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.

Last October when I walked into the Dome des Invalides in Paris, France, to see Napolean Bonaparte’s tomb, the last thing I was expecting was to see the name of a hybrid grape adorning the poignant imagery of a French Army general’s tomb. The general was Marechal Foch and the hybrid grape has the same name (both pronounced “maresh-shall fosh”).

1. Who was Marechal Foch and why was be buried in the Dome des Invalides with Napolean Bonaparte?
   1. He was one of Napolean’s favorite generals
   1. He was Supreme Allied Commander in WWI
   1. He was Napolean’s wife’s brother
   1. He started the French Air corps in WWI

ANS: B – In March 1918, he was named Commander-in-Chief of the WWI Allied Armies. And of note he played a significant role in the First and Second Battle of the Marne in the Champagne region.

• What year was known as the “blood year” in France’s Champagne region?
  • 1914
  • 1915
  • 1916
  • 1917

ANS: A – Also known as the “violent vintage.” Despite the fact that in 1914 harvesting occurred under shellfire and that the soil was stained from the many casualties, the 1914 vintage is thought to be one of the best and most age-worthy vintages of the 20^th century. The Valley of the Marne was a major battlefield twice during WWI and an estimated 40% of Champagne’s vineyards were destroyed because of the intense fighting in the region.

But a hybrid grape and a distinguished WWI French general with the same name? How did that happen? A French viticulturist, Eugene Kuhlmann, in the early 20^th century at the Oberlin Institute in Alsace, France made an inter-specific cross of Goldriesling with a Vitis riparia-Vitis rupestris cross. Although originally called Kuhlmann 188-2, the grape was brought to the USA and renamed Marechal Foch in 1942.

Wait, that is a lot of information: inter-specific cross, Goldriesling, Vitis riparia, Vitis rupestris. What does this all mean?

An inter-specific cross is a cross of grapes varieties from different species such as Vitis vinifera, the European wine grape with Vitis riparia which is an indigenous North American grape.  This cross produces what is known as a hybrid grape variety. The other type of cross is an intra-specific cross that uses varieties of the same species, such as two Vitis vinifera varieties. Goldriesling is such an intra-specific cross of Riesling with an unidentified vinifera grape, created in 1893 at the Oberlin Institute. And yes, the grape and ensuing wine is still being produced today in Saxony, Germany and Austria in very small quantities.

• Vitis raparia (aka riverbank grape) and Vitis rupestrius (aka sand grape) are indigenous to North America and provide disease resistance and hardy rootstock when crossed with Vitis vinifera grapes. Which of the following grape species are also indigenous to North America and often used in making hybrid grapes?
  • Vitis labrusca (aka fox grape)
  • Vitis rotundifolia (aka muscadine)
  • Vitis aestivalis (aka summer grape)
  • Vitis mustangensis (aka mustang grape)

ANS: All of the above

• In addition to fungus disease resistance and hardy rootstock, why else have viticulturists around the world been using North American grapes to make hybrid varieties?
  • Lower production costs and higher sustainability
  • Better adaptability to variable weather conditions
  • Increased grape health compounds – resveratrol
  • Provide predictable annual yields

ANS: All of the above

• Marechal Foch, a red, cold-hardy grape that ripens early, is fungus disease resistant, has small berries and a teinturier (a red skin grape with red juice unlike most red grapes with colorless juice) is grown where in the North America?
  • Oregon
  • Ohio
  • Ontario, Canada
  • Montana

ANS: All of the above. I first tasted Marechal Foch at Wooden Shoe Vineyards in Woodburn, Oregon

Marechal Foch grapes can produce a deep color, highly tannic wine and therefore it is also made using carbonic maceration that will produce a lighter color, lower tannin, fruity wine. Carbonic maceration briefly is a vinification method that uses whole cluster fermentation in a sealed, stainless-steel tank with carbon dioxide. You most often hear of the carbonic maceration method being used in Beaujolais, France. However, carbonic maceration and semi-carbonic maceration is being used more often in more French wine regions such as, Burgundy, Southern Rhone and Languedoc-Rousillon, as well as, in the Eastern United States.

The use of hybrid grapes, with their many beneficial advantages for grape growers, is widespread in East Coast and Central states. These wine grapes have been bred for their disease resistance as well as their adaptability to a wide variety of temperatures, soils and rainfall. However, in California with its friendly vinifera grape growing conditions, hybrids are not often commercially grown. UC Davis viticulturists have developed numerous hybrids, many to combat Pierce’s disease or to address the higher temperatures of the state’s warmer areas. Examples of Pierce’s disease hybrids developed at UC Davis are: Paseante Noir, an intra-specific  hybrid of 50% Zinfandel, 25% Petite Sirah and 12.5% Cabernet Sauvignon; and Caminante Blanc, an inter-specific hybrid of 97% v. vinifera (62.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12.5% Chardonnay and 12.5% Carignane), 1.5% v. arizonica and 1.5% v. rupestris.

Bonus: Where in California are these hybrid grapes and others being grown for wine making purposes?

1. Ojai (Venture County)
2. Sta. Rita Hills (Santa Barbara County)
3. Central Valley
4. Ranch Cucamonga (Riverside County)

ANS: All of the above

When you have a hybrid grape like Paseante Noir, that crosses three vitis vinifera grapes it’s like having a field blend in a single grape. How great is that? Nevertheless, the fascinating topic of California’s winemakers using hybrid grapes is a subject for another Wine Wisdom.

Marechal Foch’s tomb will be found in Paris.  Marechal Foch wine you may find on California’s North Coast. But no matter what the history behind your wine is, as fascinating as it may be, it doesn’t need to be made with hybrid grapes or named after a WWI French General for you to sit back, open it, and enjoy it! Cheers!