10/02/06 Paris Tasting

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran and on today's program, we are answering email questions. Recently a listener wrote, "What can you tell me about this famous wine tasting back in the 70's between California and French wines?" Today we will talk about the "The Judgement of Paris". In 1976, the famed British wine merchant and wine educator Stephen Spurrier organized a comparative tasting of the top French and California wine producers. The tasting took place in Paris with a panel of elite French wine experts. The evaluation was done in the most professional of situations and of course the panel of judges did not know the identity of the wines. Both red and whites were tasted  matching the very best French Chardonnay of Burgundy against Chardonnay from California. The red wines were the top Bordeaux producers of France like Mouton-Rothschild, Haut-Brion and Montrose against California Cabernet Sauvignon. The results were no less that astounding, because as everyone then knew France was center of the wine universe and the wines were the best and always would be. Imagine how the French felt when the results were revealed; the 1972 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars was deemed the best red and 1973 Chateau Montelena was determined to be the top white. Even the judges were appalled and claimed they had been duped. Many of them refuse to discuss it to this day. The French press barely covered the event months later declaring it to be "laughable" and not to be taken seriously. That's the story of "The Judgement of Paris" and thanks for listening to today's Vine to Wine.