OCWS

50 Years and Counting

A lot happened 50 years ago. Fifty years ago, we celebrated America’s bicentennial. Fifty years ago, Apple Computer and Microsoft were incorporated. Fifty years ago, the first Rocky movie was released and Nadia Comaneci scored the first ever perfect 10 in an Olympic gymnastics’ competition. And fifty years ago, Orange County Wine Society held their first Commercial Wine Competition. That, however, was not the only wine competition of note that happened 50 years ago.

In May of 1976, in Paris, France, California wines were part of what some have called one of wine history’s most significant moments. California’s wines were put head-to-head in a judged tasting with wines from some of France’s most well-regarded winemakers: California Cabernet Sauvignon vs. red Bordeaux and California Chardonnay vs. white Burgundy. Who would arrange such a judging? And why would anyone take part in it knowingly?

This meeting of Old World wines from France and New World wines from California was to be a festive affair, partially in commemoration the USA’s 200 years of history. Steven Spurrier, a British wine merchant, who owned a Paris store and wine school, Academie Du Vin, thought a bit of friendly international competition could improve his sales. Patricia Gallagher, an American, well known in the French wine world, was Director of the Academie Du Vin. Between the two of them the idea of a California/French wine comparison became a reality. The structure they decided on was to have a blind tasting of the two varietals with six California wines and four French wines of each. Eleven judges were selected, nine French judges, well known in the wine world who included the inspector general of the Appellation d’Origine Controlee Board and the co-director of the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Winery, plus Spurrier and Gallagher. The wines were to be judged on a 20-point basis but with no standardized set of criteria. Each judge was to evaluate each wine based on their own personal standards and knowledge.

The results, although historical in the wine world were of little importance to the-then general public. Media coverage was minimal, a single brief article by George Taber in Time Magazine who coined the term “Judgement of Paris.” And not till 2008 did it gain enough attention that Hollywood felt it deserve a movie appropriately titled “Bottle Shock.”

Because the French wine industry was shocked. How was it possible that a $10 bottle of 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon (current price $250) and a $6 bottle of Chateau Montelena Chardonnay ($80 today) could receive the highest scores out scoring wines that were generally considered from the best vineyards and wine districts in the world? The Judgement of Paris changed the world’s perception that good wine can come from many places and one of those places was California.

Although it’s never been dubbed “Judgement of Orange County Fair” the annual OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition has played a role in recognizing and rewarding the quality of the wine produced in California.  It is the largest competition of California-only wines in the world. And yes, it has highly experienced judges, not 11 but over 90 winemakers and winery principals. And not just 20 wines are judged but today more than 2,500 different varietals, styles and blends are judged in a double-blind tasting.

The Judgement of Paris brought recognition to California wines at a time it was sorely needed. Although not the initial intent of the judging, it started a rapid expansion of the California wine industry that had been negatively affected by recession, war and prohibition. An industry with only between 50-60 wineries in the 1970s, that as of January 2026 has 4,672 bonded wineries. And maybe only a coincidence, but in 1978, two years after France’s wake-up call Baron Philippe Rothschild and Robert Mondavi started Opus One Winery.

The Judgement of Orange County Fair, likewise, brings recognition to California wine, however, annually. So, whether you drink French wine from vineyards that are nine time zones and 5,700 miles way or local California wine that can match the quality of wine from anywhere in the world, just sit back, open the bottle and enjoy it without being judgmental!

—CL Keedy, Wine Education Co-Chair

But whose wines are to be judged?

Despite Steven Spurrier’s ownership of a wine store, he was not very familiar with California wines. Therefore, relying on Patricia Gallagher’s knowledge to help identify and source the California wines, Spurrier traveled to California and selected the six Cabernet Sauvignons and the six Chardonnays for the tasting, unbeknownst to the chosen wineries. The purchased bottles: Cabernet Sauvignons from Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello, Heitz Wine Cellars Martha’s Vineyard, Clos Du Vol Winery, Mayacamas Vineyards and Freemark Abbey Winery. Chardonnays from Chateau Montelena, Chalone Vineyard, Spring Mountain Vineyard, Freemark Abbey Winery, Veedercrest Vineyards and David Bruce Winery were then transported to France via rather unconventional methods, primarily as traveler’s personal luggage to avoid logistical problems. The four French wines of each variety were either Burgundy grand cru: Meursault Charmes Roulet, Beaune Clos des Mouches Joseph Drouhin, Batard-Montrachet Ramond-Prudhon and Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles Domaine Leflaive or Bordeaux classified growths: Chateau Mouton-Rothschild, Chateau Montrose, Chateau Haut-Brion and Chateau Leoville Las Cases.