Judgment of Paris (wine)

The Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, also known as the Judgment of Paris, was a wine competition organized in Paris on 24 May 1976 by Steven Spurrier, a British wine merchant and his colleague, Patricia Gallagher, in which French oenophiles participated in two blind tasting comparisons: one of top-quality Chardonnays and another of red wines (Bordeaux wines from France and Cabernet Sauvignon wines from California[1][2]). A Napa County wine rated best in each category, which caused surprise as France was generally regarded as being the foremost producer of the world's best wines. By the early 1970s, the quality of some California wines was outstanding but few took notice as the market favored French brands. Spurrier sold predominately French wine and believed the California wines would not win.[3]

The event's informal name "Judgment of Paris" is an allusion to the ancient Greek myth.

  1. ^ "The Paris Tasting". National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  2. ^ Mobley, Esther (24 October 2018). "The hidden figures behind the Judgment of Paris". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019.
  3. ^ Peterson, Thane (8 May 2001). "The Day California Wines Came of Age". Business Week. Archived from the original (Much to France's chagrin, a blind taste test 25 years ago in Paris inadvertently launched California's fine wine industry) on 18 October 2007. Retrieved 19 July 2006.