Getting An Education In California Winemakers By Reading The Judgment Of Paris 1976 Book by George Taber: Comparing The David And Judy Breitstein Historical California Wine Collection To The Scorecard For The Judgment Of Paris 1976

In April 2024, the David and Judy Breitstein historic collection catalog was highlighted on the Wine History Project of San Luis Obispo County’s website. The catalog contains nearly 200 significant bottles of wine from California’s wine history: a collection which the Breitsteins’ assembled over more than 50 years of collecting. This collection is known as the Historical California Wine Collection and tells us a story of places, people, varieties and moments in a continuum of the California wine industry currently on display at Copia in Napa.

After working with David and Judy to present this list to our readers. I was inspired to re-read the book written by George M. Taber, Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting that Revolutionized Wine, written in 2005, published by Scribner, and distributed by Simon & Schuster Inc. 

In this book, George Taber, who was there when history was made, captures the true story of this momentous event, which changed the perception of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon wines produced in California when Chateau Montelena and Stag’s Leap wineries scored higher than the competitive French wines. He also shares the history of winemakers from Napa, California, who produced wines and attended the 1976 Judging in Paris. As a reviewer of the book Walter Isaacson said that the tale was told with “authority, depth, and clarity as the American wines that won”. I would also like to add that there are so many things to be learned about the history of California winemaking and wines by reading this book.

As promised, discovery of a different way to educate yourself on the California winemakers chosen for the historic Paris tasting. Compare the list of wines in the David and Judy Breitstein Historical California Wine Collection, and you will discover many of the winemakers and wineries referred to in the book can also be found within this collection. 

Here is the Scorecard for the Judgment of Paris. Please use it also to compare these wineries to the Breitstein list.