The Judgment of Paris

If rumor's are true then Stephen Spurrier, one of the UK's most well known wine experts has died (aged 80). Spurrier was famous around the world for a tasting he held in Paris in 1976 (pictured above) in it, and for the first time ever, he pitted (blind) the best of California against the best of France. To the astonishment of the French judges the Californian wines excelled, outperforming the Bordeaux reds and Burgundian whites taking top slots in both categories, it was a tipping point in the world of wine. It was so pivotal they even made a movie about it. The whole experiment showed the then wine establishment (mainly French) that it's not wise to rest on your laurels, there's always someone out there looking for an opportunity to disrupt things and take a slice of your cake. In this case the prices and standing of Californian wines, and the slice of the market they occupy at the top end, has never looked back! But, it also prompted a revival of effort and passion in the French scene, bolstering quality there too, a win-win you could perhaps conclude? (Maybe the British Royal family could learn a thing or two about the long term survival benefits of open and honest enquiry, rather than clinging onto arguments from authority, who knows..)

The French establishment was shocked at these results, so much so that they scrambled around to try to find excuses, the main one was that the French wines would last longer, and improve. So it was tested, the tasting was reproduced in 1978 in San Francisco, the American wines performed even better. The whole thing was re-done (with the same wines) in 1986, the USA took the top 5 spots. It was even redone for the 30th anniversary in 2006, in London, again the American wines were preferred by the judges. At some point, just like the French wine makers of that time eventually had to admit; it's always a good idea, from time to time, to reexamine deeply held convictions against reality as they just may turn out to be little more than myths, taken on trust from authority figures! A good life lesson I reckon, whatever your chosen field of engagement may be.