The Wine Tasting That Put California On Top Of The Wine World
What is the top wine producing region of the world? It is a simple question. On most subjects, it would also produce a heap of debate given the subjective nature of “best” and “top” and other rankings. Yet this was not the case with wine. Everyone knew the French made the best wine. Or did they?
The year was 1976. The established world of wine was about to get a firm kick in the derriere. The Judgment of Paris had been arranged by a British wine importer, Steven Spurrier. He was an importer of French wines and had finally had enough of the suggestions that California wine was equal to or superior to French wine.
The Judgment of Paris was as stiff upper lipped as it sounds. It was also heavily biased. The competition would be a comparison of chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon wines from France and California. Eleven of the judges were French and only one American. Even better, the American’s rankings were not counted! To counter this home field advantage, the tastings would be done blind. Put another way, the judges would not know what wines they were drinking.
Then something amazing happened. The judges could not tell the wines apart. They identified certain wines as clearly the “best of the French” that were actually from Napa. Statistically, the winner was a Stag’s Leap from America, but barely. The bigger point was the fact a competition biased against the American wines still resulted in situation where French judges could not say French wines were superior.
This was a shock to the world of wine. Could California wines really be on par with French ones? At first it was not believed. As time passed, the idea became accepted and California wines grew in prestige. Ultimately, they have become par excellence in the world of wine.
Interestingly, the competition was undertaken again in 2006. French judges were again used. In fact, some of the original French judges. The results? A 1971 Ridge Monte Bello cabernet from California received the top mark. The best French wine? A 1970 Château Mouton Rothschild that came in SIXTH place!
So, does this mean California wines are better than French wines? No. It simply means that wines should not be graded on their regions. Instead, they should be graded on their individual qualities. There are bad and good wines from California. There are bad and good wines from France. This is true for any region.
