Warren Winiarski, the vintner who shocked the world when his Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars California cabernet sauvignon beat the best of Bordeaux in the famed 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting, died June 7. He was 95. The small-framed man with untamed white hair was soft-spoken, but make no mistake — Winiarski was a tour de force.
His indomitable spirit and generosity shaped the course of the wine industry. The vintner helped his fellow winemakers persevere through the ravages of the California wildfires. With a hefty donation, he spearheaded research for how to best navigate climate change.
In addition, Winiarski was instrumental in preserving food and wine history at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. But what Winiarski will be most remembered for among wine-lovers worldwide is this California upstart’s startling win.
Winiarski’s cabernet sauvignon that triumphed over the Bordeaux in the Paris tasting was crafted from a converted prune orchard. But perhaps most astonishing to the French judges, steeped in tradition, was that Winiarski’s cabernet was produced from vines that were just 3 years old. His cabernet made its way to Paris only after a laborious vetting.
The late Steven Spurrier, the British organizer of the tasting, first learned about it from the late Robert Finigan, a San Francisco wine writer, who recommended it. Early in the spring of 1976, Spurrier sent his American partner at the time, Patricia Gallagher, to California to scout the Stag’s Leap Wi.