“Paris Judgment” 60 years later: in London the history is celebrated with Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars

It was a historic event that, in its own way, became a turning point for the world of wine. In 1976, a tasting held in Paris saw, to great surprise, Californian wines triumph over Bordeaux red wines and Burgundy white wines. A “Time Magazine” article by George Taber reported the news, and the verdict of that blind tasting, now known as the “Judgment of Paris”, held at the Intercontinental Hotel in the French capital, generated controversy, astonishment, and above all an international shift: an opening toward wine produced in other countries as well, and the possibility of questioning France leadership in the wine world. The members of the jury ranked, among the red wines, Cabernet Sauvignon Slv 1973 by Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in first place. At the time, the winery was headed by Warren Winiarski and today, following the full acquisition in 2023, it is owned by Marchesi Antinori, one of the great Italian and global wine families (among the white wines, the winner in Paris was Château Montelena from the 1973 vintage, also this from Napa Valley.) And today, 60 years after the “Judgment of Paris”, a series of events in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom commemorates it.
Starting in London, where on March 5th, at the Cornus restaurant, that historic event will be retraced during an initiative by “Vinous Icons”, created by wine critic Antonio Galloni, founder and ceo of “Vinous”. He will be present along with Marchese Piero Antinori, honorary president of Marchesi Antinori; Renzo Cotarella, ceo of Marchesi Antinori; and Juan Muñoz-Oca, director of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. In addition to the iconic 1973 vintage, the tasting will feature a collection of vintages spanning six decades.
“I have had the opportunity  - explains Antonio Galloni -  to spend time with the late founder Warren Winiarski on several occasions. He remained deeply passionate and intellectually curious until the end of his years, showing a rare sense of humility for someone who had achieved so much. Winiarski legacy lives on in the wines he crafted, in the people he influenced, and in the experience he passed on to the current generation at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. The “Judgment of Paris” is widely considered a pivotal moment, as it demonstrated that American wines could stand up to French ones. But it was much more than that. In a recent conversation, Aubert de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, one of the participants in the “Judgment of Paris”, confided that the tasting served as a wake-up call for French producers. Jean-Philippe Delmas of Haut-Brion echoed this sentiment. The “Judgment of Paris” had a deep impact on a very large part of the fine wine industry”.