Ridge Vineyard Judgment of Paris Tasting

Ridge Vineyards is using the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Judgment of Paris to bring one of California wine’s defining episodes back into its tasting rooms. On May 24, the winery plans a 90-minute seated tasting built around a special cabernet flight at its Monte Bello property in Cupertino, as well as at its Lytton Springs and Paso Robles locations. Ridge says the event marks the day its Monte Bello wine was entered in the Paris blind tasting that helped elevate California wine internationally. The winery has posted reservations through its events pages and says the tasting is complimentary for club members and $40 for non-members. ### Why is Ridge tying this tasting to May 24? May 24, 1976, is the date Steven Spurrier organized the original Paris tasting, according to Ridge’s account of the event. The winery says Spurrier assembled six California cabernets and chardonnays alongside Bordeaux and Burgundy wines as benchmarks during the American Bicentennial year. Ridge’s Monte Bello 1971 did not win the red flight in 1976, but the winery says its inclusion linked the estate to a tasting that became shorthand for California’s arrival on the world wine stage. (ridgewine.com) Ridge says the French judges selected California wines over French entries in both the red and white flights. ### What will people actually taste at the Cupertino event? (ridgewine.com) The Monte Bello event page lists four wines in the anniversary flight: 2023 Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon, 2023 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2022 Monte Bello and 2019 Monte Bello. Ridge says the format is a 90-minute seated tasting offered “for this day only.” (ridgewine.com) At Monte Bello in Cupertino, Ridge lists the tasting room address as 17100 Montebello Road. The company says the same four-wine format and pricing apply at the Paso Robles event, and its broader events calendar shows the anniversary tasting also scheduled for Lytton Springs in Healdsburg on the same date. ### How does Ridge describe its own place in the Judgment of Paris story? (ridgewine.com) Ridge says the 1976 tasting “help cement California’s place in the wine world” and describes Monte Bello as part of the event “where it all began” for the winery’s anniversary observance. That framing appears across the company’s event pages for the May 24 tastings. (ridgewine.com) The winery also points to a later milestone. On May 24, 2006, Ridge says a 30-year re-enactment of the Judgment of Paris was held in London and Napa, and its 1971 Monte Bello ranked first in the combined results of the older red wines. Ridge says its 2000 Monte Bello also placed first among the California cabernets in the younger-wine portion of that event. (ridgewine.com) ### Is Ridge marking the anniversary only in Cupertino? Ridge’s events calendar shows a wider anniversary campaign. On May 17, the winery promoted its participation in a Judgment of Paris event at the CIA at Copia in Napa, where Ridge said more than 50 wineries would be represented in a four-hour grand tasting. The same calendar lists the May 24 anniversary tastings in Cupertino, Healdsburg and Paso Robles, followed by a May 28 “Judgment of Paris 50th Anniversary Wine Dinner” at Seascape Beach Resort in Aptos. (ridgewine.com) Ridge has also published a broader anniversary landing page dedicated to the 50-year mark. ### What does a visitor need to know before booking? Ridge says the May 24 tasting is complimentary for wine club members if they book with the email address tied to their membership, while non-members pay $40 per guest. (ridgewine.com) The company lists Monte Bello in Cupertino as open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and directs visitors to RSVP through its event page. (ridgewine.com) May 24, 2026, is the next key date for the public event, with Ridge scheduling the anniversary tasting at Monte Bello in Cupertino, Lytton Springs in Healdsburg and Paso Robles on the same day. Ridge’s calendar then points to the May 28 anniversary dinner in Aptos as the next named event in the series. (ridgewine.com) (ridgewine.com)