Judgment of Paris (1976)

By the early 1970s, a handful of California winemakers were producing wines of genuine quality, but the global market remained overwhelmingly focused on French wines. Steven Spurrier, a British wine merchant running the shop Caves de la Madeleine and L'Académie du Vin (France's first private wine school) in Paris, had been receiving visits from California winemakers and was impressed by what he tasted. His American colleague Patricia Gallagher, who ran the wine school day-to-day, suggested organizing a tasting to draw attention to California's potential, and the American Bicentennial of 1976 provided the perfect occasion. Spurrier visited California wineries in early 1976, purchasing wines at full price without telling the proprietors what he was planning. The event was held at the InterContinental Hotel, a short walk from his shop near the Champs-Élysées, on May 24, 1976. Crucially, Spurrier decided to make it a blind tasting at the last moment, fearing that had the judges known the origins of the wines, California bottles might be dismissed with faint praise.

• Steven Spurrier founded L'Académie du Vin in Paris in 1973, France's first private wine school, which gave him the credibility to assemble top French judges
• Patricia Gallagher, the American co-organizer, visited Napa in September 1975 and returned impressed by the quality of California Chardonnays and Cabernet Sauvignons
• The decision to taste blind was made shortly before the event, ensuring the nine French judges had no way to identify California wines by label or reputation
• California had fewer than 350 wineries statewide and roughly 67 in Napa Valley at the time of the tasting, a fraction of the over 6,000 California wineries operating today

The tasting featured 20 wines across two flights, all evaluated blind by nine judges on a 20-point scale with no specific grading framework provided. The white flight pitted six California Chardonnays against four white Burgundies. The California whites were the 1973 Chateau Montelena, 1974 Chalone Vineyard, 1973 Spring Mountain, 1972 Freemark Abbey, 1972 Veedercrest, and 1973 David Bruce. The French whites were the 1973 Meursault-Charmes (Domaine Roulot), 1973 Beaune Clos des Mouches (Drouhin), 1973 Bâtard-Montrachet (Ramonet-Prudhon), and 1972 Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles (Domaine Leflaive). The red flight matched six California Cabernet Sauvignons against four Bordeaux: 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, 1971 Ridge Monte Bello, 1971 Mayacamas, 1972 Clos du Val, 1970 Heitz Martha's Vineyard, and 1969 Freemark Abbey, against the 1970 Château Mouton Rothschild, 1970 Château Haut-Brion, 1970 Château Montrose, and 1971 Château Léoville-Las-Cases. The nine French judges represented the elite of the French wine world, including Odette Kahn (director of La Revue du Vin de France), Aubert de Villaine (co-director of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti), Raymond Oliver (owner of Le Grand Véfour restaurant), Pierre Tari (owner of Château Giscours), Christian Vannequé (head sommelier of La Tour d'Argent), and Jean-Claude Vrinat (owner of Taillevent restaurant).

• Nine French judges rated all wines on a 20-point scale; Spurrier and Gallagher participated but their scores were not counted in the final results
• The red Bordeaux selected included Château Mouton Rothschild, Château Haut-Brion, and Château Montrose, all from the highly regarded 1970 vintage
• Judges were repeatedly confused, mistaking California wines for French and vice versa; one judge dismissively identified Bâtard-Montrachet as 'definitely California' based on what he perceived as a lack of complexity
• The white Burgundies were sourced from Domaine Roulot, Joseph Drouhin, Ramonet-Prudhon, and Domaine Leflaive, all premier producers on Burgundy's Côte de Beaune for white wine

When the scores were tallied, California took first place in both flights. The 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay led the whites with an average score of 14.67 out of 20, followed by the French Meursault-Charmes Roulot 1973 (14.05). Three of the top five whites were Californian. In the red flight, the 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon placed first with 14.14 points, narrowly ahead of Château Mouton Rothschild 1970 (14.09) and Château Montrose 1970 (13.94). The reaction from the French judges was one of shock and, in several cases, outrage. Odette Kahn demanded her scorecard back so the world would not know how she had voted, a request Spurrier refused. French wine industry leaders were furious; Spurrier was banned from France's prestigious wine-tasting circuit for a year as punishment. The French press largely ignored the story. The only journalist present, George M. Taber of Time magazine, filed a four-paragraph report that ran in the June 7, 1976 issue. Taber coined the name 'Judgment of Paris' as an allusion to Greek mythology, and that name has endured ever since. His article, with Time's readership of roughly 20 million, sparked worldwide coverage and sent consumers rushing to find California wines.

• White winner: 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay (14.67/20); three of the top five whites were California wines
• Red winner: 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon (14.14/20), just ahead of Château Mouton Rothschild 1970 at 14.09/20
• French judge Odette Kahn demanded her ballot back after results were announced; Spurrier refused, and Kahn later alleged the voting had been rigged
• George M. Taber's four-paragraph article in Time magazine (June 7, 1976) is widely called the most significant news story ever written about wine for its industry-transforming impact

The Judgment of Paris had a revolutionary and lasting impact on the global wine industry. Before 1976, California had fewer than 350 wineries statewide; by 2024, that number had grown to approximately 4,600 bonded wineries, with Napa Valley alone growing from roughly 67 wineries to over 400. The result validated that world-class wine could be produced outside of Europe, opening the door for Australia, South Africa, Chile, New Zealand, and other New World regions to compete on the international stage. It also catalyzed investment in Napa Valley: Opus One, the Napa-Bordeaux joint venture between Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Château Mouton Rothschild and Robert Mondavi, produced its first vintage in 1979, just three years after the tasting. French critics immediately disputed the 1976 results, arguing that their wines were too young and would prove superior with age. Several follow-up tastings tested this claim. The most definitive came on the 30th anniversary, May 24, 2006, when Spurrier organized simultaneous blind tastings in London (at Berry Bros. and Rudd) and in Napa (at Copia) with original red wines as 30-plus-year-old bottles. Against all French predictions, California swept the top five places at both locations: Ridge Monte Bello 1971 won outright on both sides of the Atlantic, finishing 18 combined points clear of second place. The highest-placed Bordeaux was Château Mouton Rothschild 1970, which came sixth. The winning bottles, the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay and the 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, are now part of the permanent collection at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the original tasting.

• California's winery count grew from fewer than 350 statewide before 1976 to approximately 4,600 bonded wineries by 2024; Napa Valley grew from ~67 to over 400 wineries
• Opus One (Napa-Bordeaux joint venture between Baron Philippe de Rothschild and Robert Mondavi) first vintage 1979 followed three years after the Judgment of Paris
• 30th anniversary re-tasting May 24, 2006 (London + Napa simultaneous panels): California swept the top five red places on both sides; Ridge Monte Bello 1971 won outright; Château Mouton Rothschild 1970 came sixth
• The winning bottles are housed in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History; 2026 marks the 50th anniversary