PARIS, MAY 1976. A young Englishman and an American journalist decide that California’s emerging wine stars should be better known in France. They set up an expert panel to blind-taste them against the best of Bordeaux and Burgundy, and, contrary to every expectation, the California wines emerge triumphant. The wine world was shocked to its core… The tasting came to be known as ‘The Judgement of Paris’; it was the trigger for California’s winemakers to grow in confidence and stature – and it allowed other ‘pretenders’ to make their claim to the French wine throne. 50 years on, this book takes stock. Top wine professionals from California, Bordeaux, Burgundy and the UK reveal what it was like to ride the shock waves… how the JOP benefited California (and, in turn, Bordeaux), and why the reverberations of this seismic event still benefit wine regions around the world today.

• Warren Winiarski of Stag’s Leap shares the journey of the winning wine
• Profiles and tasting notes of the competing wines – plus, stunning photography of the wineries then (1970s) and now…
• The Response from Bordeaux: was losing to California all bad
• Interview with Steven Spurrier and Patricia Gallagher: did they know they were stirring up something big?
• Was it all a Storm in a Parisian Wine Glass? … or just 1970s clickbait
• The JOP in Context: seven other events that shook the wine world
• Aubert de Villaine (Domaine de la Romanée-Conti), Jasper Morris MW, David Gleave MW, Jane MacQuitty, William Kelley (Wine Advocate), John Williams (Frog’s Leap), Hugh Johnson, Jancis Robinson MW, Karen MacNeil, Jane Anson (and many more) on what the JOP means for the wine in our glass…
• The Judgements that Followed: Chile vs Bordeaux, Champagne vs Franciacorta, Sonoma vs Burgundy…
• Presented as a beautiful Wibalin-covered limited edition with rare archive photography and colour images