Sauvignon Blanc; Brampton; Cloudy Bay; Fumé Blanc; grapes; New Zealand; Pouilly-Fumé; Sancerre
Schoch, Ivan
Schoonmaker, Frank
Schramm, Wes
Schramsberg winery, Calistoga, CAn; Blanc de Blancs; J. Davies Cabernet Savignon
Schubert, Max
Schuster, Daniel
Scott, Sir Walter
Screaming Eagle winery
Sculatti, Ron
Seagrams
Seattle Times,
Sémillion grape
Senard, Lorraine
Senard, Philippe
Serra, Junípera
Shiraz/Syrah: Australian; French; grapes
Sieur d’Argques
Silverado Squatters, The(Stevenson)
Simon, André
Slay Me with Flagons(Baxter)
Smart, Richard
Smith, John
Sofitel hotel, Paris
Sonoma, CA: Chardonnay grape in; city of; history of wine in; Pinot Noir grape in; Russian River Valley region; wineries in.See also specific wineries
South Africa: Barlow Rand; Rupert & Rothschild; Rustenberg Brampton; Rustenberg Five Soldiers ; Rustenberg winery; Stellen-bosch; wine production and export
South American wines; wine production and export; wine making in.See also Argentina; Chile
Souverain Cellars, St. Helena, CA; Burgess buys the winery ; Cabernet Sauvignon; Cabernet Sauvignon; Chardonnay; Dry Sauterne; grapes for; Green Hungarian wine; Grgich at; Johannisberg Riesling; malolactic fermentation at; Red Burgundy; soil and; Tchelistcheff and; winemaking at; Winiarski at; yeasts used at; Zinfandel; Zinfandel
Spain; production and export ; Vega Sicilia Unico
Spring Mountain Vineyard; Paris Tasting Chardonnay, Paris Tasting rematch; Wine Olympics, Paris
Spurrier, Bella
Spurrier, Steven; Académie du Vin and; California wines, interest in; California wine trip; as critic; favorites at Paris Tasting; Paris Tasting; Paris Tasting, backlash and criticism; Patricia Gallagher and; as proprietor of Caves de la Madeleine; test for sommeliers and; wife; wine for Queen’s visit to Paris; wine tasting event, Bordeaux’s First Growth red wines; as wine tasting judge; wine tour 1965.See also Académie du Vin; Caves de la Madeleine
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars and Vineyard; blending at; bottling at; Cabernet Sauvignon grapes; Cask; first planting; Gallagher visit; growth of, post-Paris Tasting; harvest; Hawk Crest; Merlot grapes; Paris Tasting, Cabernet Sauvignon; Paris Tasting rematch, tenth anniversary; Paris Tasting, studies of results; Paris Tasting winner; price per bottle; SLV; soil; wine making
Stags’ Leap Winery
Steineke, Roam
Sterling Vineyards: acquired by Diageo; Wine Olympics, Paris
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Stewart, J. Leland (Lee); background; cleanliness and; frugality; grapes grown by; Grgich and; Mondavi and; as prizewinning winemaker; Souverain Cellars and; Tchelistcheff and; Winiarski andSee also Souverain Cellars
Storm, John
Strebl, Mary Lee
Strobell, Hilde
Strong, Rodney,
Sturdivant, Jack and Helen
Sutter Home, St. Helena, CA; development of White Zinfandel
Taber, George; California wines today; French wines today and; at the Paris Tasting; story on Paris Tasting; wine search, world trip
Taillevent restaurant, Paris
Tari, Pierre
Taylor, Jack and Mary
Tchelistcheff, André; “André Tchelistcheff’s Tour of France,” anti-frost products developed by; at Beaulieu Vineyard; Chalone Pinot Noir and; as consultant to Coppola; as consultant to Hanzell; as consultant to Souverain; as consultant to Spring Valley; Grgich and; Heitz and; malolactic fermentation used by; Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars and; Winiarski and
Tchelistcheff, Dimitri
Tchelistcheff, Dorothy
Terroir,
Tiburon Vintners wine shop
Timemagazine; “Judgment of Paris,”
To Kalon vineyard, Oakville, CA
Torres, Miguel
Tour d’Argent restaurant, Paris
Toynbee, Arnold
Trader Joe’s grocery store, Napa
Travers, Bob and Elinor
Treasury of American Wines, The(Chroman)
Trefethen, Eugene
Trefethen, John and Janet Spooner
Trefethen Vineyards, Napa, CA; Gewürtztraminer; Wine Olympics Paris
Troisgros Restaurant, Roanne, France
Tubbs, Alfred L.
Turley, Helen
“21” club, NY, wine list
Tychson, Josephine Marlin
Tychson Winery
Ullinger, Paul
United States: California wine history; Colonial times and wine; consumption per capita; first European vines imported; France, new interest ins; French domination of wine market; grape cultivation, acres in; jug wine; liquor laws; Paris Tasting, effect on consumption of California wines; Prohibition and wine; Pure Wine Law; regions of wine-making in; social changes and increase in wine consumption; tasting groups, creation of; varietals native to; wild grapes and early explorations; wine consumption; wine exports; wine industry growth; wine list from club; winemaking; wine production; World War II and increased production
University of Bordeaux
University of Burgundy, Dijon, clones
University of California, Davis: California regions and grapes suited to; California winemaking and; clones and; crusade to improve American wine; “four noble grapes” of; Grgich at; wine program at
United Vintners
Vannequé, Christian; Paris Tasting
Veedercrest Vineyards, Carneros, CA; Paris Tasting
Verrazano, Giovanni da
Vignes, Jean Louis
Vintners Club, San Francisco: Paris Tasting rematch, Jan. and
Vitis vinifera,
Voltaire
Vrinat, André
Vrinat, Jean-Claude
Wagner, Philip
Walters, Nico
Waugh, Evelyn
Waugh, Harry
Webb, R. Bradford
Weekly Calistogan
Wente Vineyards, Livermore, CA
Wilde, Oscar
Williamson, Mark
Wilmington Morning News,
Wine Advocate, The
Wine consumption, global
Winegrowers Association, St. Helena, CA
Wine history: ancient times; Bordeaux; Burgundy; California; globalization New World; rarity of outstanding wine
Wine Institute Bulletin
Winemaking: aging in French oak ; aging in oak; aging in redwood; analysis of juice for acid and sugar; barrels, light toasting; barrels, puncheons; basket press; blending; bottle aging; bottling; cake; California’s new breed of winemakers and; cap; cap, punching down; consultants; crushing; fermentation; fermentation, France, tanks used in; fermentation, temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks; filtering; fining, with bentonite; fining, with egg whites; fining, with gelatin; Frankenstein wines; French, technological advances and changesgaragistes winemakers; globalization of; grape picking; grapes for; home production of; lees; light press; malolactic fermentation; mechanical harvesting; must; nitrogen blanket; process Almaviva; process, Chateau Montelena, Chardonnay; process, Domaine Drouhin Oregon; process, Hanzell Winery; process Penfolds Grange; process, Souverain Cellars; process Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon; pumping; racking; sulfur dioxide used; yeast for
Wine Olympics, Paris
Wine rating systems
Wines of America, The(Adams)
Wines of France(Lichine)
Wine Spectator,; Paris Tasting rematch, tenth anniversary; scoring system
Wines & Vinesmagazine
Wine tastings: Balzer blind tasting of California Cabernet Sauvignons; Balzer blind tasting of California Chardonnays; Bordeaux’s First Growth red wines; Chicago “Great Chardonnay Showdown,” 1980; Les Amis du Vin wine tasting; Paris T
asting rematches; Paris Tasting rematch, tenth anniversary; Paris Tasting rematch, thirtieth anniversary; Rouzard 1997 Louvre tasting; Wine Olympics, Paris; scoring; tasting groups.See also Paris Tasting
Wine Tours International; “André Tchelistcheff’s Tour of France,”
Wine trade; California and U.S.; exports 1990–2003 France, problems today; mergers; wine critics, power of.See also specific countries
Winiarski, Warren; background; Backus house purchased; blending wines and; Cabernet Sauvignon cuttings; children; course taken from Amerine; financing and investors; first winemaking; Howell mountain property purchased and planted; Howell mountain property sold; Italian lifestyle, influence of; Martin Ray and; mother, Lottie; Paris Tasting rematch; Paris Tasting win and; at Robert Mondavi Winery; at Souverain Cellars and Lee Steward; Stag’s Leap Vineyard and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars; Tchelistcheff and; wife, Barbara Dvorak; winemaking concepts
Winkler, Albert J.
Winroth, Jon,
Wood, Laurie,
World Atlas of Wine(Johnson)
Yount, George
Yountville, CA
Zeidler, Howard
Zellerbach, James D.
Zin(Darlington)
Zind-Humbrecht, Olivier
Zinfandel: Chateau Montelena; Chateau Montelena; Clos Du Val; David Bruce Winery; development of White Zinfandel; grape; Mayacamas Vineyards 1968 Late Harvest; Ridge Winery; Souverain Cellars
Zuckerman Island vineyard, CA
A Scribner
Reading / Tasting Group Guide
JUDGMENT OF PARIS
STAGE YOUR OWN PARIS TASTING
Since 1976 there have been countless reenactments of the famous Paris Tasting. Some in the years immediately after the event involved exactly the same wines that were tasted on that day in May. In more recent times, the events have usually involved more contemporary wines and sometimes others that represented a more up-to-date view of California and French viticulture.
The most spectacular new Paris Tasting took place for the thirtieth anniversary on May 24, 2006. It involved two tastings, one at Berry Bros. & Rudd, a wine and spirits merchant in London, and one in the Napa Valley at COPIA, the American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts. The events were done simultaneously, so that the results could be released at the same time and one panel would not influence the other. In Napa it took place at 10 a.m., while in Britain it was at 6 p.m. The London event was hosted by Steven Spurrier, and the judges included the most prestigious British wine experts including Michael Broadbent, Hugh Johnson, and Jancis Robinson. Patricia Gallagher, who had first proposed the original tasting to Spurrier, was the host in California and among the judges were such eminent American tasters as Dan Berger, Anthony Dias Blue, and Andrea Immer Robinson.
The two thirtieth anniversary events included a tasting of the original Cabernet Sauvignons, contemporary Chardonnays, and recent Cabernets.
The results in 2006 were even more stunning than in 1976: California wines took the top five positions. The winning Cabernet Sauvignon this time: 1971 Ridge Monte Bello. The 1976 winner, 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, was second. All the arguments that the French wines would show better as they aged were finally and conclusively laid to rest.
Anyone, of course, can stage a Paris Tasting for a book group of people who have readJudgment of Paris, or simply for friends interested in wines.
First you need to select the wines. It would almost be impossible today to get the same wines as those from the 1976 event. The original vintages of the Cabernet Sauvignons would be difficult to find, and most of the Chardonnays are now over the hill. If you go with recent vintages of the original wines, be prepared to spend a lot of money. Just buying the twenty wines would cost some $2,500 at retail stores. Also two California Chardonnays from 1976 could not be duplicated today. Veedercrest is out of business, and Spring Mountain no longer makes that wine. If you wanted to substitute a California Chardonnay for one of those two, you might choose Grgich Hills, since that is made by Mike Grgich, who made the winning Chardonnay in Paris for Chateau Montelena. For the second missing one you might take another leading Chardonnay such as Kistler or Flowers.
If the price and the complexity of a full reenactment of the Paris Tasting are too daunting, you can still have lots of fun by staging a simpler one involving just one French Chardonnay paired with a California one, and a French Cabernet Sauvignon and a California one. To keep the tasting fair, pick out wines with comparable prices. Don’t have a $50 French wine against a $10 California wine or vice versa. For between $10 and $15 you can find many very good wines in both categories from both California and France.
It’s also a good idea to have wines of approximately the same vintage. Don’t have a very old French wine paired off with a very young California one. Spurrier’s red wines were just a couple of years older than their California counterparts, and the whites were all of approximately the same age.
You could select wines that have some connection to the original Paris Tasting. Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, which won in the red category in Paris, has a second label, Hawk Crest, that would be in the $10–$15 range. Chalone, which came in third in Paris in the white category, also has a Monterey County Chardonnay at that price.
Just as Spurrier and Gallagher did at Paris, be very careful that it is truly a blind tasting and that people don’t know the identity of the wines. You can buy inexpensive wine-tasting kits in retail shops or on the Internet. Or you can simply put the wines in paper bags and tie them at the top. Open the wines in advance and don’t forget to take off all the foil at the top of the bottle because that might tip someone off to the contents inside.
Again, just as Spurrier did in Paris in 1976, give each of the wines, whether you have ten in each category or only two, a number and ask people to score the wines. You can use either the 20-point scale as they did in Paris or the more modern 100-point scale. If you’re having only two wines in each category, you could ask each taster simply to select which wine is that person’s favorite.
For the Paris reenactment, you will need a bottle of each wine for about every fifteen people at the tasting. You don’t need more than a splash of wine in the glasses to have enough for a person to taste.
You might have a bowl or vase available for spitting since some participants may not want to drink the wine after they have tasted it. Professional tasters almost never swallow the wine because it will dull their senses for later wines. Amateur tasters, though, often can’t pass up the opportunity to drink the wine. If you have only four wines, there’s no need to spit.
The traditional order of wines in a tasting is whites before reds because the whites are generally fresher and fruitier. It can throw off people’s taste buds for the heavier wines to precede the lighter ones.
Tasters might appreciate having a glass of water or some pieces of bread to clean the palate between wines.
When all the wines have been tasted and the scores tabulated, pull the wines out of their bags and enjoy noting how everyone scored the various wines. You can drink what remains in the bottles as you discuss the results. It’s interesting to retaste the wines now that you know the nationalities to see whether that changes your views. A new Paris Tasting is guaranteed to be very interesting—just as it was in 1976.
DISCUSSION POINTS
In his tour of world wines in the book, author George M. Taber visited seven wineries on five continents to investigate wine globalization. From which of those wineries would you most like to try the wines and why?
Which of the main characters inJudgment of Paris (Jim Barrett, Mike Grgich, and Warren Winiarski) do you think most profited from winning the Paris Tasting and why?
What role did the University of California at Davis play in the comeback of California wines in the 1950s and 1960s?
How did Warren Winiarski and Jim Barrett typify the new generation of wine people who arrived in California in the 1950s and 1960s?
How did the Paris Tasting set off the gl
obalization of wine? Do you think globalization has been good for wine consumers? For wine producers? For the French?
Discuss some of the serious challenges now facing French winemakers.
George M. Taber’s next book will explore the history of cork and the search for a new closure for wine bottles. What do you think of the various substitutes already on the market—plastic corks, screwtops, and glass stoppers?
About the Author
GEORGEM. TABERwas a reporter and editor forTime magazine for twenty-one years, working in Brussels, Bonn, Houston, Washington, D.C., and New York. Stationed in Paris between 1973 and 1976, he reported extensively on French cooking and wine, including a cover story on chef Michel Guérard and hisnouvelle cuisine . Taber left the magazine in 1988 to startNJBIZ, New Jersey’s only weekly business publication, which he sold in 2005. For twelve years, he was also the daily on-air business reporter for 101.5 FM, the radio station with the largest Arbitron rating in the state. Taber now lives on Block Island, Rhode Island, with his wife, Jean.
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