So why was the Judgment of Paris so important?

Six California Chardonnays along with four French white burgundies were selected for a blind tasting event in Paris in 1976. Top French wine experts judged and ranked the wines, and the 1973 Chateau Montelena’s Chardonnay came out on top, making history. There was also a red competition featuring California Cabernet Sauvignon vs. French Bordeaux in which Napa’s Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars’ Cabernet took top prize also.

In Retrospect, the Judgement of Paris was seminal, but at the time, no one was talking about it and it wasn’t until years later that we even heard about it. There just wasn’t much fuss over it at the time. But, as history has shown, it changed the way people viewed California wines.