Judgment of ParisThe only reporter present at the mythic Paris Tasting of 1976 for the first time introduces the eccentric American winemakers and records the tremendous aftershocks of this historic event that changed forever the world of wine. The Paris Tasting of 1976 will forever be remembered as the landmark event that transformed the wine industry. At this legendary contest—a blind tasting—a panel of top French wine experts shocked the industry by choosing unknown California wines over France’s best. George M. Taber, the only reporter present, recounts this seminal contest and its far-reaching effects, focusing on three gifted unknowns behind the winning wines: a college lecturer, a real estate lawyer, and a Yugoslavian immigrant. With unique access to the main players and a contagious passion for his subject, Taber renders this historic event and its tremendous aftershocks—repositioning the industry and sparking a golden age for viticulture across the globe. With an eclectic cast of characters and magnificent settings, Judgment of Paris is an illuminating tale and a story of the entrepreneurial spirit of the new world conquering the old. |
Contents
Voyages of Discovery | 155 |
California Wines at the Tasting | 165 |
French Wines at the Tasting | 185 |
A Stunning Upset | 197 |
THE NEW WORLD OF WINE | 211 |
The Buzz Heard Round the World | 213 |
A Dream Fulfilled | 225 |
The Globalization of Wine | 230 |
| 68 | |
| 73 | |
| 83 | |
| 91 | |
The Rise of Robert Mondavi | 100 |
Launching a New Winery | 106 |
A Case of IndustrialStrength Burnout | 115 |
The Rebirth of a Ghost Winery | 123 |
Making the 1973 Stags Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon | 131 |
Making the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay | 142 |
THE JUDGMENT OF PARIS | 153 |
Dispatches from the International Wine Trade | 243 |
France Revisited | 275 |
Napa Valley Revisited | 289 |
EPILOGUE | 301 |
SCORECARD FOR THE JUDGMENT OF PARIS | 305 |
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY | 307 |
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS | 311 |
INDEX | 313 |
READING TASTING GROUP GUIDE | 327 |
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Common terms and phrases
acres aging American wine André Tchelistcheff Australia barrels Barrett Beaulieu Vineyard Beaune began Bordeaux wines bottle bought Burgundy Cabernet Sauvignon California wines called century Chalone Chardonnay Chateau Montelena Château Mouton Rothschild Chile Côte developed drinking Drouhin event flavors France France's Freemark Abbey French winemakers French wines Gallagher gallons going Grange grapes growers growing Growths Hanzell harvest Heitz Helena Hohnen judges juice label land later Latour Leap Wine Cellars located looked Luper malolactic fermentation Merlot Meursault Mike Grgich Miljenko Napa Valley owner Paris Tasting Paschich percent picked Pinot Noir planted produce red wines Riesling Rustenberg San Francisco Sauvignon Blanc sell soil sold Sonoma soon South Souverain Stag's Leap Wine started Steven Spurrier Stewart tanks told took UC Davis vines vintage vintners wanted Warren Winiarski white wines wine business winemakers wrote Zinfandel
Popular passages
Page 120 - Wine in moderation—not in excess, for that makes men ugly—has a thousand pleasant influences. It brightens the eye, improves the voice, imparts a new vivacity to one's thoughts and conversation. CHARLES DICKENS
Page 39 - Bordeaux is no more, and the Rhone a mere Arabia Petraea. Chateau Neuf is dead, and I have never tasted it; Hermitage—a hermitage indeed from all life's sorrows—lies expiring by the river
Page 35 - Many vines growing naturally, which growing up, took hold of the trees as they do in Lombardy, which if by husbandmen they were dressed in good order, without all doubt they would yield excellent wines.
Page 105 - Let us have wine and women, mirth and laughter, Sermons and soda-water the day after. BYRON
Page 10 - We could in the United States make as great a variety of wines as are made in Europe, not exactly of the same
Page 27 - Drank a sort of French wine, called Ho Bryan, that hath a good and most particular taste that I ever met with.
Page 202 - A bottle of good wine, like a good act, shines ever in the retrospect. ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
Page 62 - Wine can of their wits the wise beguile, Make the sage frolic, and the serious smile. HOMER
Page 294 - A bottle of wine begs to be shared; I have never met a miserly wine lover. CLIFTON FADIMAN
Page 36 - samples of the best wines of this country, which I beg leave to present to the President and yourself, in order that you may decide whether you would wish to have any, and which of them for your own tables hereafter.
References to this book
The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty Julia Flynn Siler Limited preview - 2007 |