A Vintage Victory for California

May 25, 2006 — -- The French may have their fries, even their toast, but it appears they're slowly losing their position as the front-runner in wine.

Thirty years ago, California's Napa Valley cabernets and chardonnays went head-to-head with France's Bordeauxs and white Burgundies in a blind, comparative taste test in Paris.

Wine lovers worldwide, and especially stateside, were stunned when the panel of nine French wine experts deemed California wines the best. A 1973 Stag's Leap cabernet sauvignon was named the top red, and a Chateau Montelena chardonnay of the same year was named the top white.

"It was an absolutely pivotal moment for California wineries," said Leslie Sbrocco, a wine columnist. "It put California wines on the map."

California's Napa Valley gained instant recognition and respect as an emerging wine-producing powerhouse. To this day, May 24, 1976, is considered a milestone in the American wine industry.

But the French were quick to dismiss the results, vowing that California's wines would never age.

After maturing for three decades, California wineries got a second chance to prove themselves at the re-enactment of the "Judgment of Paris."

History has a way of repeating itself.

California's wines trumped the French wines once more.

"We've certainly been able to dispel the myth that California wines don't age," said Peter Marks, director of wine at COPIA, a Napa Valley wine and arts center, which hosted one of the wine-tasting panels.

A second panel was simultaneously conducted at Berry Bros. & Rudd in London, one of the United Kingdom's oldest wine and spirit merchants.

All 10 wines from the 1976 Paris event were sampled and re-evaluated by nine judges in a blind taste test. Scores were tallied, and when the cross-continental results were combined -- California once again emerged victorious.

"This is a confirmation of how strong California wine is," said Sbrocco.

Native Napa Valley wines claimed the top five of 10 spots. A 1971 Ridge Monte Bello cabernet sauvignon from the Santa Cruz Mountains was crowned first-place finisher. In second place, the 1973 Stag's Leap cabernet sauvignon that had taken the top prize 30 years before.

Sbrocco, who has recently tasted a 1976 Stag's Leap cabernet sauvignon, was not at all surprised to see how well the California wines fared.