The Judgment of Paris was the idea of Steven Spurrier who hosted a tasting in Paris on 24 May 1976 which which pitted French wines against those of the New World. The Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 subsequently became known as “The Judgement of Paris”.

“The notion that the best wines of the new world can match or even surpass the great wines of the old world was first established in 1976, at an event subsequently labelled “the judgment of Paris”. Steven Spurrier, a British wine merchant [‘caviste’] based in Paris, brought together 15 of the most influential French wine critics for a blind tasting of top wines from France and California—for this purpose, whites made from chardonnay grapes and reds made from cabernet sauvignon. The critics were shocked to discover that, without the benefit of labels to guide them, they had awarded the highest marks to Californian wines, both white and red. This caused an outcry in France, and led to accusations that the results had been rigged. But when the tasting was re-staged two years later, it produced similar results,” (Gideon Rachman, ‘The globe in a glass’, The Economist print edition, Dec 16th 1999). 

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