When I cut my teeth (or in this case, stained them) on wine in the mid ‘70s, almost everything was French. If anyone was venturesome (or wealthy) enough to order an expensive wine for home or at a restaurant, it was always French. In fact, waiters would routinely ask, with a smile, whether you wanted the French wine, or with a slight sneer, the “domestic” one. Of course, nobody desired the latter.
For hundreds of years, France had been in the limelight regarding wine. Virtually all the noble grape varieties had originated and reached their apex in France. Since the 1855 classification of red Bordeaux wines, the First Growths (including Chateau Mouton-Rothschild, which had been elevated to a First Growth in 1973) were preeminent in the world of Cabernet Sauvignon. For centuries, it was argued, the microorganisms in the soil; the trial and error of finding the perfect microclimates, soils, drainage and locations; and the wisdom of the generations had all culminated in something that was unmatched in the world. And for white Burgundy, there’s a quote about its most famous wine that will suffice for the reputation there—that Montrachet should be consumed on bended knee with head bowed!
At that time, the majority maintained that the greatest red wines came from Bordeaux and the greatest whites from Burgundy. The primary grape for the famous Bordeaux wines from the Medoc was the Cabernet Sauvignon, and for the great white Burgundies, Chardonnay. In California, it was not uncommon for a winemaker to wish or even attempt to make a Chateau Lafite-Rothschild or a Chateau Latour from Cabernet grapes, or a Montrachet or Corton-Charlemagne from Chardonnay grapes.
Of course, this was wine heresy to the French. In the late ‘70s and ‘80s, a friend of mine asked what California wine he should take to “show off” to some winemakers he would be visiting in Bordeaux. I suggested a 1974 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve which was a big, tannic wine that had just started drinking well. In fact, until around 1980, the regular 1974 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon was actually preferable, but the Reserve zoomed past it as the tannins resolved and it began to open up, revealing its character and complexity. When my friend returned, he told me that the French winemakers shunned the wine.
By the end of the ‘70s, after I had started “Moody’s Wine Review,” the California bug had bitten me pretty hard. Although by then I had tasted many of the great pre-phylloxera vintages (1864, 1865, 1870 and 1875) as well as many of the most famous Bordeaux wines of 1900, 1921, 1928, 1929, 1945, 1947, 1959, 1961, etc., some of my favorite all-time wines were from Napa Valley: B.V. Private Reserve 1951, 1958, 1968 and 1970 (Andre Tchelistcheff’s last great vintage at B.V.—the ’71 and ’72 weren’t up to snuff); Heitz Martha’s Vineyard 1968 and 1974; Joseph Phelps Insignia 1974; Ridge Monte Bello (even though most of these just had a “California” appellation) 1964, 1967, 1968 and 1974; and a handful of others.
In the early ‘80s, my favorite pastime was to serve the 1976 Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon “blind” to fellow enophiles who professed to abhor California wines. In every case, they loved it, but some were visibly depressed when the facts interfered with their preconceived notion that California wines were no good. Later in the ‘90s, I pulled the same stunt with “J” Sparkling wine. While one friend of mine was trying to pin down which of the great Champagnes it might be, he said, “Oh, no!” when I revealed it was from California.
On May 24, 1976, a seminal event for Americans took place in Paris. Stephen Spurrier, a Britisher who ran a wine shop and taught wine classes (mainly about French wines) in Paris, with the help of employee Patricia Gallagher, an American, had spent some time organizing a tasting of California and French wines for a group of all-French wine experts. Spurrier knew that if they could see the labels, the California wines would be relegated to the bottom of the barrel. So he served the wines blind, asking that they be scored on a scale of 20.
Stephen knew very little about California wines and was really out to prove nothing other than to show some of the better California wines that he and Patricia had discovered. For starters, he “stacked the deck” in favor of the French by pitting a Batard-Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles, Meursault-Charmes and Beaune Clos des Mouches from the most famous and well-regarded French producers against six upstarts from California in the Chardonnay tasting.
Equally lopsided, he thought, he selected two First Growths: Chateau Haut-Brion and Chateau Mouton-Rothschild from the heralded 1970 vintage, a 1970 Chateau Montrose and a 1971 Chateau Leoville-Las-Cases (each fabulous Second Growths) to rival six upstarts from California in the Cabernet Sauvignon tasting. Although the event was widely publicized, only one reporter attended: George M. Taber from “Time” magazine. It was obvious to the French press that this would be a nonevent!
In what has become known as another “Waterloo” for the French, Chateau Montelena Chardonnay 1973 placed first, Chalone Chardonnay third and Spring Mountain Chardonnay fourth in the Chardonnay competition. And even worse for the French, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 won first place in the Cabernet Sauvignon competition, beating Mouton and Haut-Brion, which came in second and third, respectively.
Although Taber sent his article to “Time”, which reportedly had a readership of 20 million, the piece was hidden on page 58 in the Modern Living section. Enough people saw the article to decimate in short order the remaining supplies of the winning California wines, and to create an incredible, new hope for winemakers worldwide; however, wine was such a new item to Americans that, other than the small wine community (upon which a large impact was made), people either didn’t see or hear about the tasting or didn’t care. Even today, most know nothing or very little about the event.
This is about to change. The lone reporter present, George Taber, has just released “The Judgment of Paris—California vs. France And The Historic 1976 Paris Tasting That Revolutionized Wine.” The book is published by Scribner and distributed by Simon & Schuster Inc. It is 307 pages full of extremely interesting facts and stories never before published. It is a fascinating read! It’s worth the $26 just to read about the reaction of the French judges and winemakers!
The following praise from Walter Isaacson, author of “Benjamin Franklin,” mirrors my own: “Here’s the inside tale of the dramatic tasting session that transformed the wine industry. George Taber was the only reporter there, and he tells the tale with the same authority, depth and clarity as the American wines that won. His tale has fascinating characters, great locales and a fine bouquet.”
Every American who likes wine will love this book!
