Judgment of Paris (wine)

☆ Save On Wikipedia ↗

The Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, also known as the Judgment of Paris, was a wine competition to commemorate the United States Bicentennial, organized in Paris, France, on 24 May 1976. In the competition, French oenophiles participated in two blind tasting comparisons: one of top-quality Chardonnays and another of red wines (Bordeaux wines from France and Cabernet Sauvignon wines from California).[1][2] A wine from Napa County, California was rated best in each category, which caused surprise as France was generally regarded as being the foremost producer of the world's best wines.

By the early 1970s, the quality of some California wines was outstanding, but few took notice, as the market favored French brands.[3] Steven Spurrier, a British wine merchant, and his American colleague, Patricia Gallagher, organized the competition. Spurrier sold predominantly French wines and believed the California wines would not be favored by the judges.[4]

The event's informal name "Judgment of Paris" is an allusion to the ancient Greek myth.

The wines

Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from Ridge's Monte Bello vineyard.

Red wines

California Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage Bordeaux Vintage
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970
Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971 Château Montrose 1970
Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970 Château Haut-Brion 1970
Clos Du Val Winery 1972 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971
Mayacamas Vineyards 1971
Freemark Abbey Winery 1969

White wines

California Chardonnay Vintage Burgundies Vintage
Chateau Montelena 1973 Meursault Charmes Roulot 1973
Chalone Vineyard 1974 Beaune Clos des Mouches Joseph Drouhin 1973
Spring Mountain Vineyard 1973 Batard-Montrachet Ramonet-Prudhon 1973
Freemark Abbey Winery 1972 Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles Domaine Leflaive 1972
Veedercrest Vineyards 1972
David Bruce Winery 1973

The judges

When the results were announced French judge Odette Kahn demanded her ballot back and later criticized the Paris tasting.[2]

The eleven judges were (in alphabetical order):[5][6]

Method

Blind tasting was performed and the judges were asked to grade each wine out of 20 points. No specific grading framework was given, leaving the judges free to grade according to their own criteria.

Rankings of the wines preferred by individual judges were based on the grades they individually attributed.

An overall ranking of the wines preferred by the jury was also established in averaging the sum of each judge's individual grades (arithmetic mean). However, grades of Patricia Gallagher and Steven Spurrier were not taken into account, thus counting only grades of French judges.[7]

The results

White wines

California Chardonnays vs. Burgundy Chardonnays[5]

1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay display in the Smithsonian Museum.[8]
Chalone Vineyard Chardonnay of Monterey County ranked #3

Official jury results:

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 132 Chateau Montelena 1973  USA
2. 126.5 Meursault Charmes Roulot 1973  France
3. 121 Chalone Vineyard 1974  USA
4. 104 Spring Mountain Vineyard 1973  USA
5. 101 Beaune Clos des Mouches Joseph Drouhin 1973  France
6. 100 Freemark Abbey Winery 1972  USA
7. 94 Batard-Montrachet Ramonet-Prudhon 1973  France
8. 89 Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles Domaine Leflaive 1972  France
9. 88 Veedercrest Vineyards 1972  USA
10. 42 David Bruce Winery 1973  USA

Red wines

California Cabernet Sauvignon vs. Bordeaux[5]

1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon

Official jury results

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 127.5 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  USA
2. 126 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
3. 125.5 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
4. 122 Château Montrose 1970  France
5. 105.5 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  USA
6. 97 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
7. 89.5 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  USA
8. 87.5 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  USA
9. 84.5 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  USA
10. 78 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  USA

Average Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 14.14 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  USA
2. 14.09 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
3. 13.64 Château Montrose 1970  France
4. 13.23 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
5. 12.14 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  USA
6. 11.18 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
7. 10.36 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  USA
8. 10.14 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  USA
9. 9.95 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  USA
10. 9.45 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  USA

Breakdown by judge

The original grades (out of 20 points) are shown, in alphabetical order by judge.[5]

Château Haut-Brion was judge Pierre Brejoux's highest ranking red wine selection.

Pierre Brejoux Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 17 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
2. 16 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
3. 14 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  USA
3. 14 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  USA
5. 13 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  USA
6. 12 Château Montrose 1970  France
6. 12 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  USA
8. 10 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
9. 7 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  USA
10. 5 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  USA
Château Montrose was judge Claude Dubois-Millot's highest ranking red wine.

Claude Dubois-Millot Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 17 Château Montrose 1970  France
2. 16 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
2. 16 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  USA
4. 13.5 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
5. 11 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
6. 9.5 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  USA
7. 9 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  USA
7. 9 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  USA
9. 8 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  USA
10. 7 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  USA
Chateau Mouton Rothschild was judge Michel Dovaz's highest ranking red wine.

Michel Dovaz Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 15 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
1. 15 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  USA
3. 12 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
3. 12 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  USA
5. 11 Château Montrose 1970  France
5. 11 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  USA
5. 11 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  USA
8. 10 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
8. 10 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  USA
10. 8 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  USA

Patricia Gallagher Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 17 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  USA
2. 16 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  USA
3. 15 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
3. 15 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  USA
5. 14 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
5. 14 Château Montrose 1970  France
5. 14 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  USA
8. 13 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  USA
9. 12 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
10. 9 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  USA
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars was judge Odette Kahn's highest ranking red wine.

Odette Kahn Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 15 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  USA
2. 13 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  USA
3. 12 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
3. 12 Château Montrose 1970  France
3. 12 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
3. 12 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
7. 7 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  USA
8. 5 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  USA
9. 2 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  USA
9. 2 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  USA

Raymond Oliver Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 14 Château Montrose 1970  France
1. 14 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  USA
1. 14 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  USA
4. 12 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
4. 12 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
4. 12 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  USA
7. 10 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
7. 10 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  USA
7. 10 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  USA
10. 8 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  USA

Steven Spurrier Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 14 Château Montrose 1970  France
1. 14 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
1. 14 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  USA
1. 14 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  USA
5. 13 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  USA
5. 13 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  USA
7. 12 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
8. 11 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  USA
9. 9 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  USA
10. 8 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
Paul Draper was the winemaker who created the Ridge Monte Bello wine that was judge Pierre Tari's highest rated red.

Pierre Tari Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 17 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  USA
2. 15 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  USA
3. 14 Château Montrose 1970  France
3. 14 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
3. 14 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  USA
6. 13 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  USA
6. 13 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  USA
8. 12 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
8. 12 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  USA
10. 11 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
Judge Christian Vanneque was head sommelier at the Paris restaurant La Tour d'Argent when he participated in the tasting.

Christian Vanneque Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 17 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
2. 16.5 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  USA
2. 16.5 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  USA
4. 16 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
5. 15.5 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  USA
6. 11 Château Montrose 1970  France
7. 10 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  USA
8. 8 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
9. 6 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  USA
10. 3 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  USA
Château Haut-Brion was judge Aubert de Villaine's second highest red after Chateau Montrose.

Aubert de Villaine Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 16 Château Montrose 1970  France
2. 15 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
2. 15 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  USA
4. 14 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
5. 12 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  USA
6. 10 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
7. 9 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  USA
8. 7 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  USA
8. 7 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  USA
10. 5 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  USA

Jean-Claude Vrinat Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 15 Château Montrose 1970  France
1. 15 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
3. 14 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
3. 14 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  USA
5. 13 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  USA
6. 12 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
7. 11 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  USA
8. 9 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  USA
9. 7 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  USA
9. 7 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  USA

Interpretations and replications

Statistical interpretation

Orley Ashenfelter and Richard E. Quandt analyzed the results of all 11 judges instead of only nine and proposed a slightly different ranking (see below). They also stated that only the scores of the first two and of the last one wines in their ranking were statistically valid, and that the seven other wines could not be differentiated statistically.[9]

  1.  USA Stag's Leap Wine Cellars '73
  2.  France Montrose '70
  3.  France Mouton '70
  4.  France Haut Brion '70
  5.  USA Ridge Monte Bello '71
  6.  USA Heitz Martha's Vineyard '70
  7.  France Leoville-las-cases '71
  8.  USA Freemark Abbey '69
  9.  USA Mayacamas '71
  10.  USA Clos du Val '72

In a 2026 analysis, Richard Ballantyne MW identified arithmetic errors in the white wine totals published in Taber's 2005 book, finding that Château Montelena and Meursault Charmes scored identically on the official nine-judge panel, making the white flight a tie rather than a clear Californian victory. Applying ordinal ranking, Borda count and the Condorcet method to the red wine scores, Ballantyne found Château Haut-Brion to be the most consistently preferred wine on the panel, placing first on three of four aggregation methods.[10][11][12]

Tasting replications

Some critics argued that French red wines would age better than the California reds, so this was tested.[13]

San Francisco Wine Tasting of 1978

The San Francisco Wine Tasting of 1978 was conducted 20 months after the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976. Steven Spurrier flew in from Paris to participate in the evaluations, which were held at the Vintners Club.[7][14]

On 11 January 1978, evaluators blind-tasted the same Chardonnays tasted earlier in Paris.

  1.  USA – 1974 Chalone Vineyard
  2.  USA – 1973 Chateau Montelena
  3.  USA – 1973 Spring Mountain Vineyard
  4.  France – 1972 Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles Domaine Leflaive.

Ranking lower were Meursault Charmes Roulot 1973, Beaune Clos des Mouches Joseph Drouhin 1973, and Batard-Montrachet Ramonet-Prudhon 1973.

On 12 January 1978, evaluators blind-tasted the same Cabernet Sauvignons tasted earlier in Paris.

  1.  USA – 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars
  2.  USA – 1970 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard
  3.  USA – 1971 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello
  4.  France – 1970 Château Mouton Rothschild.

Ranking lower were Château Montrose 1970, Château Haut-Brion 1970, and Château Leoville Las Cases 1971.

French Culinary Institute Tasting of 1986

Two tastings were conducted by the French Culinary Institute (now called the International Culinary Center) on the tenth anniversary of the original Paris Wine Tasting. White wines were not evaluated in the belief that they were past their prime.[7]

Steven Spurrier, who organized the original 1976 wine competition, assisted in the anniversary tasting. Eight judges blind tasted nine of the ten wines evaluated. The evaluation resulted in the following ranking:

Results
  1.  USA – Clos Du Val Winery 1972
  2.  USA – Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971
  3.  France – Château Montrose 1970
  4.  France – Château Leoville Las Cases 1971
  5.  France – Château Mouton Rothschild 1970
  6.  USA – Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973
  7.  USA – Heitz Wine Cellars 1970
  8.  USA – Mayacamas Vineyards 1971
  9.  France – Château Haut-Brion 1970

Wine Spectator Tasting of 1986

Four of the judges were experts from Wine Spectator and two were outsiders. All tasted the wines blind.

Results
  1.  USA – Heitz Wine Cellars 1970
  2.  USA – Mayacamas Vineyards 1971
  3.  USA – Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971
  4.  USA – Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973
  5.  USA – Clos Du Val Winery 1972
  6.  France – Château Montrose 1970
  7.  France – Château Mouton Rothschild 1970
  8.  France – Château Leoville Las Cases 1971
  9.  USA – Freemark Abbey Winery 1969
  10.  France – Château Haut-Brion 1970

30th anniversary

A 30th anniversary re-tasting on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean was organized by Steven Spurrier in 2006. As The Times reported,

Despite the French tasters, many of whom had taken part in the original tasting, 'expecting the downfall' of the American vineyards, they had to admit that the harmony of the Californian cabernets had beaten them again. Judges on both continents gave top honors to a 1971 Ridge Monte Bello cabernet. Four Californian reds occupied the next placings before the highest-ranked Bordeaux, a 1970 Château Mouton-Rothschild, came in at sixth.[15][16]

"The Tasting that Changed the Wine World: 'The Judgment of Paris' 30th Anniversary" was conducted on 24 May 2006.[17]

The pearl anniversary was held simultaneously at the museum Copia in Napa, California, and in London at Berry Bros. & Rudd, Britain's oldest wine merchant.[16]

The panel of nine wine experts at Copia consisted of Dan Berger, Anthony Dias Blue, Stephen Brook, Wilfred Jaeger, Peter Marks MW, Paul Roberts MS, Andrea Immer Robinson MS, Jean-Michel Valette MW and Christian Vanneque, one of the original judges from the 1976 tasting.[17]

The panel of nine experts at Berry Bros. & Rudd consisted of Michel Bettane, Michael Broadbent MW, Michel Dovaz, Hugh Johnson, Matthew Jukes, Jane MacQuitty, Jasper Morris MW, Jancis Robinson OBE MW and Brian St. Pierre.[17]

The results showed that additional panels of experts again preferred the California wines over their French competitors.[16]

Results
  1.  USA – Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971
  2.  USA – Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973
  3.  USA – Mayacamas Vineyards 1971 (tie)
  4.  USA – Heitz Wine Cellars 'Martha's Vineyard' 1970 (tie)
  5.  USA – Clos Du Val Winery 1972
  6.  France – Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970
  7.  France – Château Montrose 1970
  8.  France – Château Haut-Brion 1970
  9.  France – Château Leoville Las Cases 1971
  10.  USA – Freemark Abbey Winery 1969

Three of the Bordeaux wines in the competition were from the 1970 vintage, identified by the Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB) as among the four best vintages in the past 45 years or more. The fourth Bordeaux was a 1971, described by the Conseil as "very good". Another official French authority, the Office national interprofessionnel des vins (Onivins), rates the 1971 vintage as "excellent".

The French wine producers had many years' experience making wine, whereas the California producers typically had only a few years' experience; the 1972 vintage was Clos Du Val's very first, yet it performed better than any of its French competitors.

50th anniversary

On 24 May 2026, the fiftieth anniversary of the original tasting, a private re-creation was held in San Francisco [18]. A panel of ten wine professionals — Darrell Corti, Olivia Harmon, Andrey Ivanov (MS), Marie Kim-Suckling, Tim Mondavi, Tegan Passalacqua, Daniel Pendleton, Tonya Pitts, James Suckling and Madeline Triffon (MS) — tasted two blind flights: a re-creation of the 1976 red-wine flight using the same vintages, and a separate flight of contemporary California and Bordeaux wines. Each judge ranked the wines in a flight from best to worst, and a wine's score was the sum of its ranks, with the lowest total indicating the most-preferred wine. The historic flight was scored by all ten judges; Olivia Harmon did not score the contemporary flight.

In the re-creation of the original flight, California wines took four of the top five places, led by the 1970 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard [19]. The tasters reported that all of the older wines remained in good condition. In the contemporary flight the 2016 Château Haut-Brion placed first (tie-break win over the 2013 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello). The panel generally found the modern wines more uniform in style and less distinctive than the older bottles.

Re-creation of the 1976 flight

RankWinePointsOrigin
11970 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard32 USA
21971 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello33 USA
31970 Château Mouton-Rothschild41 France
41971 Mayacamas Vineyards43 USA
51972 Clos Du Val Winery49 USA
61971 Château Leoville Las Cases54 France
71973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars57 USA
81970 Château Haut-Brion68 France
91969 Freemark Abbey Winery86 USA
101970 Château Montrose87 France

Contemporary flight

RankWinePointsOrigin
12016 Château Haut-Brion44 France
22013 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello44 USA
32012 Dunn Howell Mountain50 USA
42016 Château Palmer50 France
52014 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard51 USA
62014 Togni53 USA
72016 Château Mouton-Rothschild55 France
82016 Château Leoville Las Cases57 France
92016 Eisele61 USA
102016 Château Montrose66 France
112012 Harlan Estate80 USA
122015 Château Cheval Blanc91 France

Implications in the wine industry

Although Spurrier had invited many reporters to the original 1976 tasting, the only reporter to attend was George M. Taber from Time, who promptly revealed the results to the world.[20] The horrified and enraged leaders of the French wine industry then banned Spurrier from the nation's prestigious wine-tasting tour for a year, apparently as punishment for the damage his tasting had done to its former image of superiority.[4] The tasting was not covered by the French press, who almost ignored the story. After nearly three months, Le Figaro published an article titled "Did the War of the Cru Take Place?", describing the results as "laughable" and saying that they "cannot be taken seriously". Six months after the tasting, Le Monde, France's most prestigious newspaper, reported the tasting where writer Lionel Raux wrote a similarly toned article titled, "Let's Not Exaggerate!"[21]

The New York Times reported that several earlier tastings had occurred in the U.S., with American chardonnays judged ahead of their French rivals. One such tasting occurred in New York just six months before the Paris tasting, but "champions of the French wines argued that the tasters were Americans with possible bias toward American wines. What is more, they said, there was always the possibility that the Burgundies had been mistreated during the long trip from the (French) wineries." The Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 had a revolutionary impact on expanding the production and prestige of wine in the New World.[4] It also "gave the French a valuable incentive to review traditions that were sometimes more accumulations of habit and expediency, and to reexamine convictions that were little more than myths taken on trust."[22]

In the media

See also

References

  1. "The Paris Tasting". National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  2. Mobley, Esther (24 October 2018). "The hidden figures behind the Judgment of Paris". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019.
  3. Frank, Mitch (1 May 2026). "An Eye-Opening Blind Tasting". Wine Spectator.
  4. Peterson, Thane (8 May 2001). "The Day California Wines Came of Age". Business Week. Archived from the original on 18 October 2007. Retrieved 19 July 2006. Much to France's chagrin, a blind taste test 25 years ago in Paris inadvertently launched California's fine wine industry
  5. Taber 2005, pp. 306–308
  6. Oldman, Mark (1 August 2024). "Little-known Nuggets about the 1976 Judgment of Paris". Bevinars. Archived from the original on 13 July 2025. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  7. Taber 2005, p. 218, 238, 276
  8. Nania, Rachel (12 May 2016). "40 years later, Smithsonian celebrates pivotal moment in wine history". WTOP News. Washington DC: Hubbard Radio.
  9. Ashenfelter, Orley; Quandt, Richard E. (1976). "Analyzing a Wine Tasting Statistically". Liquid Asset.
  10. Ballantyne, Richard (7 March 2026). "The Judgment of Paris: Fifty Years of the Wrong Story". Noble Grape. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  11. Taber (2005), pp. 306–308
  12. Jeffreys, Henry (23 May 2026). "America usurping France's wine supremacy was no laughing matter". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  13. Murphy, Linda (25 May 2006). "California wines beat the French – again Taste-off proves California wines age best, too". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 24 June 2006. Retrieved 15 August 2008.
  14. "Vintners Club". Archived from the original on 10 February 2015.
  15. Hamilton, Alan; Sanderson, David (25 May 2006). "California reds win by a nose in tasting rematch". The Times. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007.
  16. Murphy, Linda (25 May 2006). "California wines beat the French – again / Even after 30 years of aging, state's Cabernets still tops" (Chronicle wine editor). San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  17. "Judgment of Paris: 1976 France v US winetasting duel to be recreated on 30th anniversary". Finfacts.com. 24 May 2006. Archived from the original on 24 May 2006. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  18. Suckling, James (24 May 2026). "[Reliving a legend]". Instagram. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  19. Suckling, James (24 May 2026). "[Judgment of Paris Reds, 50 Years Later]". Instagram. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  20. Taber, George M. (7 June 1976). "Judgment of Paris" (Modern Living). Time. Archived from the original on 8 November 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  21. Taber 2005, p. 218
  22. History in a Glass, p. 180.
  23. Willsher, Kate (1 August 2007). "Hollywood goes nose to nose over French wine's darkest moment". The Guardian.
  24. "Modern Marvels: How Wine Is Made - Full Episode (S13, E54)". The History Channel. 2 May 2020. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  25. "Modern Marvels: Wine (S12, E49)". History Channel. 29 November 2006. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023.
  26. "Festival Napa Valley Announces the World Premiere of The Judgment of Paris" (Media Releases: A new one-act opera by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer celebrates the 50th anniversary of the legendary 1976 wine tasting that changed the world). Festival Napa Valley. 2026. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  27. Pyron, Jennifer (3 March 2026). "Festival Napa Valley 2026 to Present World Premiere of 'The Judgement of Paris'". OperaWire. Retrieved 24 March 2026.

Further reading

30th anniversary
40th anniversary
30th anniversary tasting