The judgment of Paris

In 1976 a wine tasting competition was held in paris by a British wine merchant. It was believed that France was the superior producer of best wines and the organizers of the competition believed that the French wines would win. When in each category, a California wine turned out to be most highly rated, it not only caused controversy but also marked the rise of California wines in the world market.

Afterwards, the organizers claimed that the results were too subjective and random. Additionally, the only reporter who was present was blacklisted from the wine-tasting tour for revealing the results (presumably because of the negative effects the report had on the French wine industry).

30 years later, a re-tasting was held. In 2006, an additional group of experts again ranked the California wines higher than the French wines. These two wine tasting events are seen as symbolic of putting California wines on the world map.