The Judgment Of Paris: The Blind Taste Test That Decanted The Wine World

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The Judgment Of Paris: The Blind Taste Test That Decanted The Wine World

It was the tasting that revolutionized the wine world.
Forty years ago today, the crème de la crème of the French wine establishment sat in judgment for a blind tasting that pitted some of the finest wines in France against unknown California bottles. Only one journalist bothered to show up — the outcome was considered a foregone conclusion.
"Obviously, the French wines were going to win," says George Taber, who was then a correspondent for Time magazine in Paris. He says everyone thought "it's going to be a nonstory."
Taber did attend, as a favor to the organizers. And he ended up getting the biggest story of his career: To everyone's amazement, the California wines — red and white — beat out their French competitors.

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When the scores were tallied, the top honors went not to France's best vintners but to a California white and red — the 1973 chardonnay from Chateau Montelena and the 1973 cabernet sauvignon from Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. (A bottle of each now resides at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.)

Taber says the results shocked everyone. When it was over, Kahn unsuccessfully demanded her scorecard back — according to Taber, "she wanted to make sure that the world didn't know what her scores were."

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https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/05/24/479163882/the-judgment-of-paris-the-blind-taste-test-that-decanted-the-wine-world

 

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An answer would be nice, wouldn't it?

 

[Shane R]

I think this was mentioned in Robert Mondavi's biography. It accelerated the division between he and his brother Charles. Charles was not interested in making fine wine; he was content to make the inexpensive table wine that California was known for. Robert helped build up the American wine industry but it seems Charles' approach has come back in fashion. It's difficult to find a California wine that's got an actual vintage without going to a specialty shop. It's even harder to find one that's not some red blend. But the wines aren't so affordable anymore. The industry is trying to get Robert's prices for Charles' wines.

 

[Red Gold]

It's difficult to find a California wine that's got an actual vintage without going to a specialty shop. It's even harder to find one that's not some red blend. But the wines aren't so affordable anymore. The industry is trying to get Robert's prices for Charles' wines.

A very interesting observation!

For me it is always important to know some details about the wine that I am drinking - like the year of the vintage and the name of the grape variety it is made from.

If that is missing on the label, then wine is a product like Coca-Cola, where such details are un-important.