The Judgement of Paris changed the world of wine...forever.
Fifty years ago this May, the winners were declared at the Judgment of Paris and the world of winemaking changed forever. It was THE moment that American winemakers set the wine world on its head by winning both categories at this prestigious competition.
But what was The Judgement of Paris and how did change the wine world?
The Original 'Judgment of Paris'
Before this momentous occasion in wine history, the term ‘Judgment of Paris’ was likely to bring a different kind of history to mind. According to Greek mythology, Prince Paris of Troy was asked by the god Zeus to judge which of the Greek goddesses Aphrodite, Hera and Athena was the fairest.
According to the legend, each of the goddesses offered Paris a bribe. He accepted Aphrodite’s bribe of marriage to “… the most beautiful of all mortal women.” Unfortunately, that woman was Helen of Sparta and she was already married.
Paris’ abduction of her lead to the Trojan War and the fall of Troy. Now we know her as Helen of Troy, and she and the infamous Trojan Horse are all most of us remember of Troy. Fortunately, the city of Paris has fared a bit better after its judgment.
The Modern Judgment of Paris
Picture a small wine shop on the streets of Paris in1976. Behind the counter stood the late Steven Spurrier — a courteous British wine merchant who, by most accounts, had no business starting a fight. But a fight was exactly what he was about to start.
Since Spurrier spoke English he would often have winemakers from California stop in to pour their wines. He kept finding himself caught off guard when he’d do a tasting. These wines were good. Yet nobody in the wine world seemed to know they existed, let alone take them seriously.
As Spurrier put it in an interview with TIME magazine in 2016, “I was an Englishman in Paris, I was already a square peg in a round hole. And these were very, very good wines. So why don’t we do something about it?”
With his American colleague Patricia Gallagher, they put together an idea for a wine tasting event to coincide with the bicentennial of the American Revolution. But what wines should be included?
Gallagher first visited Napa wineries in 1975 for the initial research stage. Spurrier followed her notes on his visit to make final selections – six chardonnays and six cabernet sauvignons. Neither of them told any of the wineries what they were doing, they simply did a tasting, purchased a few bottles and left. The wineries had no idea their wines were soon going to be pitted against French wines.
Quick note, at this time, there were no AVAs in Napa or Sonoma so the grapes and wines came from all the two regions.
Preparing for the Challenge
The wines had been picked. It was game time!
Spurrier arranged an afternoon’s use of a room at the prestigious Intercontinental Hotel. He invited a distinguished panel of judges drawn from France’s most respected gastronomic and wine experts. The nine judges included sommeliers from some of the best restaurants in Paris, the head of a famous French vineyard, and the editor of the influential magazine The French Wine Review, Odette Kahn.
Invitations were sent to journalists from around the world. All of them declined, except George Taber, a correspondent for TIME Magazine based in Paris. After receiving a second invitation, Taber relented and attended as something of a favor to Spurrier.
Raising the Stakes
According to Spurrier, to the French, “California wine did not exist.” To ensure that the distinguished French judges gave the proper respect to the upstart American wines, he changed the format just two weeks before the event. He made a bold, now-legendary decision: rather than a simple showcase of American wines, the tasting would become a blind, head-to-head competition against France’s finest — white Burgundies and Bordeaux Grand Crus among them.
It was a move designed to add intrigue, and to make the judges sit up and take notice. He was also getting very little interest in the event given the outcome seemed obvious — the French judges would taste, deliberate, and confirm what everyone already knew, France ruled. Spicing it up might help…
The Judging
Judging began with the white wines. The judges swirled their glasses, sniffed, sipped and spat, sure in their conviction that they could tell French wines from the American upstarts. They offered confident commentary. One praised a Napa chardonnay with “Ah, back to France!” — unaware he was drinking a California wine. Another dismissed a French Bâtard-Montrachet as having “no nose” — attributing it to California.
Unlike the judges, Taber had a list identifying the wines and their order — giving him a ringside seat to what was unfolding right before his eyes.
Imagine the judge’s horror when the results were announced. They had given the top score to a California white rather than to a French white Burgundy! Yes, a boutique vineyard in Calistoga took the prize — Chateau Montelena’s 1973 chardonnay had beaten the best in France.
Rattled, the judges approached the red wine portion with fresh determination. Unfortunately for them, they again chose an American wine as the winner amongst the reds. This time it was a cabernet sauvignon from Stag’s Leap Winery near Yountville in the Napa Valley.
America had swept both categories. The wine world would never be the same.
The Judgment Felt Around the World
The competition had proven that exceptional wine could come from anywhere, and winemakers across the globe took notice. The state of California had around 300 wineries in the mid-1970s, today there are nearly 5,000. Other states in the country also took notice. Hampered by a post-Prohibition laws many states began changing agricultural rules and introducing incentives to encourage winemaking in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Today, every 50 of the United States produces wine.
In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Judgment of Paris, it’s time to celebrate! Grab a bottle of chardonnay from Chateau Montelena (or Grgich Hills Estate) or a cab from Stag’s Leap and settle in with the film Bottle Shock. It’s an entertaining depiction of the events that led up to the legendary blind tasting and how it all went down.
Hollywood being Hollywood, the filmmakers took some creative liberties and left out some key players — most notably Mike Grgich, the winemaker at Chateau Montelena who crafted the winning chardonnay and later went on to found Grgich Hills Estate in Napa Valley. But hey, it’s still a great watch.
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Elaine Schoch is an award-winning travel writer, wine judge, American Wine Specialist and certified by the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET III). At Carpe Travel she shares wine travel destination guides for ALL WINE LOVERS – from novices to experienced pros – to help them plan their wine adventures, arming them with insider tips, must-visit spots, and things to see and do beyond the vines.
Thank you for sharing this wonderfull blog post about Judgment Of Paris.
Glad you liked the little history lesson. Cheers!
Great story. Saw Bottle Shock years ago and thought it was a good movie and gave me insight into California wine. Then went to Napa to taste some of the wine. Keep writing. You gave me info the movie didn’t.
Cheers!
Phil
Thanks! Glad you liked it and learned something. Cheers!!!