner, Robert Cobb, invented the Cobb Salad)

"That's grandfather's handwriting!" gasped Cecilia, when she saw the image of the bottle's handwritten label on Debbané's iPhone. "Oh my God!"

By recognizing her grandfather’s penmanship, Cecilia was able to confirm the liquor stashed away in the basement belonged to the late, great Cecil B. DeMille. An old dusty bottle that was destined for the garbage heap became a sommelier's summit.

"This is definitely my biggest find," Debbané said. "Ever!"