The Paris Tasting
50 Years Later
1976-2026
The Sip Heard ‘Round the World
The Paris Tasting of 1976 was the brainchild of two renowned wine enthusiasts – Steven Spurrier and Patricia Gallagher.
Spurrier gathered together the best French judges, the finest French wines, and to salute America on its 200th anniversary, he added in a few wines from some upstart winemakers in California. Spurrier hoped the tasting would bring favorable attention to his wine shop, but he didn’t have any idea of the impact that his Bicentennial tasting would have on the world of wine.
To this day, it is one of the most influential moments in wine industry history.
The Players
Spurrier enlisted the help of wine tourism expert Joanne DePuy to courier his selections to France.
She agreed to ferry the best of California’s wines to Spurrier’s wine shop in Paris for what would come to be known as “The Judgement of Paris.”
The blind tasting was held at the InterContinental Hotel in the center of Paris. Spurrier brought together the very best white wines of Burgundy.
Alongside these French legends was the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, crafted by Mike Grgich, and other Chardonnays from California that the French judges had never heard of.
The Shocking Results
“Stunning success in Paris Tasting on May 24. Took first place over 9 others with Le Premier Cru wine. Top names in France [were] the blind [tasters]. Time Magazine to do an article. Congratulations to everyone.” – Jim Barrett
The nine French judges blind tasted the white wines and graded each of them. The winner was the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that Mike Grgich had made, with 132 points, the highest total scored of any of the wines, red or white, in the tasting. It was the champion!
To add insult to injury, in the afternoon tasting of the red wines, the French judges gave their top ranking to Warren Winiarski for his 1973 Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon, beating the best wines of Bordeaux.
“Back in Calistoga, I didn’t know what it meant. I got a telephone call from the New York Times. They wanted to talk to me…
The 1973 Chateau Montelena scored 132 points – more points than any California or French Chardonnay included in the blind tasting! When I finally fully understood this, I was filled with such joy and happiness, I began to sing in Croatian. I, the serious guy in the winery, began to dance.”
Miljenko “Mike” Grgich, on his Winning Chardonnay
The Birth of Grgich Hills Estate
Just a year later, on July 4, 1977, Mike Grgich joined forces with Austin Hills of the Hills Bros. Coffee Company. They broke ground to start Grgich Hills Cellar.
Quickly, Mike Grgich became known as “The King of Chardonnay”
Gradually, the winery purchased 366 acres, spread over five vineyards within the Napa Valley, allowing all Grgich Hills wines to be produced solely from estate grown grapes. In recognition of that significant achievement, the winery changed its name to Grgich Hills Estate.
In Commemoration
In Commemoration
In 2013, to celebrate the 90th birthday of Miljenko “Mike” Grgich, we released the inaugural vintage of our Paris Tasting Commemorative Chardonnay, crafted in the same style as his 1973 Chardonnay that beat the best of France. We’ve been proud to produce this small-production wine every year since, honoring the incredible legacy left to us by our founder.
