Why the 1976 Judgment of Paris Is Due for a Redo

Because the Paris Olympics draw nearer, the American wine business is leaping on the spirit of competitors fueling the summer time of 2024. 

In early September, two groups of 10–12 judges in New York Metropolis and Charleston, South Carolina will collect to recreate the 1976 Judgement of Paris wine competitors, a blind tasting that famously catapulted wines from California’s Napa Valley to worldwide acclaim.

The unique wine competitors was organized by Steven Spurrier, a British wine skilled and wine store proprietor in Paris, and his American colleague, Patricia Gallagher. Each believed American wines may go toe-to-toe with one of the best wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy. 

The competitors came about in Paris on Might 24, 1976, as a blind tasting, evaluating Chardonnays from California with these from Burgundy, and California Cabernet Sauvignon with Bordeaux wines. To the shock and chagrin of the 9 French wine skilled judges, the competitors finally resulted in wines from Napa receiving high accolades in each classes, dethroning France because the main producer of the world’s finest wines.    

For the 2024 recreation, winemakers Patrick Cappiello and Pax Mahle are teaming up with Josh Entman, the founder and CEO of VINOHEAD, a digital media firm devoted to millennial and Gen Z wine drinkers. 

Their purpose? “To ship waves by means of the business, elevate consciousness for the American wine business and uplift everybody from winemakers to shoppers, new and previous, American and French,” says Cappiello.

Why revive the Judgement of Paris now?

The concept of a redo first got here from Cappiello, who made a plea through Instagram on February 25.

“I need to speak about a topic that the majority American winemakers wouldn’t be excited to speak about…gross sales,” he says. “American wineries are struggling proper now.” He defined that wineries are sustaining an enormous quantity of stock whereas experiencing “over twenty % lower within the final yr in gross sales,” he says. “We ask for one factor and one factor solely. Drink our wine.” 

Cappiello challenged sommeliers, wine retailers, wine patrons, and shoppers to purchase and drink solely American wines for the next two months, assuring them that the outcomes could be “lifesaving.” 

Reflecting on the 2008 film Bottle Shock, which depicted the story of the 1976 Judgment of Paris, Cappiello says he had a brand new thought to attract consideration to American wine, and referred to as his trusted colleagues and pals, Mahle and Entman. On Might 8, the group introduced The 1976 Judgment of Paris Redo, drumming up pleasure for the wine choice course of and the last word competitors later this yr.  

How has the winemaking business developed because the authentic Judgement of Paris?

In 1976, the Judgment of Paris tasting positioned a highlight on the Napa Valley, a area that most individuals on the time had no thought existed, whereas Bordeaux and Burgundy had been identified globally. At the moment, Napa wines are extremely sought and may command hundreds of {dollars} per bottle within the worldwide market.

Wine pricing can also be dramatically totally different in the US than it was 50 years in the past. In 1975, the successful Chardonnay, a 1973 classic from Chateau Montelena, bought for $6.50 per bottle, an accessible value relative to its French counterparts. In 2024 numbers, this equals roughly $36, a a lot greater value level than the common bottle accessible in supermarkets, which, in accordance with knowledge collected in April 2023 by Todayshomeowner.com, are priced between $10.97 and $15.91. 

At the moment, wine is extra financially divisive than it was in 1976. For example, Chateau Montelena Chardonnay now prices wherever from $60 to $80.

“We have to let wine drinkers of the world, no matter technology, know they don’t must drink $10 or the best and costliest wines,” says Cappiello. 

The revived competitors additionally captures rising client pursuits in smaller American wine areas past California. 

In accordance with a latest Arizona Wine Tourism Trade Survey, roughly 46% of vineyard guests polled had journeyed from 36 states. Maynard James Keenen, proprietor and winemaker of Arizona vineyard Caduceus Cellars and New Mexico vineyard Merkin Vineyards, is happy to capitalize on this curiosity by submitting his wines for the brand new Judgement of Paris.

“The ’76 Redo Competitors is the kind of occasion that can convey consciousness and legitimacy to those areas and the world-class wines being produced,” he says.

How will the competitors be judged?

Whereas each the American and French wines within the authentic competitors had been chosen by Spurrier and Gallagher, the wine choice for this yr’s competitors would be the results of crowdsourcing and social media. Unbiased American winemakers have been solicited to anonymously submit their wines for consideration. Up to now, Cappiello and his group have acquired wine submissions from ten totally different states together with Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Mexico, Arizona, Virginia, Oregon, Washington, California, and Texas.

The redo tasting will concentrate on 4 varietal wines: Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah. To take care of a fair taking part in discipline, solely 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 vintages will likely be accepted, and every vineyard is allowed to submit one expression consultant of every fashion. 

As soon as all of the wines are acquired, preliminary competitions for the American picks will happen in Sonoma, California. West Coast judges embody winemaker Rajat Parr of Phelan Farms, winemaker Steve Matthiasson of Matthiasson Vineyard, Megan Glaab of Ryme Cellars, sommelier Cara Patricia at Decant SF, wine journalist Randy Caparoso, sommelier Alex Sarovich, sommelier Mike Zima of SommPicks and Grasp Sommelier Carlton McCoy.

Over two to a few days in late August, the judges will style the wines in a “tin foil” walkaround tasting, by which every bottle is wrapped in foil to hide the labels. The judges will mark scorecards which will likely be tallied, with one of the best wines of every group promoted to the following stage of judging. From there, judges will likely be seated with dozens of wine glasses in entrance of them to style and rank on a scale of 1–50, with 50 being the best rating. As soon as a quantity is used, it can’t be used once more. These scores will likely be tallied, with the 5 high wines chosen to compete towards their French counterparts in New York Metropolis in mid-November.

The French wines will likely be contested in a barely totally different method, in that there will likely be no open submission course of for French producers. As a substitute, an elite group of sommeliers and wine professionals, each American and European, have been organizing and debating a listing of greater than 20 French wines throughout every of the competitors’s classes, together with basic, benchmark wines and fashionable kinds. The finalized record will likely be despatched out to a bigger community of wine business consultants to pick out the highest 10 wines of every selection. 

In early September, two separate groups of 10–12 judges in New York Metropolis and Charleston, South Carolina will collect to blind style the highest 10 French wines, with two varieties tasted per metropolis, and slim down the highest 5 French wines for every fashion.  The East Coast judging group continues to be being assembled however will embody Kenneth Crum, sommelier at Roscioli NYC, sommelier and writer Vanessa Value, Graft Wine Store sommelier and co-owner Femi Oyediran, and Eduardo Porto Carreiro, sommelier and beverage director at Rocket Farm Eating places.  

When the highest wines from each the French and U.S. sides are chosen, a brand new group of 10–12 judges will convene in a non-public location in New York Metropolis to blind style, not understanding the wines’ nations of origin, and go their remaining judgments.

What wine execs are saying

Up to now, the competitors has garnered constructive reception from sommeliers and winemakers throughout the nation.

“Wanting on the authentic ’76 tasting as a part of a zeitgeist, reasonably than as a large, singular inciting incident, is maybe a extra clear-eyed analysis of the tasting within the rear-view mirror,” says Morgan Harris, a grasp sommelier primarily based in San Francisco. “Steven Spurrier actually had an excellent palate and strong idea to advertise the wines. It was all in assist of wine tradition as a complete, which is actually one thing Patrick and group share.”

Despite the fact that Crimson Tail Ridge Vineyard within the Finger Lakes isn’t collaborating within the redo, Kristen Evans, normal supervisor, is optimistic concerning the competitors’s potential. 

“California will help different areas get a foothold as a result of it’s actually exhausting for [them] to get the limelight that they deserve,” she says. Evans provides that she hopes the competitors will encourage future competitions that look previous grape selection. “[Garnering interest shouldn’t be] concerning the selection however a couple of extra broad perspective of types that work in particular areas in America.”

Donald Patz, who owns Donald Patz Wine Group, which makes small-production wines Secret Door, Maritana, and Terminim in California, believes the competitors will likely be “an necessary event” to affect American drinkers. 

“I see an angle, significantly by some sommeliers that each one California wines are tremendous excessive alcohol and extremely manipulated in comparison with their European counterparts,” he says. “I do not imagine that’s true. So, let’s see how our greatest examples fare at this time towards theirs.  It needs to be enjoyable.” 

Outcomes of the ultimate competitors will likely be introduced in November, and solely the finalists will likely be introduced publicly.