- Feb 5, 2002
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Fifty years ago, France was the undisputed leader in wine. The Judgment of Paris changed everything.
The tablecloth was white, and the wines were red. The organizers were British and American, and the judges were French. And pretentious.
Actually, that last part probably conveys an unfair French stereotype. Let’s just say they were confident.
There were nine of them. Each came to the Intercontinental Hotel near the Champs-Élysées in Paris to compare the tastes of ten glasses of American and French wine — cabernets and chardonnays — poured from unmarked bottles.
It was May 24, 1976. Around 3pm, the judges took their first sips.
Within days, the global wine industry would be changed forever. So would the life of an American immigrant who’d become known as the King of Chardonnay.
Continued below.
The tablecloth was white, and the wines were red. The organizers were British and American, and the judges were French. And pretentious.
Actually, that last part probably conveys an unfair French stereotype. Let’s just say they were confident.
There were nine of them. Each came to the Intercontinental Hotel near the Champs-Élysées in Paris to compare the tastes of ten glasses of American and French wine — cabernets and chardonnays — poured from unmarked bottles.
It was May 24, 1976. Around 3pm, the judges took their first sips.
Within days, the global wine industry would be changed forever. So would the life of an American immigrant who’d become known as the King of Chardonnay.
The suffering that built a wine legend
Continued below.
