So I'm not sure how many non-industry or non-winegeek folks out there know about the Judgment of Paris. This is the tasting that basically set the stage for the California wine industry and opened doors for wineries and winemakers all over the world. Up until the Judgment, which took place in 1976, everyone thought French wine was the only type of wine worth drinking. (The French especially thought this.) This tasting -- a blind tasting that pit French wines against Californian wines -- changed everything. The judges, who were all French, couldn't figure out which wines were which, and they ended up choosing the Californian wines as the winners. Of course, this caused a huge uproar.
An uproar that is still roaring, over and over again. With re-enactment after re-enactment.
And now that good ol' Hollywood has made a movie about the tasting, everyone wants to experience Paris all over again.
I flew down to L.A. yesterday to represent our winery (yes, we were one of the California wines poured back in 1976) at one of these re-enactments. While they didn't have wines from all of the original participants, the wines they did have were pretty significant. For whites (Chardonnay, essentially), they had the 2006 Chateau Montelena, 2006 Chalone Vineyards, 2005 Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet and 2005 Beaune Clos des Mouches. For reds, our 2004 Reserve was joined by the 2004 Stag's Leap Cellars SLV, 2004 Chateau Leoville Las Cases and 2005 Chateau Montrose.
The tasting was interesting because the vast majority of people in the group were consumers -- just average, normal people (or so they seemed). But they took the tasting really seriously. And it was extremely cool to sit down and evaluate wines together -- I always enjoy listening to everyone's different descriptors and preferences -- it's like taking a peek into someone's food history. It's amazing the varied scents and flavors that people have in their memories.
Anyway, California won again -- Montelena for the whites and Stag's Leap for the reds (both the original winners in 1976). And yes, these results could be because our wines are indeed superior to the French.
Or because we are a bunch of Californians with palates for California wine. (I tend to agree with the latter -- I personally find it hard to say one country's wines are better than another's -- so much about wine is subjective.)
Either way, it was a fun event. And I am exhausted because I woke up at 4:30 this morning to fly home. (Can someone please tell me how and why I'm still awake right now?)
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