It’s Been 50 Years Since the Judgement of Paris — It’s Time to Move On.

Everyone loves a David and Goliath story; the underdog-beats-all trope is timeless for a reason. In 1976 this scenario played out in the wine world: At a small tasting in Paris, bottles from the nascent Napa Valley ranked higher than French wines in both red and white categories. That seminal day, known as the Judgement of Paris, reverberated throughout the industry and shaped the reputation of Napa.

Now, half a century later, Napa is considered one of the world’s preeminent wine regions. The area’s storied Cabernets reside in collectors’ cellars. Cult bottles go for high rates on auction platforms and trade markets. Napa Valley has become a must-see tourist destination for wine lovers. It’s safe to say that Napa’s — and to a greater extent — California’s reputation is set. So why are wine professionals bent on clinging to this piece of wine history? And so infatuated with the idea of reproducing it?

With the 50th anniversary of the Judgement of Paris this year, some in the industry are ready to commemorate the occasion. While it’s important to look back on the winemaking history of the United States, continuously referencing an event from the 1970s as the key touchstone for America’s culture feels a bit, well, dated. So as we celebrate its milestone birthday, is it time to consider letting the Judgment of Paris go?

What Exactly Was the Judgement of Paris?

The Judgement of Paris was never conceived to be a competition. Rather, Steven Spurrier, a British wine merchant who owned the Cave de la Madeleine and a wine school called L’Académie du Vin in Paris, was always interested in tasting wines from around the world in the context of French wines. His colleague, American expat Patricia Gastaud-Gallagher, heard rumblings that quality wines were coming out of California. In honor of her home country’s biennial, she was keen to explore. After a reconnaissance mission in 1975, Gastaud-Gallagher shared the names of her discoveries. In April 1976, Spurrier and his wife, Bella, went to Napa to see for themselves and arranged to have wines shipped for a tasting back in Paris.

Spurrier and Gastaud-Gallagher organized an educational tasting with French wine experts. Also in the crowd was Time Magazine reporter George Taber.

Tasting the wines blind, the professionals assessed and ranked bottles from Burgundy and Bordeaux against their California counterparts. As everyone knows, the California wines, a 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and a 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, came out on top.

That could have been the end of it. A friendly tasting. Surprising discoveries.

But Taber wrote up the event for Time, recontextualizing it as a competition and the tasters as judges. Stateside, the article made a splash, and many consider it a watershed moment in the history of domestic wine. California wines beat out French wines. For 50 years, it’s been a key part of the American wine narrative.

Why It Still Matters

At the time, the results were revolutionary. But California doesn’t need to fight for relevance anymore. Why is the Judgement of Paris so persistent?

By and large, it’s a pivotal piece of history. America, as a wine-producing country, is young. It doesn’t have hundreds of years of experience behind it. Before the Judgement of Paris, the industry sputtered in fits and starts — Prohibition and two world wars harmed the nascent industry. The Judgement of Paris marked true forward momentum.

“It is the historical reference for how the U.S. was able to jump into the game, the world of wine, and set its place,” says Scott Woltz, wine director of Bibliotheque in New York City, which carries a large list of international wines as well as blue-chip California bottles.

Bryan McCall, wine director at Charlie’s in Napa’s St. Helena, a restaurant that carries an extensive list of international wines alongside local selections, finds that the result had an even greater impact closer to home. “I think who it is significant for is people in the Napa Valley wine industry,” he says.

“I wonder how many of them really understand that at that time, it was pretty radical for a California winery to be making clean, fruit-driven wines that would stand up to those French wines,” he says.

The importance of how the event got people thinking about wine regions outside of Europe cannot be understated. “The Judgement of Paris, as we perceive it, represents the demolition of preconceived notions of value tied to provenance,” says Shannon Saulsbury, beverage director for the Flagship Restaurant Group, based in Omaha, Neb. “When American wines were crowned winners in that iconic 1976 Judgement, the effective message was that where you are born and where you were raised doesn’t determine your greatness or lack thereof.”

“The Judgement of Paris was a significant historical event in the world of wine, but with all historical events, the further you move away from them in time, the less they become directly impactful.”

One could also say it dawned a new era of wine appreciation. “The Judgement of Paris gave people validation that they are allowed to like wine from a region that hasn’t been known for wine,” says Kenny Koda, the opening wine director for Press Restaurant and now wine director of The National in Telluride, Colo.

What was gleaned from the Judgement of Paris still resonates, accounting for its persistence. According to Saulsbury, “The Judgement of Paris is more relevant today than ever because what it represents is more pertinent today than ever. The regions that produced great wines decades or centuries ago have changed, as have new, unheard-of paradises. What idea does this reinforce? The idea that while provenance and terroir tell a very important story, there is no story immune from change, and there is no story inherently and ahistorically better than another.”

And, at the end of the day, it’s a great marketing tool. “It’s a super-fun story. It’s a short story. The narrative is what we wanted it to be,” says Koda. “If you’re selling American wine or if you’re pouring American wine, it’s a Cinderella story.”

Time to Move On?

While no one denies its importance to the American wine industry, for some, the tale feels stale and irrelevant. It has been 50 years, after all. People drink differently, and new regions are in vogue. We can’t expect the next generation of drinkers to appreciate wine if we keep trotting out the same “when I was your age…” story.

“The Judgement of Paris was a significant historical event in the world of wine, but with all historical events, the further you move away from them in time, the less they become directly impactful,” says Katie Brillinger, beverage director of The Americano in Atlanta. “I don’t think most everyday wine drinkers even know that the event even took place, but they can now appreciate a great Napa wine because of it.”

McCall agrees. Thinking about the average wine drinker, who most likely buys wine from a grocery store for consumption that evening, the Judgement of Paris most likely hasn’t entered their consciousness, or has no bearing on their wine-buying decisions. “I wonder what the Judgment of Paris means to anybody outside of collectors and people who are very serious about their wine consumption,” he says. Unless, of course, they’ve seen the 2008 comedy “Bottle Shock” that told the tale through the talents of Alan Rickman and Chris Pine.

An Evolving Landscape

For many, the biggest conundrum with continuing to push the narrative is that a binary competition doesn’t encapsulate the wine world today.

The climate crisis continues to redefine regions: Liminal places for grape ripening are now in demand for their cool temperatures, and classic regions contend with changing styles. Sparkling wine from England? Riesling from Belgium? It’s all possible now.

“I was in the Tuscan area of Radda last July, which is high elevation, cool climate,” Woltz says. “It used to be really difficult to grow Sangiovese properly, and now all of a sudden, you’re seeing some of the best Sangiovese coming out of there because of the changing climate.”

Conversely, when it comes to Bordeaux, “I find a lot of those vintages are getting hotter, and you’re getting a lot more riper style,” he says. Classic winegrowing regions across France, Italy, and Spain are continuously threatened by high heat and drought, and many areas face significant drops in production each harvest.

With a better grasp on viticulture and vinification techniques than 50 years ago, winemakers can also bend toward trends. And that’s where things get even more hinky. Woltz notes that over the past few decades, Bordeaux started chasing the riper, oak-forward wines touted by Robert Parker, while California winemakers are now pulling back from jammy, alcoholic styles. It creates what Woltz calls a “gray area.” If Bordeaux tastes like Napa, and Napa tastes like Bordeaux from decades ago, what does that mean for typicity?

“When American wines were crowned winners in that iconic 1976 Judgement, the effective message was that where you are born and where you were raised doesn’t determine your greatness or lack thereof.”

Sommeliers also note that people, more than ever, want to discover something new. When it comes to California, David has become Goliath. “[The Judgement of Paris] is old hat; we’re talking about Bordeaux and Napa Valley,” says Jake Bennie, wine director at Sepia in Chicago. “For younger people, those areas aren’t super exciting.” Instead, Bennie finds that consumers care more about finding new, compelling wines at a good value. Although reluctant to pay $120 for a bottle, they are willing to take a risk at a lower price point on an emerging region or a wine that doesn’t have the same reputation as a “classic” wine.

Finding the New Narrative

No one is suggesting we stop talking about the Judgement of Paris entirely, but now the tale is better served as a talking point on an educational timeline — one that includes many moving parts that have shaped the wine industry. “It wasn’t until Nov. 17, 1991, that Americans started drinking wine,” Koda notes. “That’s when ‘60 Minutes’ did the famous [segment] on the French Paradox, saying red wine was good for you.”

And, of course, there’s Robert Parker with his 100-point scale. “The collectibility of cult Parker rating really leapfrogged Napa over Bordeaux in the ’90s,” Koda adds.

More recent movements, like California’s In Pursuit of Balance and the rise of natural wines, played a role in the pendulum swing of styles; if we want to consider where the wine industry sits today, these are more relevant than the Judgement of Paris.

More pressing is the need to support the domestic wine industry and to get people drinking wine. “I think California winemakers are hurting,” Bennie says. “The wines have gotten expensive. Younger people are not drinking as much, and sales are down.”

“I think it’s important for us to figure out how to push California wines,” Woltz says. “They have seen a massive drop in the way that most of the wine world has seen a drop.” He’s less concerned about the Harlan Estates and Screaming Eagles of the world, but wants to shed light on Cabernets from lesser-known spots such as the Santa Cruz Mountains, Sonoma, and Mendocino. But is a comparative tasting the best way to draw attention to these wines?

History on Repeat

Clearly, the Judgement of Paris presents a framework that begs to be replicated. In 2004, Chilean winemaker Eduardo Chadwick conducted a similar tasting in Berlin, pitting Chilean wines against Super Tuscans and bottles of first-growth Bordeaux. Chadwick even staged a repeat of the “Berlin Tasting” in 2024 for the 20th anniversary to celebrate how far Chilean wines have come since his Viñedo Chadwick 2000 and Seña 2001 took first and second place above legendary wines like Château Lafite and Sassicaia.

In 2015, U.K. wholesaler Farr Vintners staged a tasting comparing the Chardonnays from New Zealand’s Kumeu River with a flight of white Burgundies from top producers including Leflaive and Lafon, and the NZ Chards came out on top.

In March, winemaker and former sommelier Patrick Cappiello hosted the 1976 Redo, in which Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chenin Blanc, and Syrah from America and France competed for best in category. On May 18, the University of California, Davis, held The Judgement of Davis, comparing California Chardonnays and Cabernets against wines from “the top regions around the world,” in a “statistically rigorous format,” according to the website.

Though the format remains compelling — as previously stated, everyone loves a David and Goliath story — it might be time for wine professionals to think of other strategies for how to grab the attention of new consumers.

“[The Judgement of Paris] is old hat; we’re talking about Bordeaux and Napa Valley. For younger people, those areas aren’t super exciting.”

We have to remember, part of what made the Judgement of Paris so novel was that there weren’t nearly as many voices assessing wine quality as there are today. But now, wine drinkers have a myriad of critics, publications, and social media platforms available to them. We don’t need to keep chasing superlatives. California, in particular, has proven its bona fides. Its quality and reputation aren’t in question.

But what is being called into question is the state of the industry. As Woltz pointed out earlier, we should be focused on pushing California wines — wine in general, really. The question to ask is, what can we do to bring wine to the forefront, and what are some modern ideas to ensure the longevity of the wine industry?

It’s not that we need to let the Judgement of Paris go entirely, but we need to think to the future instead of the past.

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