Customers say
Customers find the book easy to read and enjoyable. They appreciate the blend of history and wine knowledge, with interesting personal histories of winemakers and estate owners from the beginning. The book provides a wealth of information about the 1970s wine market, the burst of California, and the true story behind the movie Bottle Shock. Readers praise the well-researched, factual, and informative content. They also enjoy the author’s writing style and story.
Make It Yours – See Your Price On Amazon!
Your Sales Price $18.99 - $11.24
A quick rundown of this product’s key features:
The only reporter present at the mythic Paris Tasting of 1976 for the first time introduces the eccentric American winemakers and records the tremendous aftershocks of this historic event that changed forever the world of wine.
The Paris Tasting of 1976 will forever be remembered as the landmark event that transformed the wine industry. At this legendary contest—a blind tasting—a panel of top French wine experts shocked the industry by choosing unknown California wines over France’s best.
George M. Taber, the only reporter present, recounts this seminal contest and its far-reaching effects, focusing on three gifted unknowns behind the winning wines: a college lecturer, a real estate lawyer, and a Yugoslavian immigrant. With unique access to the main players and a contagious passion for his subject, Taber renders this historic event and its tremendous aftershocks—repositioning the industry and sparking a golden age for viticulture across the globe. With an eclectic cast of characters and magnificent settings, Judgment of Paris is an illuminating tale and a story of the entrepreneurial spirit of the new world conquering the old.
Our Top Reviews
Reviewer: Byron Sharp
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Essential reading for wine marketers (as well as wine buffs)
Review: Most wine books are for reference, being about a region or a producer, or a collection of tasting notes. This book tells a story, and it’s the best such wine book I’ve ever read. Campbell Mattison’s “Wine Hunter” is also a good book but “Judgment of Paris” is less sentimental, and much broader in scope.I already knew about the 1976 tasting and had recently read the Decanter coverage of the rematch 20 years later. In spite of this I still found the book interesting.I seldom drink Californian wine, little of the good stuff makes its way outside of the USA and it is usually far overpriced. But still I found the book interesting.It’s more than a book about the 1976 tasting and how it came about and what happened. It tells the story of the creation of many of the Californian vineyards, winemakers, and specific wines that ended up in the tasting. But the book is more than this. George Taber is a former Time staff writer (who was living in France in 1976 and was the only journalist at the tasting) and his global perspective shows. He covers the implications of the tasting for California and for all of the New World, and for France too.So I recommend this book not only to those interesting in fine wine but also to wine marketers.Thankfully the book is absolutely not a rah rah we beat the French jingoistic celebration. Taber correctly points out that the facts that show that it’s a stretch of the data to say that the Californian wines beat the French ones (especially amongst the Cabernets), the more correct summary is that it showed they were very competitive. Which is quite amazing given the youth of the vines, winemakers and general US wine industry. I hadn’t realised that many of the wines were from such new operations.Today it seems less of a story that very expensive Napa wines are competitive with very expensive French ones, but then there was a price difference and a huge perceptual one.I was intrigued to read that even back in 1976 many of the winemakers of the `Judgment of Paris’ wines were deliberately making wines in a different style to their neighbours. They were seeking elegance and balance, low alcohol wines, that were food friendly. They were quality obsessed and many of them were Francophiles when it came to their taste in wine. Of course, this is partly why the english Steven Spurrier and Patricia Gallagher chose them for the tasting.I do wonder if these winemakers are still making wines along these lines, or whether they have bowed to the pressure from the Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate (which must be much stronger pressure on US wines that depend on US drinkers than on French winemakers) and upped their alcohol levels and sweetness ?
Reviewer: Sheri Wooley
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Must read for any human who loves wine
Review: The judgment of Paris gives an in-depth understanding of what happened during the phylloxera period and how California wine has evolved into becoming a staple and rootstock in today’s society. Understanding that the foundation of the industry from which is France make pure elegance, but as time is evolved, there’s a lot of beauty coming from other realms of the world and looking at it from today’s day in age, you understand that the entire world is evolving and you have to try things from everywhere.
Reviewer: ML
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: By George!
Review: “The best fertilizer for a vineyard is the footsteps of the owner.” Tabor captures the sentiment of this statement as he gives his readers a sense of the passions of the California winemakers whose wines were in the Judgment of Paris. These pioneers did not have a choice; they had winemaking in their DNA.Tabor has an interesting story to tell. The bio-sketches of the legendary winemakers are truly American: immigrants, innovators, entrepreneurs, and scrappy. The cross-pollination of ideas and methods of creating wines occurred in all directions and continues today. Because soil is so important to the character of wine, Tabor faithfully included the geological makeup of the soil and sub layers in the description of the vineyards in California and France. Tabor captures these winemakers’ special ability of looking at land and determining it suitability for sustaining a vineyard – how do you learn that? Tabor also includes the importance of the agricultural information available to these pioneers from the University of California at Davis. The emergence of these winemakers is very much like the process of creating a good wine.As a Californian and having lived in Napa for a while, I was aware of the tasting in 1976 at Paris, but never had the appreciation or history of its impact. I enjoyed this book because it skillfully connected so many of the puzzle pieces of my experiences.Take this book, along with Mastering the Art of French Cooking, with you on your next trip to the Napa Valley. Visit these wineries, stop at the restaurant, Julia, at Copia, and enjoy the treasures of this valley.Thanks to George Tabor who captured this bit of history for us to savor. The impact of this little event in Paris is still reverberating globally. Cheers!
Reviewer: Calendar Mom
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A very interesting read
Review: A very interesting read about the wine industry in Napa in relation to that in France.
Reviewer: Arturo Caracas Uribe
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: A large and deep research, is recommended reading to all wine lovers. Vast in history and details. The description of the Blind Tasting of 1976 is very fun.
Reviewer: Jayanthi manohar
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I want to return the books lm ordered whiskey wine
Reviewer: David B
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Well, what a well written & entertaining book. It takes a while to get to the actual tasting but only because of the wonderful descriptions of the key players. For instance, just read, appreciate and admire Mike Grgich’s journey from early days in Croatia right up to star winemaker. Determination, commitment, focus on excellence etc etc; no wonder the wines are so good!!All in all, a wonderfully enlightening insight into a key event in the wine world and this, normally slow reader, finished it in under two days!!
Reviewer: Gregg Norman
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Taber is one of my favorite wine writers. Although this is not my favorite Taber wine book, it is nonetheless thoroughly enjoyable – it is important that this story be properly told (by the only writer up to the task – he was, after all, the only journalist who actually attended this historic event). Bravo, George (again).
Reviewer: Monika Goerigk – Schönleber
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Wer Interesse an Wein hat, der hat Lust dieses Buch zu lesen und auch zu verschenken.Sehr zu empfehlen!Schade, dass es die Bücher von Mr Taber noch nicht in deutscher Sprache gibt!
Price effective as of Mar 10, 2025 09:07:36 UTC
As an Amazon Associate Dealors may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.
