The Judgement of Paris: the legacy continues…
…. with more and more regions now empowered to challenge established regions and produce world-class wines, believes the International Wine and Food Society (IWFS), host of the all-new event, The Judgement +50
It was an indisputable part of the history of wine. Reams have been written on the event, and it has been discussed, dissected, and analysed to the nth degree.
A recap. A blind tasting of wines in Paris in May 1976, organised by the British wine merchant Steven Spurrier, since referred to as the Judgement of Paris, pitted top French wines from Burgundy and Bordeaux against Californian upstarts. Shockingly, the upstarts won.
Half a century later, the International Wine and Food Society (IWFS), the world’s largest gastronomic organisation, is organising a retrial of the tasting, with France taking on the rest of the World in the largest mass blind tasting ever organised over five continents in one week. In 1976, the professionals decided, and this time it is the people’s vote. The results will be released on the fiftieth anniversary of the original tasting on May 24th, 2026.
In 1976, French wines were widely regarded as the world’s most renowned. Today, in the fast-changing world of wine, the IWFS Judgement +50 tastings will once again taste French Chardonnays and Bordeaux Blends, but this time they will be pitched against a more diverse lineup from the world’s top wine regions – North and South America, South Africa, and Oceania.
In 1976, an elite group of nine French judges tasted Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon from France and California – blind. From France, the Burgundies included highly regarded wines such as Bâtard-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles, while the reds included Château Mouton-Rothschild and Château Haut-Brion. The result shocked the establishment and proved that great wine could come from anywhere. The Judgement of Paris did for wine what breaking the four-minute mile did for sport. The event was immortalised in the 2008 movie, Bottle Shock, starring Alan Rickman; the book, Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting that Revolutionized Wine by George M. Taber (the Time journalist who attended the event), and by a blog written by Steven Spurrier himself on the website of the Académie du Vin Library.
The wines for this event were selected by a panel including MWs and members of its prestigious International Wines Committee. The IWFS has over 5,000 members worldwide, and events are planned in branches across the UK and Europe, along with Canada, the USA, Africa, Australia, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and the Philippines. Rather than being judged by nine experts, this time, some 1,000 wine enthusiasts across the world will deliver the new verdict. This is likely to be the largest coordinated blind tasting ever performed in terms of both participant numbers and global reach.
Stephen Harrison, Chair, IWFS Europe Africa, answered some of my questions on the event.
With the world changing so fast, and in so many ways (uncertainty over climate, geopolitics) what role does a revival or reenactment of the Judgement of Paris, 50 years ago, play? What do you see as a desirable outcome?
The goal of the event series is to celebrate the legacy of the original Judgement, which is the diversity in wine choice now available from across the world. Without Judgement it’s unimaginable that the surge in quality and choice that we now enjoy would have happened to the extent it has. The legacy continues with more and more regions now empowered to challenge established regions and produce world-class wines. The desirable outcome would be for consumers to continue to experiment and try new wines – enjoying themselves along the way.
Would you enumerate the conditions that have changed since the original Judgement of Paris? In terms of the wine regions, most specifically?
As above, we believe that the quality and choice now available to consumers stems directly from Judgement. Coupled with the effects of climate change, wine is being produced in areas inconceivable 50 years ago – English sparkling, for example. “New” regions such as India and Romania (which obviously has made wine for centuries) are now becoming widely known and rightly celebrated for the quality they bring.
By broadening the canvas and having ‘non-experts’ at the table doing the judging, what differences do you envisage? And why was this decided?
We have a global membership of some 5,000+. Within this are a profusion of MWs and other experts, but the majority are “enthusiastic amateurs” who come together to learn and share special moments in wine and food regularly with friends. Judgement +50 fits exactly with the sort of experience that our members enjoy. Just as Judgement “democratised” the choice of wines available, it seemed appropriate to offer anyone with a keen palate the chance to take part in creating their own tribute to a unique historical event.
How are you selecting the wines for an event of this scale?
The Masters of Wine and members of our International Wines Committee used four key criteria:
a) Price – we want to make the event as accessible as possible, while offering the chance to compare and contrast wines of some distinction.
b) Availability – we wanted to select wines that are available globally so that as many members as possible could participate. This meant choosing wines that are relatively young, but still enjoyable.
c) Typicity – how well the wine expresses the signature characteristics of its grape variety and its region.
d) Vintage – we have chosen “comparable” vintages within a narrow range of years to allow for regional differences in growing conditions.
